Bietigheim (Baden)
Friendship since: 1967
Population: approx. 6.400
Location: Bietigheim is a municipality 7 kilometres north of Rastatt and 17 kilometres south of Karlsruhe, west of the Black Forest and east of the Rhine, near the border with France in the so-called Hardtwald.
County: Rastatt
Government district: Karlsruhe
Mayor: Constantin Braun
Website:www.bietigheim.de
Contact:gemeinde[at]bietigheim.de
Establishing the friendship
The city of Bietigheim, or today Bietigheim-Bissingen, has connections with its namesake, the community of Bietigheim in Baden, since 1967. Every year, personal contacts are cultivated through visits to the Bietigheimer Volksfest (folk festival) in Baden at the end of July / beginning of August and to the Bietigheimer horse market in Swabia at the beginning of September.
The ending -heim indicates that Bietigheim was a Franconian settlement. The oldest written mention of Bietigheim comes from a list of goods from the Weißenburg monastery. There, Abbot Edelin also described the possessions of the Weissenburg Monastery in Bietigheim in the Codex Edelini. This first documentary mention in 991 is not the time of the first settlement of the place, this is much earlier. Finds of Stone Age settlement in the region are known from around 4500 BC.
After its foundation in 991, the village developed on the Hochgestade and on the gradation to the Rhine lowlands with this river, which determined the life of the people who settled here.
Until the Second World War, Bietigheim was a village formed by rural people. Between the two world wars, the effects of reparations and inflation forced the population to cultivate their land intensively in order to exist at all. In many cases, however, the property was no longer sufficient to secure the family's livelihood. Due to the right of real estate division, the property of the individual had shrunk too much and the district area was parcelled out too much. The farmer himself or another family member had to earn additional income to support the small-scale farm. The farmers shifted to the cultivation of special crops and thereby improved their employment situation. So, inspired by the Tobacco Research Institute in Forchheim, a tobacco growing association was founded in 1937 and a heated tobacco drying room was built. During the Second World War and in the post-war years, the tobacco farmers produced the much sought-after 'roof rider' as a by-product as a barter and trade commodity. Tobacco growing continued to flourish after the war. In the autumn of 1948 the tobacco drying shed burned down. A new building in 1951 on the Stöckwiesen gave another boost to the increased cultivation of hot air-dried virgin. However, after a few years interest waned. In 1960 the drying shed was sold. Since then it has changed hands several times and has been rebuilt just as often. As early as 1951, 25 farmers had decided to grow asparagus. In May 1954 the first asparagus were cut on an area of 8 hectares. The efforts of individual planters to find a local collection point were unsuccessful; because the resulting harvest is bought by traders and finds enough fans among the villagers.
After the Second World War, the village became a residential community and agriculture lost its dominant character. However, asparagus cultivation is still important today.
Bietigheim today
Bietigheim is a young, lively and growing residential community in the middle of the Hardtwald and the so-called Upper Rhine Plain. You can experience the nature and forests in and around Bietigheim on foot, by bike or on horseback.
The residents not only appreciate the landscape, but also the special quality of live there. Several day-care centres and a primary school offer a good range of needs-based childcare from the age of one. In addition, all types of secondary schools are represented in the vicinity. A senior citizen centre, as well as several assisted living places guarantee the care of the older fellow citizens. An excellent retail offering is available for everyone.
Living in a village environment and short distances to neighbouring cities such as Rastatt, Baden-Baden and Karlsruhe, thanks to the connection to the light rail system, ensure continuous influx and the associated constant development of buildable land.
Bietigheim is in close proximity to the A5 motorway, the B462, the B3 and the B36. This makes the community of Bietigheim particularly interesting for small to medium-sized companies that have settled in the industrial areas over the years.
In Bietigheim there are also some artisanal family businesses with a long tradition, for which the excellent traffic situation also plays a major role. At the same time, it is also a great advantage for new settlements through the expansion of industrial areas.
Attractions
Located directly on the "Badische Spargelstrasse", one can enjoy both good Baden cuisine and culinary delicacies around asparagus in the local restaurants during the asparagus season.
A special tourist attraction is the cross-border PAMINA-Rheinpark, an Eco museum that provides interesting information about the habitats of the Upper Rhine.
The landmark of Bietigheim is the old chapel, which was built in 1150. The church is the oldest surviving church in Hardt and contains a baptismal font from the 13th century. The church was given a baroque appearance in 1748 according to plans by Johann Peter Ernst Rohrer.
The Bietigheimer Volksfest takes place annually in August.
Every two years since 1978, in the middle of the town centre, around the church, the village festival takes place on the first weekend in September.
A flourishing club life with over 50 clubs in the cultural and sporting field creates the possibilities of personal integration and offers a variety of options for leisure activities.
A small but fine selection of gastronomy offers, as it is located on the “Baden Asparagus Road”, delicious specialties of Baden cuisine.
Partnership connections
Visits by delegations from the municipal council
Photo gallery
