Leimen (Baden)

Infobox German Location
Art = Stadt
Name = Leimen
Wappen = Wappen Leimen Baden.pnglat_deg = 49 |lat_min = 20 |lat_sec = 53
lon_deg = 08 |lon_min = 41 |lon_sec = 28
Bundesland = Baden-Württemberg
Regierungsbezirk = Karlsruhe
Landkreis = Rhein-Neckar-Kreis
Höhe = 118
Fläche = 20.64
Einwohner = 27077
Stand = 2006-09-30
PLZ = 69181
PLZ-alt = 6906
Vorwahl = 06224, 06226
Kfz = HD
Website = [http://www.leimen.de/ www.leimen.de]
Bürgermeister = Wolfgang Ernst
Bürgermeistertitel = Oberbürgermeister

Leimen is a town in north-west Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is about 7 km (5 miles) south of Heidelberg and the third largest town of the Rhein-Neckar district after Weinheim and Sinsheim. It is also the area's industrial centre.

In the context of a communal reform in the 1970s, Leimen was newly created from the villages Leimen, Gauangelloch and Sankt Ilgen. In 1981, the state government of Baden-Württemberg granted Leimen the privilege to be called "town." When Leimen's population exceeded 20,000 in 1990, the city council applied for elevation to a Große Kreisstadt which was granted by the state government on April 1, 1992.

History

The first documentary record of Leimen is from 791, when both the Lorsch Abbey and the Diocese of Worms owned land there. First records of the districts are from 1270 for Gauangelloch (a document supposedly from 1016 was found out to be a fake), 1312 for Lingental, around 1300 for Ochsenbach and 1100 for Sankt Ilgen, then called "bruch", an Old High German word for bog.

In 1262, the lords of Bruchsal gave Leimen to the Palatinate of the Rhine as a fiefdom and from 1464 on Leimen was part of the Palatinate. In 1579, Leimen was granted the right to celebrate an annual fair and became a "market place" in 1595. In 1674, Leimen was partially destroyed.

People, culture and architecture

Leimen consists of the Leimen (proper), nowadays called "Leimen (Mitte)", and the four boroughs Gauangelloch, Lingental, Ochsenbach and Sankt Ilgen.

Despite its industrial roots, Leimen's downtown has maintained a certain quaintness. It is an active town, with a regular cycle of festivals and activities.

At Ochsenbach, there is the NDB NKR.

Notable people

* Boris Becker, tennis player, former World No. 1
* Michael Peter, field hockey player, gold medalist of the 1972 Summer Olympics