Aschaffenburg is a city in northwest Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. The town of Aschaffenburg is not considered part of the district of Aschaffenburg

Aschaffenburg (district)

Aschaffenburg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Darmstadt-Dieburg, Offenbach, Main-Kinzig , the districts Main-Spessart and Miltenberg, and the town of Aschaffenburg....

, but is the administrative seat.

Aschaffenburg is known as the Tor zum Spessart or "gate to the Spessart

Spessart

The Spessart is a low mountain range in northwestern Bavaria and southern Hesse, Germany. It is bordered on three sides by the Main River. The two most important towns located at the foot of the Spessart are Aschaffenburg and Würzburg....

". It is also called Bayerisches Nizza or "Bavarian Nice

Nice

Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

" due to the relatively mild local climate, as well as its Mediterranean gardens that overlook the river Main.

Although located in Bavaria, the town's inhabitants claim to be Lower Franconia

Lower Franconia

Lower Franconia is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria , Germany ....

ns, not Bavarians. This is consistent with the attitude of the inhabitants of other parts of Franconia, all of which lies within the state of Bavaria. Yet, Aschaffenburg was never part of historical Franconia, as it belonged to the Archbishopric of Mainz

Archbishopric of Mainz

The Archbishopric of Mainz or Electorate of Mainz was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire between 780–82 and 1802. In the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, the Archbishop of Mainz was the primas Germaniae, the substitute of the Pope north of the Alps...

 for more than 800 years. The city is located at the westernmost border of Lower Franconia and separated from the central and eastern part of the administrative district by the Spessart hills, whereas it opens towards the Rhine-Main plain in the west and north-west. Therefore, the inhabitants speak neither Bavarian nor East Franconian but rather a local version of Rhine Franconian

Rhine Franconian

Rhine Franconian , or Rhenish Franconian, is a dialect family of West Central German. It comprises the German dialects spoken across the western regions of the states of Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Hesse in Germany...

.

Geographic location

The town is located on both sides of the River Main in the southwest part of Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, 41 kilometres (25.5 mi) southeast of Frankfurt am Main. The second river is the small Aschaff

Aschaff

The Aschaff is a river in the northern Spessart in Bavaria, Germany.It is a right tributary of the Main and is 21,4 km long. It begins at the confluence of Autenbach and Kleinaschaff in Waldaschaff. Loosely translated the name Aschaff means Eschenwasser. The largest tributary is the Laufach...

 which flows in the western part of the town into the River Main. The region is called Bayerischer Untermain or Bavarian Lower Main.

Climate

Continental, typically with warm, dry summers and cold, damp winters. Aschaffenburg usually receives less snowfall during the winter than the nearby Spessart

Spessart

The Spessart is a low mountain range in northwestern Bavaria and southern Hesse, Germany. It is bordered on three sides by the Main River. The two most important towns located at the foot of the Spessart are Aschaffenburg and Würzburg....

.

Municipal districts

Aschaffenburg counts 10 districts:

• Damm
• Gailbach
• Leider
• Nilkheim
• Obernau
• Obernauer Kolonie
• Österreicher Kolonie (Austrian Colony)
• Schweinheim
• Stadtmitte (city center)
• Strietwald

Nilkheim and Leider are the only districts located on the left bank of the river Main.

Neighbouring communities

The following municipalities border Aschaffenburg:

Johannesberg, Glattbach, Goldbach, Haibach, Bessenbach, Sulzbach am Main, Niedernberg, Großostheim

Großostheim

Großostheim is a market community in the Aschaffenburg district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany...

, Stockstadt am Main and Mainaschaff.

Etymology

The name Aschaffenburg (Ascaffaburc, Ascapha or Ascaphaburg in the Middle Ages) originally meant "castle at the ash tree river" deriving from the river Aschaff that runs through parts of the town.

Brief history

The earliest remains of settlements in the area of Aschaffenburg date from the Stone Age

Stone Age

The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...

. Aschaffenburg was originally a settlement of the Alamanni

Alamanni

The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic tribes located around the upper Rhine river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Roman Emperor Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211 to 217 and claimed thereby to be...

. Roman legion

Roman legion

A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...

s were stationed here, and on the ruins of their castra the Frankish

Franks

The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...

 mayors of the palace

Mayor of the Palace

Mayor of the Palace was an early medieval title and office, also called majordomo, from the Latin title maior domus , used most notably in the Frankish kingdoms in the 7th and 8th centuries....

 built a castle. In the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 the town was known as Ascaffaburc, Ascapha or Ascaphaburg. Saint Boniface

Saint Boniface

Saint Boniface , the Apostle of the Germans, born Winfrid, Wynfrith, or Wynfryth in the kingdom of Wessex, probably at Crediton , was a missionary who propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He is the patron saint of Germany and the first archbishop of Mainz...

 erected a chapel to Saint Martin

Martin of Tours

Martin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...

 and founded a Benedictine

Benedictine

Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...

 monastery here. A stone bridge over the Main was built by Archbishop Willigis in 989. Adalbert increased the importance the town in various ways about 1122. In 1292 a synod was held here, and in 1474 an imperial diet

Reichstag (Holy Roman Empire)

The Imperial Diet was the Diet, or general assembly, of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire.During the period of the Empire, which lasted formally until 1806, the Diet was not a parliament in today's sense; instead, it was an assembly of the various estates of the realm...

, preliminary to that of Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, approved a concordat (sometimes called the Aschaffenburg Concordat).

The town suffered greatly during the Thirty Years' War

Thirty Years' War

The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....

, being held in turn by the various belligerents. It formed part of the electorate of the Archbishop of Mainz, and in 1803 was made over to the chancellor, Archbishop Charles of Dalberg as the Principality of Aschaffenburg

Principality of Aschaffenburg

The Principality of Aschaffenburg was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and the Confederation of the Rhine from 1803–10. Its capital was Aschaffenburg....

. In 1810 it was merged into the new Grand Duchy of Frankfurt

Grand Duchy of Frankfurt

The Grand Duchy of Frankfurt was a German satellite state of Napoleonic creation. It came into existence in 1810 through the combination of the former territories of the Archbishops of Mainz along with the Free Imperial City of Frankfurt itself....

, although Dalberg retained Aschaffenburg as his residence. In 1814 the city was transferred to the Kingdom of Bavaria

Kingdom of Bavaria

The Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Bavarian Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1806 as Maximilian I Joseph. The monarchy would remain held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom's dissolution in 1918...

 by an Austrian-Bavarian treaty. In 1817 it was included within Bavarian Lower Franconia

Lower Franconia

Lower Franconia is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria , Germany ....

.

From 1842–1849, King Ludwig I of Bavaria

Ludwig I of Bavaria

Ludwig I was a German king of Bavaria from 1825 until the 1848 revolutions in the German states.-Crown prince:...

 built a country house to the west of town. It was named Pompejanum after its model, the house of Castor and Pollux at Pompeii

Pompeii

The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...

. In 1866 the Prussian Army

Prussian Army

The Royal Prussian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.The Prussian Army had its roots in the meager mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War...

 inflicted a severe defeat on the Austrians

Austrian Empire

The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...

 in the neighbourhood during the Austro-Prussian War

Austro-Prussian War

The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...

.

In World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Aschaffenburg was heavily damaged by Allied area bombing

Strategic bombing during World War II

Strategic bombing during World War II is a term which refers to all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature between 1939 and 1945 involving any nations engaged in World War II...

, including Schloss Johannisburg

Schloss Johannisburg

Schloss Johannisburg is a castle in Aschaffenburg that was erected between 1605 and 1614 by Georg Ridinger. Until 1803, it was the second residence of the prince bishop of Mainz. It is constructed of red sandstone, the typical building material of the area around Aschaffenburg.The castle is one of...

 which was completely restored several years later. The Germans chose to defend Aschaffenburg with particular steadfastness, which resulted in the Battle of Aschaffenburg fought 28 March - 3 April 1945. The US 45th Infantry Division was forced to take the fortified city against stiff German resistance in a series of frontal assaults that involved house-to-house fighting and brutal close combat. The resulting horrific urban destruction was widespread and quite severe, as cannon fire was used point-blank to blast through structures.

In the decades following the war, Aschaffenburg and the surrounding region experienced robust economic prosperity, partially due to its close proximity to Frankfurt am Main.
According to an online 2002 survey in Stern

Stern (magazine)

Stern is a weekly news magazine published in Germany. It was founded in 1948 by Henri Nannen, and is currently published by Gruner + Jahr, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann. In the first quarter of 2006, its print run was 1.019 million copies and it reached 7.84 million readers according to...

magazine, [Stern 14/2002], 82 percent of residents living in the Bayerischer Untermain region where Aschaffenburg is located were satisfied with the place where they lived. This was the highest level recorded in the survey making this region the #1 place to live in Germany, based on several factors including employment opportunities in the region, educational facilities, public services, transportation, recreational options, shopping, cultural facilities/events, climate, etc.

Another survey taken in 2006 by McKinsey, Stern magazine, ZDF

ZDF

Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...

, and web.de showed that Aschaffenburg has one of the highest ratings for quality of life in Germany.

US military presence (1945–2007)

Aschaffenburg was the location of several United States Army installations throughout the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

. The US Army occupied facilities formerly used and controlled by the Wehrmacht

Wehrmacht

The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...

. The installation sites were known as Ready Kaserne, Smith Kaserne, Graves Kaserne, Fiori Kaserne, and Jaeger Kasern, housing armour, infantry, engineer, maintenance and artillery elements of the US Army 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division and various VII Corps elements including the 9th Engineer Battalion. Much of the US Army presence in Aschaffenburg ended in 1992 with the ending of the Cold War. The last buildings, which were primarily used for housing, were handed back to the local government in 2007.

Sights

Aschaffenburg's chief buildings are the Schloss Johannisburg

Schloss Johannisburg

Schloss Johannisburg is a castle in Aschaffenburg that was erected between 1605 and 1614 by Georg Ridinger. Until 1803, it was the second residence of the prince bishop of Mainz. It is constructed of red sandstone, the typical building material of the area around Aschaffenburg.The castle is one of...

, built 1605–1614 by Archbishop Schweikard von Kronberg, which contains a library with a number of incunabula

Incunabulum

Incunable, or sometimes incunabulum is a book, pamphlet, or broadside, that was printed — not handwritten — before the year 1501 in Europe...

, a collection of engravings and paintings; the Pompejanum, a replica of a Roman town house discovered in Pompeii

Pompeii

The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...

 commissioned by King Ludwig I. and opened in 1850; the Stiftskirche basilica, founded in 974 by Otto of Swabia, duke of Bavaria, but dating in the main from the early 12th century on, in which are preserved various monuments by the Vischers

Vischer Family of Nuremberg

Vischer is the name of a family of sculptors active in Nuremberg between 1453 and 1549. The family contributed largely to the masterpieces of German art in the 15th and 16th centuries. Attribution between them can be confusing since they worked together out of the same workshop...

, a sarcophagus with the relics of Saint Margaret

Margaret the Virgin

Margaret the Virgin, also known as Margaret of Antioch , virgin and martyr, is celebrated as a saint by the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches on July 20; and on July 17 in the Orthodox Church. Her historical existence has been questioned; she was declared apocryphal by Pope Gelasius I in 494,...

, and a famous painting by Matthias Grünewald

Matthias Grünewald

Matthias Grünewald or "Mathis" , "Gothart" or "Neithardt" , , was a German Renaissance painter of religious works, who ignored Renaissance classicism to continue the expressive and intense style of late medieval Central European art into the 16th century.Only ten paintings—several consisting...

; the Capuchin

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin

The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is an Order of friars in the Catholic Church, among the chief offshoots of the Franciscans. The worldwide head of the Order, called the Minister General, is currently Father Mauro Jöhri.-Origins :...

 hospital; a theatre, which was formerly a house of the Teutonic Order

Teutonic Knights

The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...

; several mansions of the nobility; and the beautiful, historical "Altstadt" (the oldest section of Aschaffenburg).

The graves of Clemens Brentano

Clemens Brentano

Clemens Brentano, or Klemens Brentano was a German poet and novelist.-Overview:He was born in Ehrenbreitstein, near Koblenz, Germany. His sister was Bettina von Arnim, Goethe's correspondent. His father's family was of Italian descent. He studied in Halle and Jena, afterwards residing at...

 and his brother Christian Brentano

Christian Brentano

Christian Brentano was a German writer and Catholic publicist from Frankfurt. He was the brother of Clemens Brentano, a famous German poet of the Romantic school....

 (died 1851) and that of Wilhelm Heinse are on the Altstadtfriedhof.

Demographics

Population

Year Population 1900 18,093 1910 29,892 1925 34,056 1939 45,379 1945 30,861 1946 36,383 1950 45,499

Year Population 1961 54,131 1970 55,193 1980 59,257 1987 60,964 1990 64,098 1995 66,360 2000 67,592

Year Population 2003 68,607 2007 68,646 2010 68,648

Age distribution of current population

{| border="0"
| valign="top" |
{| class="wikitable"
! Age
! Population
|-
| 0-19 || align="right" | 13,888
|-
| 20-39 || align="right" | 19,505
|-
| 40-59 || align="right" | 18,951
|-
| 60+ || align="right" | 16,556
|}

Roads

Aschaffenburg is located on Bundesautobahn 3 between Frankfurt am Main and Würzburg

Würzburg

Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....

. The southern terminus of Bundesautobahn 45

Bundesautobahn 45

is an autobahn in Germany, connecting Dortmund in the west with Aschaffenburg in the southwest. It is colloquially known by its byname Sauerlandlinie, which derives from the Sauerland, the landscape which said autobahn is running through between the cities of Hagen and Siegen. Many people think of...

 is located just west of the city. Bundesstraße B 26 passes through the city. Bundestrasse B 8 used to pass through the city, but has now been rerouted along the Bundesautobahn 3. Three road bridges cross the river Main at Aschaffenburg: Ebert Bridge (a new span opened in 2008), Willigis Bridge and Adenauer Bridge. In the 1980s, a road tunnel was constructed under the Schlossplatz to improve traffic flow through the stadtmitte (city center).

The limited-access Innenstadtring or "inner-city-ring" road is currently under construction and is nearing completion. It allows motorists to bypass the stadtmitte (city center) and reduce traffic congestion in Aschaffenburg, which has been a problem in recent years. A large section of the road has already opened. Another road project called Bahnparallele is planned for the district of Damm to improve traffic flow there.

Parking

There are approximately 7,500 parking spaces in the ten districts of Aschaffenburg and 8 parking garages open to the public.

Public transport

Aschaffenburg has a comprehensive bus network serving all districts and the surrounding region. The 15 main bus lines which serve the districts of Aschaffenburg are run by Stadtwerke Aschaffenburg. There are several other bus lines which link Aschaffenburg with the surrounding region. Those lines are run by other companies, including the Deutsche Bahn

Deutsche Bahn

Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...

. A new regional bus terminal opened in 2008, adjacent to the Aschaffenburg Hauptbahnhof

Aschaffenburg Hauptbahnhof

is the central railway station of Aschaffenburg in Germany.The station was built in 1854 by the Ludwigs-West-Bahn. It remained largely unchanged until destroyed in a 1944 air raid, after which it was rebuilt in the style typical for the 1950s...

 (main railway station). The Regionale Omnibusbahnhof Aschaffenburg (ROB) was built to consolidate all of the scattered bus stops in the area around the main railway station into one central location and reduce traffic congestion in the area.

Taxis

Taxis

Taxicab

A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...

 can be found at the following locations:

• Aschaffenburg Hauptbahnhof
  Aschaffenburg Hauptbahnhof
  is the central railway station of Aschaffenburg in Germany.The station was built in 1854 by the Ludwigs-West-Bahn. It remained largely unchanged until destroyed in a 1944 air raid, after which it was rebuilt in the style typical for the 1950s...
  
  (main railway station)
• Stadthalle am Schloss
• City Galerie shopping mall
• Friedrichstrasse (near the Fußgängerzone)
• Wermbachstrasse (by the Fußgängerzone).

The normal way to obtain a taxi is to either call one of the numerous taxi operators in Aschaffenburg or go to one of the locations listed above.

Railway stations and stops

• Aschaffenburg Hauptbahnhof
  Aschaffenburg Hauptbahnhof
  is the central railway station of Aschaffenburg in Germany.The station was built in 1854 by the Ludwigs-West-Bahn. It remained largely unchanged until destroyed in a 1944 air raid, after which it was rebuilt in the style typical for the 1950s...
  
  (main railway station) - The station has long-distance InterCityExpress
  InterCityExpress
  The Intercity-Express or ICE is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany and neighbouring countries. It is the highest service category offered by DB Fernverkehr and is the flagship of Deutsche Bahn...
  
   and InterCity
  InterCity
  InterCity is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe...
  
   services as well as regional connections to neighboring towns and cities. A new, larger station building opened in 2011, replacing a smaller structure built during the 1950s.

• Aschaffenburg-Hochschule/University of Applied Sciences - The stop, located by the Wuerzburger Strasse, opened in 2007 to accommodate students attending nearby schools. It is positioned between Aschaffenburg Hauptbahnhof and Aschaffenburg-Süd/South. There is only a single track platform.

• Aschaffenburg-Süd/South

• Obernau

• Schönbusch-Nilkheim - The station closed when passenger service on the "Bachgaubahn" railway line ended in 1974.

• Leider - Freight railway terminal close to Aschaffenburg's port on the Main. There is no passenger service.

All passenger train service is provided by the Deutsche Bahn

Deutsche Bahn

Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...

.

Harbor

Aschaffenburg has an active port along the Main in the district of Leider. There is railway access to the port. In 2005, 2.8 million tons of cargo passed through the port.

Airports

A small general aviation

General aviation

General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...

 airport (Flugplatz Aschaffenburg, ICAO-Code: EDFC) is located in nearby Großostheim

Großostheim

Großostheim is a market community in the Aschaffenburg district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany...

. Frankfurt Airport

Frankfurt Airport

Frankfurt Airport may refer to:Airports of Frankfurt, Germany:*Frankfurt Airport , the largest airport in Germany*Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport, a general aviation airport*Frankfurt-Hahn Airport , a converted U.S...

 is located 46 kilometres (28.6 mi) from Aschaffenburg and offers connections to destinations all over the world. The trip to and from the airport takes about 30 minutes by motor vehicle or approximately 45 minutes by InterCityExpress

InterCityExpress

The Intercity-Express or ICE is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany and neighbouring countries. It is the highest service category offered by DB Fernverkehr and is the flagship of Deutsche Bahn...

 train.

City Galerie

The City Galerie, opened in 1974 and located in the city center (Stadtmitte), is the largest shopping mall in Northern Bavaria. It was one of the first indoor shopping malls to open in Germany. It was first renovated in 1984. From 1997 to 1999, it was expanded and modernized which included the opening of a new food court. In 2008, several new stores including H&M opened. Current stores include C&A

C&A

C&A is an international chain of fashion retail clothing stores, with its European head offices in Vilvoorde , Belgium and Düsseldorf, Germany...

, Esprit, Forever 18, Galeria Kaufhof, GameStop

GameStop

GameStop Corporation is an American video game and entertainment software retailer. The company, whose headquarters is in Grapevine, Texas, United States, operates 6,500 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New...

, H&M

H&M

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB is a Swedish retail-clothing company, known for its fast-fashion clothing offerings for women, men, teenagers and children....

, Media Markt City (electronics), Müller & Penny Markt.

Fußgängerzone

Aschaffenburg also has a pedestrian shopping zone (Fußgängerzone in German) closed to motor vehicles, except for deliveries. It is located in the city center (Stadtmitte). Several upscale stores have opened in this zone in recent years. There are also several restaurants and cafes. The following streets & alleys are included in this zone: Roßmarkt, Herstallstraße, Steingasse and Sandgasse.

Frohsinnstrasse

This street, located close to the Hauptbahnhof (main railway station), has a variety of different stores.

Dammer Tor Carré

New pedestrian shopping zone located in the district of Damm, on the northern side of the Hauptbahnhof (main railway station), currently under construction. Projected completion date: 1st half of 2012.

Cultural events

Aschaffenburg hosts numerous festivals, fairs, exhibitions, markets and concerts throughout the year including the annual Stadtfest, held on the last weekend in August.

Theaters and entertainment venues

• Stadttheater (City Theater)
• f.a.n. Frankenstolz Arena (formerly Unterfrankenhalle)
• Stadthalle am Schloss
• Kabarett im Hofgarten
• Erthaltheater
• Ludwigstheater
• Zimmertheater
• Colos-Saal, a live-music club featuring concerts by up-and-coming bands, aging legends, local acts and musicians from around the world including the US & UK.

Museums and galleries

• Stiftsmuseum
• Naturwissenschaftlichen Museum Aschaffenburg
  Naturwissenschaftlichen Museum Aschaffenburg
  The Naturwissenschaftlichen Museum Aschaffenburg is a natural history museum located in the Schönborner Hof at Wermbachstraße 15, Aschaffenburg, Bavaria, Germany...
  
  
• Gentilhaus
• Städtische Galerie "Kunsthalle Jesuitenkirche"
• Neuer Kunstverein Aschaffenburg
• Künstlerhaus Walter Helm

Cinema

• Kinopolis, a modern multiplex cinema located directly across the street from the City Galerie shopping mall on the Goldbacher Strasse.
• Casino

Parks

Aschaffenburg has numerous parks including the following:

• Schönbusch Park, located in the Nilkheim district
• Schöntal Park, located in the city-center
• Aschaffenburger Schlossgarten, located at Schloss Johannisburg
• Kleine Schönbuschallee

Recreational

A large recreational complex is located in the district of Leider. It includes an indoor and outdoor swimming pool complex as well as an indoor ice rink and tennis courts, which are open to the general public. There's also a marina on the Main between the Willigis and Adenauer bridges.

Football (Soccer)

Viktoria Aschaffenburg

Viktoria Aschaffenburg

SV Viktoria 01 Aschaffenburg is a German football club based in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria.Even though Aschaffenburg is located in Bavaria, Viktoria Aschaffenburg historically played its football in the Hessenliga and the associated Hessian leagues, rather than the Fussball-Bayernliga , against clubs...

 is the primary football (soccer) club. The club was formed on June 24, 1904 out of the merger of FC Aschaffenburg (August 6, 1901) and FC Viktoria Aschaffenburg (April 12, 1902). It was re-named Sportverein Viktoria 01 Aschaffenburg on June 3, 1906. Their homefield is Stadion am Schönbusch (Schönbusch stadium), a modern stadium located in the Nilkheim district.

American football

In 1991, the Aschaffenburg Stallions began playing American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 at Schönbusch stadium. A cheerleader squad also exists.

Baseball and Softball

Aschaffenburg is also home to the Aschaffenburg Mohawks Baseball and Softball team. The Softball team won the 2010 German Championship. The adult baseball team won the 2011 Landesliga South Championship and will play in the highest league of the state Hessen in 2012.

Education

There are various types of schools in Aschaffenburg serving approximately 18,000 students from the city and surrounding region.

University

There's a University of Applied Sciences located at Würzburger Straße: Hochschule Aschaffenburg

Medical

The three primary medical centers in Aschaffenburg are:

• Klinikum Aschaffenburg, the main hospital
• Hofgartenklinik
• Frauenklinik (Women's Clinic) am Ziegelberg

There are approximately 789 hospital beds, 159 doctors, 68 dentists and 38 pharmacies in the districts of Aschaffenburg.

Printed media

• Main-Echo, Aschaffenburg-based newspaper published daily except Sunday. This is the main newspaper for Aschaffenburg and the surrounding region. It was first published on 24. November 1945 replacing "Aschaffenburger Zeitung". It has a daily circulation of approximately 200,000 readers. Main-netz.de is the online distribution site for the newspaper.
• Prima Sonntag, Newspaper published only on Sunday
• FRIZZ Das Magazin, Culture/scene magazine
• Brot & Spiele, Culture magazine
• Szene Magazin

Radio and television

• Radio Primavera, Frequency in Aschaffenburg 100,4 MHz (internet-streaming available)
• Radio Galaxy, Frequency in Aschaffenburg 91,6 MHz

• MainTV, Aschaffenburg programming (internet-streaming available)

Internet

• Aschaffenburg24.de - Online-News (Aschaffenburg city and regional)
• www.main.tv - Video-Website for Aschaffenburg (city and regional)
• Kommweichei.com e.V., The community and party scene in Aschaffenburg
• MainReporter.de - Portal for Aschaffenburg (city and regional)
• abscene.de | NEWAGE MAGAZINE
• ABhörn, Online Magazine
• Main-netz.de, News and community information for the region

Before 1900

• Daniel Brendel von Homburg, 1523-1582, Archbishop of Mainz from 1555 to 1582
• Joseph von Lindwurm
  Joseph von Lindwurm
  Joseph von Lindwurm was a German physician and dermatologist who was a native of Aschaffenburg. He studied medicine in Würzburg and Heidelberg, and afterwards furthered his studies in Dublin, Glasgow, Vienna and Paris...
  
  , 1824-1874, German physician and dermatologist
• Lujo Brentano
  Lujo Brentano
  Lujo Brentano was an eminent German economist and social reformer.Lujo Brentano, born in Aschaffenburg into one of the most distinguished German-Catholic intellectual families , attended school in Augsburg and Aschaffenburg...
  
  , 1844-1931, German economist and social reformer
• Friedrich von Hefner-Alteneck
  Friedrich von Hefner-Alteneck
  Friedrich Heinrich Philipp Franz von Hefner-Alteneck was a German electrical engineer and one of the closest aides of Werner von Siemens. He is largely remembered for the invention of the Hefner lamp, which provided the measure of luminous intensity used in Germany, Austria and Scandinavia from...
  
  , 1845-1904, German electrical engineer and one of the closest aides of Werner von Siemens
• Joseph Anton Schneiderfranken
  Joseph Anton Schneiderfranken
  Joseph Anton Schneiderfranken, also known as Bô Yin Râ , was a German spiritual Initiate , painter and author of many books....
  
  , 1876-1943, German painter and author
• Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
  Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
  Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was a German expressionist painter and printmaker and one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to the foundation of Expressionism in 20th century art. He volunteered for army service in the First World War, but soon suffered a...
  
  , 1880-1938, German expressionist painter and printmaker
• Friedrich Dessauer
  Friedrich Dessauer
  Friedrich Dessauer was a physicist, a philosopher, a socially engaged entrepreneur and a journalist.Friedrich Dessauer was born in Aschaffenburg, Germany. As a young man he was fascinated by new discoveries in the natural sciences. He was particularly interested in the X-rays discovered by...
  
  , 1881-1963, German physicist, philosopher, socially engaged entrepreneur and journalist
• Alfons Maria Jakob
  Alfons Maria Jakob
  Alfons Maria Jakob was a German neurologist with important contributions on neuropathology....
  
  , 1884-1931, German neurologist with important contributions on neuropathology

1900 to 1959

• Hanns Seidel
  Hanns Seidel
  Hanns Seidel was a German politician and Bavarian prime minister from 1957 to 1960. He belonged to the conservative Christian Social Union of Bavaria party.-Life:...
  
  , 1901-1961, German politician and Bavarian prime minister from 1957 to 1960
• Peter Gingold
  Peter Gingold
  Peter Gingold was a figure in the German Resistance and the National Committee for a Free Germany. He was born in a Jewish family in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria. He was a member of the Communist Party of Germany and its successor the German Communist Party...
  
  , 1916-2006, figure in the German Resistance and the National Committee for a Free Germany
• Wilfried Hofmann, born in 1931, German diplomat and author
• Adalbert Kraus
  Adalbert Kraus
  Adalbert Kraus is a German tenor in opera and concert, known for singing the works of Johann Sebastian Bach.- Biography :...
  
  , born in 1937, German tenor
• Felix Magath
  Felix Magath
  Wolfgang-Felix Magath is a former German football central midfielder and current manager of VfL Wolfsburg.-Playing career:...
  
  , born in 1953, German footballer and football manager
• Rudi Bommer, born 1957, German footballer and football manager

from 1960

• Urban Priol
  Urban Priol
  Urban Priol is an award-winning German cabaret artist and comedian. He is currently the host of the ZDF show Neues aus der Anstalt.-External links:* - Portrait of Priol in Der Tagesspiegel...
  
  , born in 1961, German cabaret artist and comedian
• Winfried Bausback
  Winfried Bausback
  Winfried Bausback is a German politician, representative of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria. He is a member of the Landtag of Bavaria. Since 2008 he has represented Stimmkreis Aschaffenburg-West in the Landtag.-References:...
  
  , born in 1965, German politician
• Christian Hock
  Christian Hock
  Christian Hock is a retired German football player and a football manager who currently managing Hessen Kassel.-External links:...
  
  , born in 1970, German football player and a football manager
• Carlos Boozer
  Carlos Boozer
  Carlos Austin Boozer, Jr. is an American professional basketball player with the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association...
  
  , born in 1981, American basketball player
• Sabine Englert
  Sabine Englert
  Sabine Englert is a German team handball goalkeeper from Aschaffenburg, Bavaria. She has previously played for the Austrian club Hypo Niederösterreich, and on the German national team. But now she plays for FC Midtjylland Håndbold. -International career:Englert made her debut on the German team in...
  
  , born in 1981, German team handball goalkeeper
• Marcel Schäfer
  Marcel Schäfer
  Marcel Schäfer is a German footballer who plays as a defender for VfL Wolfsburg.-International career:He made his international debut for Germany on 19 November 2008 in a friendly against England.-External links:...
  
  , born in 1984, German footballer
• José Holebas
  José Holebas
  Iosif Cholevas is a German-Greek footballer who plays for Olympiacos F.C. and the Greek national football team. Holebas was born in Germany to a Greek father who hails from Trikala and a Uruguayan mother.-1860 Munich:...
  
  , born in 1984, German footballer
• Markus Neumayr
  Markus Neumayr
  Markus Neumayr is a German football player who plays as a midfielder for Swiss club AC Bellinzona.-Career:Neumayr started his football career playing for local clubs before moving to Eintracht Frankfurt in 2003 However, within a few months, he was picked up by Manchester United...
  
  , born in 1986,German footballer
• Ivo Iličević
  Ivo Ilicevic
  Ivo Iličević is a Croatian football player of Bosnian Croat descent.-Club career:Iličević began his career in the youth ranks of Viktoria Aschaffenburg, before joining Regionalliga Süd side SV Darmstadt 98 in January 2005. At the club, he quickly became a first-team regular under former Bundesliga...
  
  , born in 1986, German-born Croatian football player
• Daria Kinzer
  Daria Kinzer
  Daria Kinzer is a Croatian singer who represented Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Germany. Kinzer won the national selection on March 5 with her entry "Celebrate", and took part in the first semifinal night of the Contest finishing at 15th place...
  
  , born in 1988, Croatian singer
• Patrick Amrhein
  Patrick Amrhein
  Patrick Rigobert Amrhein is a German footballer who plays for SpVgg Unterhaching.-References:...
  
  , born in 1989, German footballer

Famous residents

• Willigis
  Willigis
  Saint Willigis was Archbishop of Mainz from 975 until his death as well as a statesman of the Holy Roman Empire.-Life:...
  
  , 940-1011, Archbishop of Mainz
• Diether von Isenburg
  Diether von Isenburg
  thumb|Diethers coat of arms stained glass in Mainz Cathedral...thumb|... and as relief at the city walls of [[Höchst |Höchst]]Theodoric of Isenburg-Büdingen thumb|Diethers coat of arms stained glass in Mainz Cathedral...thumb|... and as relief at the city walls of [[Höchst (Frankfurt am...
  
  , 1412-1482, Elector and Archbishop of Mainz
• Dietrich Schenk von Erbach
  Dietrich Schenk von Erbach
  Dietrich Schenk von Erbach was the Archbishop of Mainz from 1434 until 1459.Theodoric was a son of Arch-Cupbearer Eberhard VI of Erbach. He was a cathedral member of Mainz when on 6 July 1434 he was elected its archbishop. Theodoric was confirmed by Pope Eugene IV on 20 October...
  
  , ????-1459, Archbishop of Mainz
• Mathis Gothart-Nithart, c. 1475-1528, German Renaissance painter of religious works
• Wolfgang von Dalberg
  Wolfgang von Dalberg
  Wolfgang von Dalberg was the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz from 1582 to 1601.-Biography:Wolfgang von Dalberg was born in 1538, the son of Friedrich Kämmerer von Worms alias von Dalberg , and his wife Anna von Fleckenstein Wolfgang von Dalberg (1538–1601) was the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz from 1582...
  
  , 1538-1601, Archbishop of Mainz
• Johann Adam von Bicken
  Johann Adam von Bicken
  Johann Adam von Bicken was the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz from 1601 to 1604.-Biography:Johann Adam von Bicken was born in Hainchen Castle on May 27, 1564, the son of Philipp von Bicken and his wife Anna Brendelin von Homburg . As a boy, he studied the seven liberal arts in Würzburg and Mainz...
  
  , 1564-1604, Archbishop of Mainz
• Johann Schweikard von Kronberg
  Johann Schweikhard von Kronberg
  Johann Schweikhard von Kronberg was the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz from 1604 to 1626.-Early Life, 1553-1604:Born on July 15, 1553, Johann Schweikhard von Kronberg was the third son of Hartmut XIII von Kronburg and his wife Barbara von Sickingen...
  
   (* 15. July 1553, † 17. September 1626), Archbishop of Mainz, commissioned the Schloss Johannisburg
  Schloss Johannisburg
  Schloss Johannisburg is a castle in Aschaffenburg that was erected between 1605 and 1614 by Georg Ridinger. Until 1803, it was the second residence of the prince bishop of Mainz. It is constructed of red sandstone, the typical building material of the area around Aschaffenburg.The castle is one of...
  
  
• Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal
  Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal
  Friedrich Karl Joseph Reichsfreiherr von Erthal was prince-elector and archbishop of Mainz from 18 July 1774 to 4 July 1802, shortly before the end of the archbishopric in the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss....
  
  , 1719-1802, prince-elector and archbishop of Mainz
• Carl Theodor Anton Maria Reichsfreiherr von Dalberg, 1744-1817, Archbishop-Elector of Mainz, Arch-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire, Prince of Regensburg
• Johann Jakob Wilhelm Heinse
  Johann Jakob Wilhelm Heinse
  Wilhelm Heinse , German author, was born at Langewiesen in Schwarzburg-Sondershausen ....
  
  , 1746-1803, German author
• Clemens Brentano
  Clemens Brentano
  Clemens Brentano, or Klemens Brentano was a German poet and novelist.-Overview:He was born in Ehrenbreitstein, near Koblenz, Germany. His sister was Bettina von Arnim, Goethe's correspondent. His father's family was of Italian descent. He studied in Halle and Jena, afterwards residing at...
  
  , 1778-1842, German poet and novelist
• Franz Bopp
  Franz Bopp
  Franz Bopp was a German linguist known for extensive comparative work on Indo-European languages.-Biography:...
  
  , 1791-1867, German linguist
• Emil Erlenmeyer, 1825-1909 in Aschaffenburg, German chemist
• Alois Alzheimer
  Alois Alzheimer
  Aloysius "Alois" Alzheimer, was a German psychiatrist and neuropathologist and a colleague of Emil Kraepelin. Alzheimer is credited with identifying the first published case of "presenile dementia", which Kraepelin would later identify as Alzheimer's disease....
  
  , 1864-1915, German psychiatrist and neuropathologist
• Ludwig Thoma
  Ludwig Thoma
  Ludwig Thoma was a German author, publisher and editor, who gained popularity through his partially exaggerated description of a Bavarian workday....
  
  , 1867-1921, German author, publisher and editor, studied Forestry in Aschaffenburg
• Christian Schad
  Christian Schad
  Christian Schad was a German painter associated with Dada and the New Objectivity movement. Considered as a group, Schad's portraits form an extraordinary record of life in Vienna and Berlin in the years following World War I.- Life :Schad was born in Miesbach, Upper Bavaria, to a prosperous...
  
  , 1894-1982, German painter
• Alfons Goppel
  Alfons Goppel
  Alfons Goppel was a German politician of the CSU party and Prime Minister of Bavaria .-Life:...
  
  , 1905-1991,German politician of the CSU party and Prime Minister of Bavaria
• Ernst Lehner
  Ernst Lehner
  Ernst Lehner was a German footballer. He was born in Augsburg and died in Aschaffenburg.-World Cups:He played for the Germany national football team in the 1934 FIFA World Cup and the 1938 FIFA World Cup. In total, he made 65 appearances and scored 31 goals for the national team...
  
  , 1912-1986, German Footballer
• Guido Knopp
  Guido Knopp
  Guido Knopp is a German journalist and author. He is well known in Germany, mainly because he has produced a great number of TV documentaries, predominantly about the "Third Reich" and National Socialism, but also about other topics, such as Stalinism.- Life and work :After gaining his doctorate...
  
  , born in 1948, German journalist and author
• Otto Becker, born in 1958, German show jumping champion

Town twinning

Aschaffenburg is twinned with: Perth

Perth, Scotland

Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 (1956) St. Germain-en-Laye

Saint-Germain-en-Laye

Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the centre.Inhabitants are called Saint-Germanois...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 (1975) Miskolc

Miskolc

Miskolc is a city in northeastern Hungary, mainly with heavy industrial background. With a population close to 170,000 Miskolc is the fourth largest city of Hungary It is also the county capital of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and the regional centre of Northern Hungary.- Geography :Miskolc is located...

, Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

(1996)

In 2006, Aschaffenburg and Perth celebrated the 50th anniversary of their partnership.

External links

• Official Website (German, English, French, Hebrew, Italian, Russian)
• Webcam Aschaffenburg Beautiful live view on Schloss Johannisburg, Stiftskirche basilica, the river Main, Schlossplatz and Stadthalle.
• Former US Army Installations in Aschaffenburg
• University of Applied Sciences Aschaffenburg

• The Battle of Aschaffenburg by Quentin W. Schillare, MAJ, USA