Bad Reichenhall
Encyclopedia
Bad Reichenhall is a spa town
, and administrative center of the Berchtesgadener Land
district in Upper Bavaria
, Germany
. It is located near Salzburg
in a basin encircled by the Chiemgauer Alps (including Mount Staufen (1,771 m) and Mount Zwiesel (1,781 m)).
Bad Reichenhall is a traditional center of salt
production, obtained by evaporating water saturated with salt from brine
ponds.
Spa town
A spa town is a town situated around a mineral spa . Patrons resorted to spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. The word comes from the Belgian town Spa. In continental Europe a spa was known as a ville d'eau...
, and administrative center of the Berchtesgadener Land
Berchtesgadener Land
Berchtesgadener Land is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the district of Traunstein and by the state of Austria.- History :The alpine regions of the south were Bavarian territory from the early Middle Ages. The 11th and 12th centuries saw the founding of numerous mountain villages...
district in Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany.- Geography :Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered around the city of Munich. It is subdivided into four regions : Ingolstadt, Munich, Bayerisches Oberland , and Südostoberbayern...
, 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...
. It is located near Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
in a basin encircled by the Chiemgauer Alps (including Mount Staufen (1,771 m) and Mount Zwiesel (1,781 m)).
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
production, obtained by evaporating water saturated with salt from brine
Brine
Brine is water, saturated or nearly saturated with salt .Brine is used to preserve vegetables, fruit, fish, and meat, in a process known as brining . Brine is also commonly used to age Halloumi and Feta cheeses, or for pickling foodstuffs, as a means of preserving them...
ponds.
History
- The earliest known inhabitants of this area are the tribes of the Glockenbecher-Culture (a Bronze AgeBronze AgeThe Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
Culture, from about 2000 B.C.) - In the age of the La Tene cultureLa Tène cultureThe La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a rich cache of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857....
(about 450 B.C.) organized salt production commenced utilizing the local brine pools. In the same period a celtic place of worship is placed at the "Langacker" - From 15 B.C to 480 A.D, the city is part of a romanRoman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
province, NoricumNoricumNoricum, in ancient geography, was a Celtic kingdom stretching over the area of today's Austria and a part of Slovenia. It became a province of the Roman Empire... - 1136 A.D bought the founding of a monastery St. Zeno
- In 1617-1619 a wooden pipeline for brineBrineBrine is water, saturated or nearly saturated with salt .Brine is used to preserve vegetables, fruit, fish, and meat, in a process known as brining . Brine is also commonly used to age Halloumi and Feta cheeses, or for pickling foodstuffs, as a means of preserving them...
exportation to TraunsteinTraunsteinTraunstein is a town in the south-eastern part of Bavaria, Germany, and is the administrative center of a district by the same name. It is situated at the heart of a region called Chiemgau, approximately 11 km east of Lake Chiemsee between Munich and Salzburg, 15 km north of the Alps, and...
was built, with a length of 31 km, and more than 200 m in altitude difference - In 1834, two thirds of the city's buildings were destroyed by a major fire
- The early 19th century saw the beginning of tourism, with Reichenhall becoming a famous health resort
- From 1890, Reichenhall is now called "Bad Reichenhall"
- On April, 25th of 1945, the area was bombed by allied forces, 200 people were killed. The town centre with many hospitals and the train station was nearly totally destroyed, the barracks didn't suffer any damage. After World War II the area was under American military governance (1945–1948)
- On November 1, 1999 16-year-old Martin PeyerlMartin PeyerlMartin Peyerl was a German student. On November 1, 1999 , firing from his bedroom window, he killed four people and wounded seven others before committing suicide.-Biography:...
shot at people in the streets from his bedroom window, killing three and wounding several others, among them actor Günter Lamprecht. He finally committed suicide after fatally shooting his sister and the family cat.
Ice rink disaster
Fifteen people, twelve of them children, died in the collapse of the Bad Reichenhall Ice Rink on 2 January 2006. Thirty-four people were injured in the accident http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060105/ap_on_re_eu/germany_roof_collapse.Famous people from Bad Reichenhall
- Anni FriesingerAnni FriesingerAnna Christine Friesinger-Postma is a German speed skater. Her father Georg Friesinger, of Germany, and mother Janina Korowicka, of Poland, were both skaters; Jana was on the Polish team at the 1976 Winter Olympics. Anni's brother Jan is a speed skater, too...
, speed skater (born in Bad Reichenhall, lived in Inzell ~10 km away and now lives in Salzburg) - Lore FrischLore Frisch-Selected filmography:* Der weißblaue Löwe * Junges Herz voll Liebe * 52 Weeks Make A Year * The Czar and the Carpenter * The Dress...
, well known German actress in the 1940s and 1950s. Moved from Traunstein to Bad Reichenhall in the mid 1930s and got her start in acting in Bad Reichenhall beforfe becoming famous in Munich and Berlin. - Barbara GruberBarbara GruberBarbara Gruber is a German ski mountaineer and mountain biker.Gruber was born in Bad Reichenhall. Like her parents and siblings, she passed the framer training. She started with sports after the birth of her son Johannes, at first with mountain biking...
, ski mountaineer - Regina Häusl, alpine skier (born in Bad Reichenhall, started for the Ski-Klub Bad Reichenhall, lives in Schneizlreuth since her birth)
- Andreas HinterstoisserAndreas HinterstoisserAndreas Hinterstoißer, transliterated Hinterstoisser, was a German mountain climber of the early 20th century.-Climbing the Eiger:...
, Mountaineer - Andreas Hofer (composer)Andreas Hofer (composer)Andreas Hofer was a German composer of the Baroque age.Hofer was born at Reichenhall. He was a contemporary of Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, whose predecessor he was in Salzburg in his office of Inspector and "Hofkapellmeister", i.e. director of the court orchestra. Like Biber, Hofer was...
, composer - Stefan Holzner, triathlete
- Michael NeumayerMichael NeumayerMichael Neumayer is a German ski jumper who has competed since 2001. He won a silver medal in the team normal hill at the 2005 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf and finished 32nd in the individual normal hill at those same championships.Neumayer also won a bronze in the team event...
, ski jumper - Georg NickaesGeorg NickaesGeorg "Schorsch" Nickaes is a German ski mountaineer and speaker of the German ski mountaineering team.Nickaes was born in Bad Reichenhall. He enjoys also mountain running and ice climbing, and finished the army mountain guide training in 1994. He started in international ski mountaineering races...
, ski mountaineer - Gunther RallGünther RallLieutenant-General Günther Rall was the third most successful fighter ace in history. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. He achieved a total of 275 victories during World War II: 272 on the Eastern Front,...
, World War II Luftwaffe Ace - Hans SöllnerHans SöllnerJohann Michael Söllner , better known as Hans Söllner, is a German singer-songwriter. Throughout German-speaking countries, especially in Germany and Austria, he is famous for publicly criticizing the German government and political systems in general to a vast extent...
, singer-songwriter - Peter SchreyerPeter SchreyerPeter Schreyer is an automobile designer, widely known for his design contributions to the Audi TT and as the Chief Design Officer at Kia Motors ....
, car designer