Viernheim
Encyclopedia
Viernheim is a midsize industrial town on Mannheim
’s outskirts and is found in the Rhine Neckar
agglomeration and economic area. It is the second biggest town in Bergstraße district
in Hesse
, Germany
. Since 1994 it has also borne the title Brundtlandstadt
, as it has been taking part in an energy conservation pilot project.
. The town lies roughly 10 km northeast of Mannheim
, 10 km east of the Rhine and 10 km west of the Bergstrasse.
(in Hesse
), in the northeast on the towns of Hemsbach
and Weinheim
, in the south on the community of Heddesheim
(all three in the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis
), and in the west on the district-free city of Mannheim
(all in Baden-Württemberg
).
), the two outlying centres which are each made up of only one road, Neuzenlache and Ziegelhütte (south of the A 659
and the outlying farms northeast of town.
king’s court. Viernheim had its first documentary mention in 777 in the Lorsch codex
, the Lorsch Abbey
’s book of documents. Through donations, it ended up in the Abbey’s ownership. In 1232, the Abbey’s holdings were given to the Archbishops of Mainz
, but only in 1308 did Viernheim pass to Mainz. In 1439, however, the town was pledged to the Schönau Abbey, who in turn sold it to Electoral Palatinate. After the Thirty Years' War
, it passed back to Mainz, and thence under the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss in 1803 to the Grand Duchy of Hesse
, out of which came the People's State of Hesse in 1918. Once in the People's State, the town was assigned first to the Amtsvogtei of Lorsch
. When Landratsbezirke – another kind of administrative division – were created in 1821, Viernheim was assigned to Heppenheim
. From 1832 to 1839 came a spell under Bensheim
’s jurisdiction. From 1848, the town then belonged to Heppenheim district, which in 1938 was merged with Bensheim district to form today’s Bergstraße district
. In 1948, Viernheim was granted town rights by the newly founded Land
of Hesse.
During the 19th century the tobacco industry
gained some importance, since several small tobacco
manufacturers were founded. Rolling cigar
s provided additional income for farmer
s or peasant
s and their families during the winter.
Until the end of the 19th century, Viernheim was a farming village. Bad harvests and widespread hunger in 1852 led to 458 inhabitants emigrating in this year to North America
. With industrialization and the opening of the Oberrheinische Eisenbahn (a regional narrow-gauge
railway still serving a roughly triangular route among Weinheim
, Mannheim
and Heidelberg
) in 1887, the town began to become more of a workers’ residential community as many inhabitants found work in the factories in nearby Mannheim and Weinheim. Many workers, however, kept farming as a sideline. The location of industry in Viernheim itself began with the opening of the Weinheim-Worms railway (now mostly derelict) in 1905, and further strengthened after the Second World War, bringing along with it a sharp rise in population. Given the town’s favourable road links to three Autobahnen, it grew into a midsize industrial town. In 1994 came its designation as a “Brundtland Town”, and its attendant participation in an energy conservation pilot project.
During the Second World War, Viernheim did not suffer severe damage, since the town had no strategic or industrial importance. So the Viernheim railway station served for a while as Mannheim station, after the Mannheim Central Station was destroyed in an air-raid
in 1942.
class="wikitable">
Year
Inhabitants
1850
3,743
1860
3,350
1870
4,139
1880
5,254
1890
5,798
1900
6,816
1910
9,240
1920
10,250
class="wikitable">
Year
Inhabitants
1930
11,750
1940
12,778
1950
16,558
1960
20,068
1970
27,753
1980
29,590
1990
30,527
1995
31,616
class="wikitable">
Year
Inhabitants
1999
32,056
2000
32,427
2001
32,477
2002
32,488
2003
32,700
2004
32,737
2005
32,833
2006
32,593
For a long time, Viernheim belonged to the Archbishopric of Mainz
. Owing to changing lords in the 15th and 16th centuries, the towsfolk had to convert
seven times because of the Peace of Augsburg
. When the town passed back to Electoral Mainz, however, Roman Catholicism kept its place as the local denomination. In the early 20th century, the Evangelical
townsfolk who had by now been drawn to the town got their own church in Viernheim.
Besides the two big churches, the Bund Freier evangelischer Gemeinden in Deutschland (“League of Free Evangelical Parishes in Germany”) has a parish, as do the Evangeliumschristen-Baptisten (“Gospel Christian Baptists”), the New Apostolic Church
and the Jehovah's Witnesses
. There has been no Jewish
community in town since National Socialist times. The synagogue
on Hügelstraße, consecrated on 31 August 1827, was destroyed by the SA
along with some locals on 10 November 1938 during the Kristallnacht
pogrom
.
At his side is the First Town Councillor (Erster Stadtrat), along with 11 parttime councillors. They are all chosen by the town assembly (Stadtverordnetenversammlung) for terms of six and five years respectively and reflect the assembly’s political makeup at the time of their appointments.
The Mayor, the First Town Councillor and the 11 parttime councillors together form the town’s executive (Magistrat).
Following is a list of the town’s mayors since 1822 (from 1649 to 1822, eight Schultheißen – roughly “sheriffs” – are known to history):
might be described thus: Party per fess, above azure the Lion of Hesse armed and crowned Or and langued gules, below party per pale gules a six-spoked wheel argent and Or a Gothic four sable.
The arms were introduced in 1926. The charge
in the upper part of the escutcheon is the Lion of Hesse, which expresses the town’s longstanding status as part of Hesse. Below the fess line on the dexter (armsbearer’s right, viewer’s left) side is the Wheel of Mainz, which stands for the town’s former allegiance to Electoral Mainz. On the sinister (armsbearer’s left, viewer’s right) side is a Gothic figure of four, which formerly was used as the local logo, making the arms canting
, that is to say, suggestive of the town’s name, since the German
word for “four” is vier. Although it sounds rather like the first syllable in the town’s name, it seems likelier that this comes from the Old High German
firni (“old”, “from long ago”) or the Celtic vernos (“alder
”).
The Viernheim town flag is blue-white-red.
, France
, since 1966 Potters Bar
, United Kingdom
, since 1972 Rovigo
, Italy
, since 1991 Haldensleben
, Germany
, since 1992 Satonévri, Burkina Faso
, since 1994
Viernheim undertook a sponsorship arrangement in 1968 for ethnic Germans from this place who were driven out
of their old homeland after the Second World War:
Altrohlau/Stará Role (outlying centre of Karlovy Vary
), Czech Republic
, which leads directly to Mannheim
and Weinheim
, and also affords a direct link to three further Autobahnen, the A 5
, the A 6
and the A 67. Because of the two Autobahn junctions, the Viernheimer Kreuz and the Viernheimer Dreieck, Viernheim is also well known to many drivers.
railway and a busline. The electric narrow-gauge railway (Oberrheinische Eisenbahn, OEG), nowadays designated line 5R, is usually regarded as an interurban
. Since 1887 it has run to Mannheim
, Weinheim
and Heidelberg
, and is run by the Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr GmbH (RNV). A regional busline of Busverkehr Rhein-Neckar runs to Weinheim as well as Lampertheim
and Worms
. There are also two town buslines run by the RNV daughter company V-Bus. All public transport is integrated into the Rhine-Neckar Transport Association.
, until it, too, ceased. It was, however, revived in July 2004 by the MVV GmbH daughter company ConTrain. The old railway station today houses a municipal leisure and meeting place bearing the name Treff im Bahnhof (“Meeting in the Railway Station”).
There, many well known firms, such as Pfenning Logistics, have their warehouses. Buderus has its distribution centre there, and RF Systems Nachrichtentecknik, Plisch Nachrichtentechnik and Hommel Hercules Werkzeuge their head offices. The most popular, however, the nationally known Rhein-Neckar-Zentrum shopping centre opened in 1972.
s:
The following free advertising fliers are distributed weekly:
The following regional media see Viernheim as part of their feeder and distribution area:
Further schools with specific profiles are to be found in the neighbouring cities.
The nearest colleges and universities are found in nearby Mannheim
and Heidelberg
.
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
’s outskirts and is found in the Rhine Neckar
Rhine Neckar Area
The Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region , often referred to as Rhein-Neckar-Triangle is a polycentric metropolitan region located in south western Germany, between the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region to the North and the Stuttgart Region to the South-East.Rhine-Neckar has a population of some 2.4 million...
agglomeration and economic area. It is the second biggest town in Bergstraße district
Kreis Bergstraße
Bergstraße is a Kreis in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Groß-Gerau, Darmstadt-Dieburg, Odenwaldkreis, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, the urban district Mannheim, the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, and the urban district of Worms...
in Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
, 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...
. Since 1994 it has also borne the title Brundtlandstadt
Brundtland Commission
The Brundtland Commission, formally the World Commission on Environment and Development , known by the name of its Chair Gro Harlem Brundtland, was convened by the United Nations in 1983...
, as it has been taking part in an energy conservation pilot project.
Location
Viernheim lies in the Rhine rift, and although it also lies in Hesse, it is bounded on the west, south and east by Baden-Württemberg. North of the Viernheim woods, in Lampertheim, begins the Hessisches Ried. East of Viernheim lies the town of Weinheim, which is where the district’s namesake Bergstraße begins, and which also marks the beginning of the OdenwaldOdenwald
The Odenwald is a low mountain range in Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany.- Location :The Odenwald lies between the Upper Rhine Rift Valley with the Bergstraße and the Hessisches Ried in the west, the Main and the Bauland in the east, the Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin – a subbasin of...
. The town lies roughly 10 km northeast of Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
, 10 km east of the Rhine and 10 km west of the Bergstrasse.
Neighbouring communities
Viernheim borders in the north on the town of LampertheimLampertheim
Lampertheim is a town in the Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany.-Location:Lampertheim lies in the southwest corner of Hesse in the Rhine rift at the Biedensand Conservation Area and borders on Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate...
(in Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
), in the northeast on the towns of Hemsbach
Hemsbach
Hemsbach is a town in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the Bergstraße, 18 km northeast of Mannheim.Hemsbach has restored one of the synagogues that flourished in the town before Kristallnacht....
and Weinheim
Weinheim
Weinheim is a town in the north west of the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany with 43 000 inhabitants, approximately 15 km north of Heidelberg and 10 km northeast of Mannheim. Together with these cities, it makes up the Rhine-Neckar triangle...
, in the south on the community of Heddesheim
Heddesheim
Heddesheim is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 9 km east of Mannheim, and 7 km southwest of Weinheim....
(all three in the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis
Rhein-Neckar-Kreis
Rhein-Neckar-Kreis is a district in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Bergstraße, Odenwaldkreis, Neckar-Odenwald, Heilbronn, Karlsruhe, district-free Speyer, the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, and district-free Mannheim and Heidelberg.-History:The district was created in...
), and in the west on the district-free city of Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
(all in Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
).
Constituent communities
Viernheim is divided into several sections. It has been the local, everyday speech and town expansions, though, that have yielded most of the divisions. They therefore have no precisely defined bounds. The Stadtkern, or town core, is made up of the Innenstadt (“Inner Town”) and the Altstadt (“Old Town) lying around it. Among the other neighbourhoods are the Nordstadt (“North Town”, north of Nibelungenstraße and Wormser Straße), the Nordweststadt (“Northwest Town”, west of Kreuzstraße and Am Königsacker), the Tivoli (in the south at the Rhein-Neckar-Zentrum), Hinter den Zäunen (“Behind the Fences”, south of the OEG tracks), Gewerbegebiet Eins (“Commercial Area One”, in the northeast, north of Friedrich-Ebert-Straße and east of Lorscher Straße) and the new development that has sprung up over the last few years, Bannholzgraben, east of Janusz-Korczak-Allee (L 3111). Moreover, there are also the Sportgebiet West (“Sport Area West”, west of the A 6Bundesautobahn 6
, also known as Via Carolina is a 477 km long German autobahn. It starts at the French border near Saarbrücken in the west and end at the Czech border near Waidhaus in the east....
), the two outlying centres which are each made up of only one road, Neuzenlache and Ziegelhütte (south of the A 659
Bundesautobahn 659
is an autobahn in Germany.The A 659 connects the A 5 Bergstraßenautobahn to Mannheim. Upon the autobahn's completion in the 1960s, the stretch of B 38 along the autobahn's path was replaced, although the B 38 still continues from both of the A 659's termini.-Exit list:Road...
and the outlying farms northeast of town.
History
Viernheim grew out of a CarolingianCarolingian
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
king’s court. Viernheim had its first documentary mention in 777 in the Lorsch codex
Lorsch codex
The Lorsch Codex is an important historical document created between about 1175 to 1195 AD in the Monastery of Saint Nazarius in Lorsch, Germany. It consists of 460 pages in large format containing more than 3800 entries...
, the Lorsch Abbey
Lorsch Abbey
The Abbey of Lorsch is a former Imperial Abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about 10 km east of Worms, one of the most renowned monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ruined state, its remains are among the most important pre-Romanesque–Carolingian style buildings in Germany...
’s book of documents. Through donations, it ended up in the Abbey’s ownership. In 1232, the Abbey’s holdings were given to the Archbishops 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...
, but only in 1308 did Viernheim pass to Mainz. In 1439, however, the town was pledged to the Schönau Abbey, who in turn sold it to Electoral Palatinate. After 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....
, it passed back to Mainz, and thence under the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss in 1803 to the Grand Duchy of Hesse
Grand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine , or, between 1806 and 1816, Grand Duchy of Hesse —as it was also known after 1816—was a member state of the German Confederation from 1806, when the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was elevated to a Grand Duchy, until 1918, when all the German...
, out of which came the People's State of Hesse in 1918. Once in the People's State, the town was assigned first to the Amtsvogtei of Lorsch
Lorsch
Lorsch is a town in the Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany, 60 km south of Frankfurt. Lorsch is well known for the Lorsch Abbey, which has been named a World Heritage Site.-Location:...
. When Landratsbezirke – another kind of administrative division – were created in 1821, Viernheim was assigned to Heppenheim
Heppenheim
Heppenheim is the seat of Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany, lying on the Bergstraße on the edge of the Odenwald.- Location :...
. From 1832 to 1839 came a spell under Bensheim
Bensheim
Bensheim is a town in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany. Bensheim lies on the Bergstraße and at the edge of the Odenwald mountains while at the same time having an open view over the Rhine plain...
’s jurisdiction. From 1848, the town then belonged to Heppenheim district, which in 1938 was merged with Bensheim district to form today’s Bergstraße district
Kreis Bergstraße
Bergstraße is a Kreis in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Groß-Gerau, Darmstadt-Dieburg, Odenwaldkreis, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, the urban district Mannheim, the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, and the urban district of Worms...
. In 1948, Viernheim was granted town rights by the newly founded Land
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of Hesse.
During the 19th century the tobacco industry
Tobacco industry
The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any warm, moist environment, which means it can be farmed on all...
gained some importance, since several small tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
manufacturers were founded. Rolling cigar
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
s provided additional income for farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
s or peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
s and their families during the winter.
Until the end of the 19th century, Viernheim was a farming village. Bad harvests and widespread hunger in 1852 led to 458 inhabitants emigrating in this year to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. With industrialization and the opening of the Oberrheinische Eisenbahn (a regional narrow-gauge
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
railway still serving a roughly triangular route among Weinheim
Weinheim
Weinheim is a town in the north west of the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany with 43 000 inhabitants, approximately 15 km north of Heidelberg and 10 km northeast of Mannheim. Together with these cities, it makes up the Rhine-Neckar triangle...
, Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
and Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
) in 1887, the town began to become more of a workers’ residential community as many inhabitants found work in the factories in nearby Mannheim and Weinheim. Many workers, however, kept farming as a sideline. The location of industry in Viernheim itself began with the opening of the Weinheim-Worms railway (now mostly derelict) in 1905, and further strengthened after the Second World War, bringing along with it a sharp rise in population. Given the town’s favourable road links to three Autobahnen, it grew into a midsize industrial town. In 1994 came its designation as a “Brundtland Town”, and its attendant participation in an energy conservation pilot project.
During the Second World War, Viernheim did not suffer severe damage, since the town had no strategic or industrial importance. So the Viernheim railway station served for a while as Mannheim station, after the Mannheim Central Station was destroyed in an air-raid
Airstrike
An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...
in 1942.
Population development
| class="wikitable"> | |
| Year | Inhabitants |
|---|---|
| 1609 | 800 |
| 1655 | < 200 |
| 1666 | 206 |
| 1703 | 500 |
| 1806 | 1,900 |
| 1818 | 1,818 |
| 1832 | 2,800 |
| 1845 | 3,135 |
Religion
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...
. Owing to changing lords in the 15th and 16th centuries, the towsfolk had to convert
Religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...
seven times because of the Peace of Augsburg
Peace of Augsburg
The Peace of Augsburg, also called the Augsburg Settlement, was a treaty between Charles V and the forces of the Schmalkaldic League, an alliance of Lutheran princes, on September 25, 1555, at the imperial city of Augsburg, now in present-day Bavaria, Germany.It officially ended the religious...
. When the town passed back to Electoral Mainz, however, Roman Catholicism kept its place as the local denomination. In the early 20th century, the Evangelical
Evangelical Church in Germany
The Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany. The EKD is not a church in a theological understanding because of the denominational differences. However, the member churches share full pulpit and altar...
townsfolk who had by now been drawn to the town got their own church in Viernheim.
Churches
Today in Viernheim, there are four Catholic parishes, St. Marien, St. Michael, St. Hildegard and St. Aposteln, which belong to the deanery of Bergstraße-West of the Bishopric of Mainz, and two Evangelical parishes, Auferstehungskirche (“Church of the Resurrection”) and Christuskirche, which both belong to the deanery of Bergstraße-Süd of the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau.Besides the two big churches, the Bund Freier evangelischer Gemeinden in Deutschland (“League of Free Evangelical Parishes in Germany”) has a parish, as do the Evangeliumschristen-Baptisten (“Gospel Christian Baptists”), the New Apostolic Church
New Apostolic Church
The New Apostolic Church is a chiliastic church, converted to Protestantism as a free church from the Catholic Apostolic Church. The church has existed since 1879 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands...
and the Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
. There has been no Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
community in town since National Socialist times. The synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
on Hügelstraße, consecrated on 31 August 1827, was destroyed by the SA
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
along with some locals on 10 November 1938 during the Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
.
Town council
The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:| Parties and voter communities | % 2006 |
Seats 2006 |
% 2001 |
Seats 2001 |
|
| CDU | Christian Democratic Union of Germany | 48.5 | 22 | 50.0 | 23 |
| SPD | Social Democratic Party of Germany Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
43.9 | 20 | 42.5 | 19 |
| GREENS | Bündnis 90/Die Grünen | 5.4 | 2 | 5.6 | 2 |
| Die Linke | Die Linke Viernheim The Left (Germany) The Left , also commonly referred to as the Left Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The Left is the most left-wing party of the five represented in the Bundestag.... |
2.1 | 1 | 1.9 | 1 |
| Total | 100.0 | 45 | 100.0 | 45 | |
| Voter turnout in % | 40.3 | 44.9 | |||
Mayors
Heading the town is the Mayor (Bürgermeister) who is directly elected by the people for a term of six years. In office since 1997 has been Mayor Matthias Baaß (SPD). The next mayoral election is planned for 2009.At his side is the First Town Councillor (Erster Stadtrat), along with 11 parttime councillors. They are all chosen by the town assembly (Stadtverordnetenversammlung) for terms of six and five years respectively and reflect the assembly’s political makeup at the time of their appointments.
The Mayor, the First Town Councillor and the 11 parttime councillors together form the town’s executive (Magistrat).
Following is a list of the town’s mayors since 1822 (from 1649 to 1822, eight Schultheißen – roughly “sheriffs” – are known to history):
- 1822–1824: Joh. Jakob Georgi
- 1825–1842: Johann Beikert
- 1842–1847: Georg Kühner
- 1848–1853: Peter Minnig
- 1853–1862: Johann Kempf
- 1862–1873: Michael Keller
- 1873–1875: Johann Winkler 5.
- 1875–1895: Johann Bläß 1.
- 1895–1904: Georg Pfützer 2.
- 1904–1913: Gg. Friedrich Kühlwein
- 1913–1933: Jean Lamberth (Centre PartyCentre Party (Germany)The German Centre Party was a Catholic political party in Germany during the Kaiserreich and the Weimar Republic. Formed in 1870, it battled the Kulturkampf which the Prussian government launched to reduce the power of the Catholic Church...
) - 1933–1945: Hanns Bechtel (NSDAP)
- 1945: Martin Alter
- 1945–1946: Nikolaus Schlosser
- 1946–1960: Lorenz Neff (SPD)
- 1960–1975: Hans Mandel (SPD)
- 1975–1981: Erwin Bugert (SPD)
- 1981–1987: Josef Baumgärtner (CDU)
- 1987–1997: Norbert Hofmann (SPD)
- since 1997: Matthias Baaß (SPD)
Coat of arms
The town’s armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
might be described thus: Party per fess, above azure the Lion of Hesse armed and crowned Or and langued gules, below party per pale gules a six-spoked wheel argent and Or a Gothic four sable.
The arms were introduced in 1926. The charge
Charge (heraldry)
In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device...
in the upper part of the escutcheon is the Lion of Hesse, which expresses the town’s longstanding status as part of Hesse. Below the fess line on the dexter (armsbearer’s right, viewer’s left) side is the Wheel of Mainz, which stands for the town’s former allegiance to Electoral Mainz. On the sinister (armsbearer’s left, viewer’s right) side is a Gothic figure of four, which formerly was used as the local logo, making the arms canting
Canting arms
Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name in a visual pun or rebus. The term cant came into the English language from Anglo-Norman cant, meaning song or singing, from Latin cantāre, and English cognates include canticle, chant, accent, incantation and recant.Canting arms –...
, that is to say, suggestive of the town’s name, since the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
word for “four” is vier. Although it sounds rather like the first syllable in the town’s name, it seems likelier that this comes from the Old High German
Old High German
The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of...
firni (“old”, “from long ago”) or the Celtic vernos (“alder
Alder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
”).
The Viernheim town flag is blue-white-red.
Town partnerships
Viernheim maintains partnership arrangements with the following places: FranconvilleFranconville
Franconville is the name of two communes of France:*Franconville in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département*Franconville in the Val-d'Oise département...
, 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...
, since 1966 Potters Bar
Potters Bar
Potters Bar is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England, located north of Central London. In 2001 it had a population of 21,618....
, 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...
, since 1972 Rovigo
Rovigo
Rovigo is a town and comune in the Veneto region of North-Eastern Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. -Geography:...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, since 1991 Haldensleben
Haldensleben
Haldensleben is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the Ohre river, approx. 30 km northwest from Magdeburg. It is connected by railway to Magdeburg, Oebisfelde and Eilsleben. It is the capital of the district Börde. It has a Protestant and a Catholic church. An old equestrian...
, 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...
, since 1992 Satonévri, Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
, since 1994
Viernheim undertook a sponsorship arrangement in 1968 for ethnic Germans from this place who were driven out
Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia
The expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia after World War II was part of a series of evacuations and expulsions of Germans from Central and Eastern Europe during and after World War II....
of their old homeland after the Second World War:
Altrohlau/Stará Role (outlying centre of Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary is a spa city situated in western Bohemia, Czech Republic, on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá, approximately west of Prague . It is named after King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who founded the city in 1370...
), Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
Transport
Road transport
Viernheim lies on the A 659Bundesautobahn 659
is an autobahn in Germany.The A 659 connects the A 5 Bergstraßenautobahn to Mannheim. Upon the autobahn's completion in the 1960s, the stretch of B 38 along the autobahn's path was replaced, although the B 38 still continues from both of the A 659's termini.-Exit list:Road...
, which leads directly to Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
and Weinheim
Weinheim
Weinheim is a town in the north west of the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany with 43 000 inhabitants, approximately 15 km north of Heidelberg and 10 km northeast of Mannheim. Together with these cities, it makes up the Rhine-Neckar triangle...
, and also affords a direct link to three further Autobahnen, the A 5
Bundesautobahn 5
is a 445 km long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the Hattenbach triangle intersection is a 445 km (277 mi) long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the Hattenbach triangle intersection is a 445 km (277 mi) long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the...
, the A 6
Bundesautobahn 6
, also known as Via Carolina is a 477 km long German autobahn. It starts at the French border near Saarbrücken in the west and end at the Czech border near Waidhaus in the east....
and the A 67. Because of the two Autobahn junctions, the Viernheimer Kreuz and the Viernheimer Dreieck, Viernheim is also well known to many drivers.
Local public transport
Viernheim is linked to the surrounding cities by a narrow-gaugeNarrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
railway and a busline. The electric narrow-gauge railway (Oberrheinische Eisenbahn, OEG), nowadays designated line 5R, is usually regarded as an interurban
Interurban
An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...
. Since 1887 it has run to Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
, Weinheim
Weinheim
Weinheim is a town in the north west of the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany with 43 000 inhabitants, approximately 15 km north of Heidelberg and 10 km northeast of Mannheim. Together with these cities, it makes up the Rhine-Neckar triangle...
and Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, and is run by the Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr GmbH (RNV). A regional busline of Busverkehr Rhein-Neckar runs to Weinheim as well as Lampertheim
Lampertheim
Lampertheim is a town in the Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany.-Location:Lampertheim lies in the southwest corner of Hesse in the Rhine rift at the Biedensand Conservation Area and borders on Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate...
and Worms
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
. There are also two town buslines run by the RNV daughter company V-Bus. All public transport is integrated into the Rhine-Neckar Transport Association.
Rail transport
Viernheim is the endpoint of the Weinheim–Viernheim railway line built in 1905, which originally ran on by way of Lampertheim to Worms to afford a link with the Weschnitztalbahn there. Owing to low demand, however, passenger service was discontinued in 1960 on the whole line and replaced with a bus service, while the tracks between Viernheim and Lampertheim were torn up (the right-of-way can still be discerned in the woods today as a broad lane). Only goods service was continued between Weinheim and Viernheim by Deutsche BahnDeutsche 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...
, until it, too, ceased. It was, however, revived in July 2004 by the MVV GmbH daughter company ConTrain. The old railway station today houses a municipal leisure and meeting place bearing the name Treff im Bahnhof (“Meeting in the Railway Station”).
Established businesses
Viernheim has four industrial area with many middle-class businesses.There, many well known firms, such as Pfenning Logistics, have their warehouses. Buderus has its distribution centre there, and RF Systems Nachrichtentecknik, Plisch Nachrichtentechnik and Hommel Hercules Werkzeuge their head offices. The most popular, however, the nationally known Rhein-Neckar-Zentrum shopping centre opened in 1972.
Media
In Viernheim there are two regional daily newspaperNewspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s:
- Viernheimer Tageblatt, founded in 1883,
- Mannheimer Morgen as Südhessen Morgen with a Viernheim regional edition
The following free advertising fliers are distributed weekly:
- Viernheimer Volksblatt
- Wochenblatt Mannheim
- Bergsträßer Anzeigen-Zeitung (BAZ)
The following regional media see Viernheim as part of their feeder and distribution area:
- Hessischer RundfunkHessischer RundfunkHessischer Rundfunk is the public broadcaster for the German state of Hesse. The main offices of HR are in Frankfurt am Main. HR is a member of the ARD.- Studios :...
, SüdwestrundfunkSüdwestrundfunkThe Südwestrundfunk is a public broadcasting company for the southwest of Germany, specifically the states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The company has main offices in three cities: Stuttgart, Baden-Baden and Mainz, with the director's office being in Stuttgart. It is an...
(Kurpfalz-Radio within the framework of SWR4 Baden-Württemberg) - Rhein-Neckar Fernsehen (television)
- Radio Regenbogen, Hit Radio FFH, Radio RPR, sunshine live, bigFM, bermuda.funk
- Bild Rhein-Neckar
- Meier (magazine)
Education
- Primary schools:
- Schillerschule
- Goetheschule
- Nibelungenschule
- Friedrich-Fröbel-Schule
- Primary school/HauptschuleHauptschuleA Hauptschule is a secondary school in Germany and Austria, starting after 4 years of elementary schooling, which offers Lower Secondary Education according to the International Standard Classification of Education...
/RealschuleRealschuleThe Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...
:- Friedrich-Fröbel-Schule
- comprehensive schoolComprehensive schoolA comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
HauptschuleHauptschuleA Hauptschule is a secondary school in Germany and Austria, starting after 4 years of elementary schooling, which offers Lower Secondary Education according to the International Standard Classification of Education...
/RealschuleRealschuleThe Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...
/GymnasiumGymnasium (school)A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
:- Alexander-von-Humboldt-Schule
- Gymnasium:
- Albertus-Magnus-Schule – Gymnasium sponsored by the Bishopric of Mainz
- Special school:
- Albert-Schweizer-Schule
Further schools with specific profiles are to be found in the neighbouring cities.
The nearest colleges and universities are found in nearby Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
and Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
.
Museums and galleries
- Heimatmuseum (local history)
- Kunstverein Viernheim (art club)
- Kunsthaus Viernheim (art)
- Humboldt-Galerie
- Europäisches Fotozentrum für junge Fotografie
Churches
- St. Apostel Kirche
- St. Marien Kirche
- St. Hildegard
- St. Michael
- Evangelische Auferstehungskirche, Berliner Ring (Church of the Resurrection)
- Evangelische Christuskirche, Saarlandstaße
- Neuapostolische Kirche, Maria-Mandel-Straße
- Kapelle St. Josef, Bürgermeister Neff-Straße 15 (Tridentine MassTridentine MassThe Tridentine Mass is the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published from 1570 to 1962. It was the most widely celebrated Mass liturgy in the world until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI in December 1969...
)
Bodies of water
- Bannholzgraben
- Schwarzer Bach (brook)
- Waldsee (popularly “Anglersee”), large, manmade pond in recreation area.
Buildings
- Marienkirche
- Various other churches of Germany’s two predominant denominations:
- EvangelicalEvangelical Church in GermanyThe Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany. The EKD is not a church in a theological understanding because of the denominational differences. However, the member churches share full pulpit and altar...
- Auferstehungskirche
- Christuskirche
- Freie Evangelische Gemeinde
- Catholic
- Kirche St. Marien
- Kirche St. Aposteln
- Kirche St. Michael
- Kirche St. Hildegard
- Kapelle St. Josef
- Evangelical
- Warriors’ Memorial on Weinheimer Straße
Sport
- TSV Amicitia ViernheimTSV Amicitia ViernheimThe TSV Amicitia Viernheim is a German association football club from the city of Viernheim, Hesse. Due to the close proximity of Viernheim to Baden-Württemberg, the club plays in the league system of this state....
- Turnverein von 1893 Viernheim (TV 1893, gymnastic club)
- Badminton Club Viernheim
- Golf Club Mannheim-Viernheim
- Viernheimer Billard - Club 1967
- Balettschule Heide Heidt (ballet school)
- Viernheimer SV (swimming club)
- Ski Club Viernheim
- ERC Viernheim (artistic roller skatingArtistic roller skatingArtistic roller skating is a sport similar to figure skating but where constestants run on roller skates instead of ice skates. Within artistic roller skating there are several disciplines:* figures...
) - 1.Viernheimer Karate Dojo
Regular events
- February: CarnivalCarnivalCarnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
parade or Street Carnival (alternating each year) - May: 1 May Labour Day: German Confederation of Trade UnionsGerman Confederation of Trade UnionsThe Confederation of German Trade Unions is an umbrella organisation for eight German trade unions, in total representing more than 7 million people . It was founded in Munich, 12 October 1949.The DGB coordinates joint demands and activities within the German trade union movement...
celebration - May: Tanz in den Mai; Traditionelles May Day at the fire station, Brundtlandfest
- August: Viernheimer Triathlon (1,5 / 46 / 10)
- July: first weekend, traditional community festival of community association, Viernheim
- July: CdG-Sommerfest in Bavarian style
- August: MGV- Gartenfest (first weekend in August)
- September: Innenstadtfest (downtown festival)
- September: Südhessische Akkordeontage
- November: Kerwe (church consecration festival)
- December: Christmas Market
- Parish festivals
- 24-hour walk, St. Michael’s parish
- Seifenkistenrennen (soapbox race) of the Viernheim scouts
Sons and daughters of the town
- Hans Knapp (1910–2006), Heimatforscher (“homeland researcher”)
- Ulrich TukurUlrich TukurUlrich Tukur is a German actor and musician.-Biography:Tukur spent his youth near Hanover where he finished his final secondary-school examinations in 1977. He also achieved a high school degree in Boston during an exchange of students where he met his first wife, Amber Wood. With her, he had two...
(1957– ), actor - Fritz Niebler (1958– ), wrestlerWrestlingWrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
Honorary citizens
- 1948: Prof. Dr. Ludwig Bergsträsser, chairman of the first postwar Hessian government (1883–1960)
- 1948: Hans Mayr, rector (1864–1958), editor of the "Chronik der Stadt Viernheim"
- 1949: Dr. Karl Alter, Archbishop of Cincinnati (1885–1977)
- 1965: Dr. Nikolaus Hattemer, deacon (1900–1970)
- 1973: Anton Darmstadt, clergyman (1900–1981)
- 1975: Hans Mandel, mayor (1917– )
- 1975: Michael Bugert, honorary town councillor (1905–1989)
Clubs
- Spvgg. Amicitia 09 - football
- Club der Gemütlichen – Carnival club
- Große Drei - Carnival club
- Turnverein von 1893 e. V. Viernheim – gymnastics
- KJG - St. Michael, St. Aposteln, St. Marien, St. Hildegard
- TSV Viernheim – sport club
- Herolde – music
- TC Viernheim - tennis
- Kunstverein Viernheim – art
- Kerweverein Viernheim – church consecration festival club
- Evangelischer Posaunenchor Viernheim – choir
- ASV Viernheim 1968 e. V. - Angelsport-Verein – angling
- SRC -Stemm- uind Ringclub Viernheim e. V.
- Stadtnetz und Internet Freunde Viernheim e. V.
- Frauenchor 1947 Viernheim e. V. – women’s choir
- Männergesangverein 1846 Viernheim e. V. – men’s choir
- Sportschützenverein Viernheim 1953 e. V. – shooting
- Siedlergemeinschaft Viernheim e. V. – community association
Further reading
- Heinrich Loew, Festschrift zur Jahrhundertfeier des Synagogenbaues, Viernheim 1927
- Franz Josef Haas, Adam Haas: Der Geländeraub in Viernheim 1934 (Wegnahme der Allmend), Denkschrift zur Frage der Wiederherstellung der Allmende in der Gemeinde Viernheim, Kommission zur Wiedergutmachung des Unrechts von 1934 (publisher), edited by Franz Josef Haas 1. and Adam Haas 6., Viernheim 1948
- Hans Knapp: Viernheimer Wörterbuch "Wie gered't sou gebabblt", 1972
- Hans Mayr: Chronik der Stadt Viernheim, Mannheim 1949
- 1200 Jahre Viernheim 777 - 1977, Hg. Magistrat der Stadt Viernheim
- Brigitte Perker: Viernheim zwischen Weimar und Bonn - Demokratie und Diktatur in einer deutschen Kleinstadt - 1918-1949. publisher Magistrat der Stadt Viernheim. Viernheim, 1988.
- Gisela Wittemann: Illustrierte Geschichte Stadt Viernheim, 160 pages. Verlag: Edition Quadrat Bernhard Wipfler, 1998. ISBN 3-923003-82-X
- Werner Nägel et al.,100 Jahre Standesamt Viernheim, 1876–1976, 92 pages, Viernheim 1976, publisher Standesamt Viernheim
- Claudia Reinhardt: No Place like Home, photographs and texts about Viernheim, Verbrecher Verlag Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-87512-413-8