Biberach an der Riß

Biberach an der Riß (Swabian: Bibra), often referred to as simply Biberach (German pronunciation: [ˈbiːbəʁax] ⓘ), is a town in southern Germany. It is the capital of Biberach district, in the Upper Swabia region of the German state (Land) of Baden-Württemberg. It is called Biberach an der Riß after the small river Riß which flows through the city to distinguish it from the other towns of similar names.

Biberach an der Riß
Town
Market and the tower of St. Martin's Church
Market and the tower of St. Martin's Church
Coat of arms of Biberach an der Riß
Coat of arms
Location of Biberach an der Riß within Biberach district
Biberach an der Riß is located in Germany
Biberach an der Riß
Biberach an der Riß
Biberach an der Riß is located in Baden-Württemberg
Biberach an der Riß
Biberach an der Riß
Coordinates: 48°6′N 9°47′E
CountryGermany
StateBaden-Württemberg
Admin. regionTübingen
DistrictBiberach
SubdivisionsTown centre and 4 districts
Government
 • Lord mayor (2020–28) Norbert Zeidler[1] (Ind.)
Area
 • Total72.16 km2 (27.86 sq mi)
Elevation
533 m (1,749 ft)
Population
 (2021-12-31)[2]
 • Total33,708
 • Density470/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
88400
Dialling codes07351
Vehicle registrationBC
Websitebiberach-riss.de

Geography

Biberach has a population of about 32,000 and is located in Upper Swabia between the river Danube and Lake Constance.

Populated places

The districts of Biberach comprise the inner city (with the quarters Bachlangen, Bergerhausen, Birkendorf, Burren, Fünf Linden, Gaisental, Hagenbuch, Jordanbad, Mumpfental, Reichenbach and Wolfentalmühle) and its suburban, integrated villages Rißegg, Rindenmoos, Ringschnait, Stafflangen and Mettenberg.

History
Part of Weberberg
Blick auf die Dächer der Innenstadt
View of the rooftops of the city center
Former Komödienhaus in der Schlachtmetzig where in 1762 The Tempest (Shakespeare), translated by Christoph Martin Wieland was performed for the first time.
Mixed Imperial City of Biberach an der Riß
Paritätische Reichsstadt Biberach an der Riß
1281–1803
StatusImperial City
CapitalBiberach an der Riß
Common languagesAlemannic
GovernmentRepublic
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• City founded
before 1083
• Gained Reichsfreiheit
1281
• Peace of Augsburg
September 25, 1555
• Thirty Years' War
1618–48
• Peace of Westphalia
1648
• Mediatised to Baden
1803
• Exchanged with Württemberg for Villingen
1805
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Duchy of Swabia
Margraviate of Baden

For many centuries, Biberach was an Imperial Free City (German: Freie Reichsstadt) in the Holy Roman Empire. In that role it participated in the 1792 Reichstag.

During the Protestant Reformation, Biberach was notable for being — eventually along only with Ravensburg, Augsburg and Dinkelsbühl — a "Mixed Imperial City" (German: Paritätische Reichsstadt) where the Peace of Westphalia caused the establishment of a joint Catholic–Protestant government and administrative system, with equality offices (German: Gleichberechtigung) and a precise and equal distribution between Catholic and Protestant civic officials. This status ended in 1803, when Biberach was annexed by the Margraviate of Baden, soon to become a grand-duchy. In 1806, it was traded to the Kingdom of Württemberg in exchange for the town of Villingen; becoming part of the German Empire on its creation in 1871.

During the French Revolutionary Wars, Biberach and its environs were the site of two sizable battles in 1796 and 1800.

During World War II, two large prisoner-of-war camps were located here, with Oflag V-B for officers, and internment camp Ilag V-B for allied civilians, mainly from the Channel Islands.

Economy

With an unemployment rate of around 3.6 percent and place of business of companies like EnBW, Handtmann, Liebherr, KaVo Dental GmbH, Vollmer and Boehringer Ingelheim, Biberach is a significant industrial location in the southwest of Germany.

KaVo

KaVo (Kaltenbach & Voigt) is a company producing dental medicine equipment and products like instruments, dental systems, laboratory and equipment for training centres for universities. The head office is in Biberach. In March 2004, Danaher, an American industrial company, took over KaVo. KaVo was later acquired by Envista. The company returned to private ownership as part of the Planmeca Group in January, 2022.[3]

Boehringer Ingelheim

Boehringer Ingelheim researches, develops and produces pharmaceuticals. Boehringer Ingelheim was founded in Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany, in 1885, where the corporate headquarters are located. There are about 4,500 employees in Biberach.

EnBW

EnBW means "Energy Baden-Württemberg". Its corporate centre is in Karlsruhe. EnBW is Germany's third largest energy company. In Biberach there are about 900 employees.

Liebherr Biberach

The beginning of Liebherr Biberach was in 1954. The firm produces many sorts of cranes. 1,700 people and 112 trainees work there. The group's founder, Dr. Hans Liebherr, invented the mobile tower crane in 1949 in Kirchdorf/Iller.[4]

Transportation

The town has two stations on the Southern Railway (Württemberg) and hourly trains to Ulm and Friedrichshafen.

Arts and entertainment

Museums
  • Braith-Mali-Museum: The museum resides in a building from the 16th century and presents on 2,800 square meters archaeology, history, art and natural history.
  • Wieland-Museum: The exhibition explores the life and work of Christoph Martin Wieland. The museum was founded in 1907 and resides in the summer house of Wieland.[5]

Film festival

Biberach has a film fest for German films which was founded in 1978.[6]

"Biberacher Schützenfest"

The Biberacher Schützenfest is a historic festival for children and the town. The event is held annually in July and lasts nine days. The name "Schützenfest" derives from the German noun Schütze, meaning marksman. But nowadays, the crossbow competition and the appraisal of the best male and female champion shot (Schützenkönig and -königin) are only small events during the week of the Schützenfest. Other attractions and events during the festival are:

  • Street parades
  • Fairgrounds
  • Historical performances
  • Theme park
  • Parties in bars, cafès and so on
  • Beer tent
  • Children's theater (Schützentheater)

Christmas Market

The annual Christmas market, called "Christkindlesmarkt", which lasts 16 days, is another highlight of the year. Exotic foods from Britain, France, and Italy (presented by the twin cities), kitsch, and beautiful arts and crafts are there to see and buy. People meet to drink mulled wine.

Music

The church music in Biberach is specially determined by the St.-Martins-Chorknaben Biberach (English: St Martin's Boys’ Choir Biberach).

Other events in Biberach

Sports

TG Biberach 1847 e. V. is one of the biggest clubs in the region. It has more than 6,000 members and 27 divisions including American football, tennis, chess or volleyball.

IBOT Another important sports festival in Biberach is IBOT, an annual international handball tournament for youth with more than a thousand participants which takes place at Easter.

Notable people
Johann Melchior Dinglinger around 1721

Twin towns – sister cities
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Biberach an der Riß is twinned with:[7]

Biberach an der Riß also has friendly relationship with Guernsey.[7]

See also

References
  1. Aktuelle Wahlergebnisse, Staatsanzeiger, accessed 11 September 2021.
  2. "Bevölkerung nach Nationalität und Geschlecht am 31. Dezember 2021" [Population by nationality and sex as of December 31, 2021] (CSV) (in German). Statistisches Landesamt Baden-Württemberg. June 2022.
  3. "KaVo returns to private ownership as part of the Planmeca Group". 11 January 2022.
  4. "Hans Liebherr - Entrepreneur, inventor, visionary". Liebherr Group. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  5. Museum website (German)
  6. Biberacher Filmfestspiele
  7. "Partnerstädte". biberach-riss.de (in German). Biberach an der Riß. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
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