Part of Weberberg
Biberach is a town in the
south of Germany, Biberach district capital
in the free state (Land) of
Baden-Württemberg
. To distinguish it from the other Biberachs it is called Biberach an der
Riß after the small river Riß
which flows
through the city (the Riss/Riß also gave its name to the Riss
glaciation period).
The marketplace with its patrician buildings, its fountain and its
renovated town hall is one of the loveliest in the south of
Germany.
With a rather low unemployment rate of around 3.6% and place of
business of companies like
EnBW, Handtmann,
Liebherr, KaVo Dental GmbH, and
Boehringer Ingelheim, Biberach is a
significant industrial location in the southwest of Germany.
Geography
Biberach
has a population of about 32,000, and is located in Upper Swabia between the river Danube and Lake Constance
.
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
For many centuries, Biberach was an
Imperial Free City ( ) 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 ( ) where the Peace of Westphalia caused the
establishment of a joint Catholic–Protestant government and administrative
system, with equality offices ( ) 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 with the Kingdom of Württemberg in
exchange for the town of Villingen
; becoming part of the German Empire
on its creation in 1871.
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.
Industry
KaVo (Kaltenbach & Voigt) is a leading company in producing
dental medicine equipment and products like instruments, dental
systems, laboratory and equipment for training centers for
universities. The head office is in Biberach. But KaVo has
production locations and sales locations all over the world, e.g.
in Brazil, England, USA, Canada, Russia, France, Italy, etc. In
March 2004, Danaher, an American industrial company, took over KaVo
in order to improve its portfolio in terms of dental technology.
Since a massive loss of jobs is expected, waves of solidarity have
tried to help KaVo's workers' council. Even
Walter Riester, Germany's former Secretary of
Labour, is involved in that.
Boehringer Ingelheim
researches, develops,and produces drugs for people all over the
world. With about 35.529 employees who are employed in 156
countries on all continents, today, Boehringer Ingelheim is part of
the most research intensive enterprises internationally.
Boehringer
Ingelheim was founded in Ingelheim am Rhein
, Germany in 1885, where the corporate headquarters
are located.
EnBW means "Energy Baden-Württemberg".
Its corporate center
is in Karlsruhe
. In Stuttgart
there is the "Regional Center". An exciting
chapter of the success story began with the merger of Badenwerk AG
and Energie-Versorgung Schwaben AG in the year 1997. The EnBW
Energie Baden-Württemberg AG was born. EnBW is Germany's third
largest energy company. In Biberach there are about 900 employees.
The firm employs 125 trainees. Every year the EnBW gives young
people the chance for a position as an apprentice. Also the EnBW is
trying to protect the environment or so the company says. In a
current advertising campaign it tries to sell its 30-year-old
nuclear power station Neckarwestheim as a "green" source of energy.
The plant is depicted as a group of trees shaped like a reactor
with adjacent cooling towers. To critics this is a modern version
of "
Newspeak".
The beginning of Liebherr Biberach was in 1954. The firm produces
many sorts of cranes. 1700 people and 112 trainees work there.
Dr. Hans
Liebherr invented the crane in 1949 in Kirchdorf/Iller
. You
can find Liebherr products all over the world. For example Saudi
Arabia, New Zealand, the USA and so on.
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Biberach
is twinned with Asti
(Italy),
Valence,
Drôme
(France), Telavi
(Georgia
), Clacton-on-Sea
, Essex (UK) and Świdnica
(Poland). It also has close links to Guernsey
, one of the Channel
Islands.
Entertainment
Cafes, Clubs, Restaurants
In Biberach there are many cafés. If you want know where you can go
for breakfast, for lunch, to party or only to chill in a lounge;
check the website http://www.weberberg.de/, there you find a link
"szeneführer" at the bottom.
Biberach also has a number of beer gardens.
Film Festival
Biberach not only has a
film festival
for German films which celebrated its 29th anniversary in 2007, the
"Filmfest Biberach", but - since 2004 has also had a second
festival, the
Biberach Independent Film
Festival that focuses on experimental shorts and documentaries.
The third Biberach Independent Film Festival runs from October 29
to November 2, 2008.
"Biberacher Schützenfest"
The
Biberacher Schützenfest is an historic festival for
children and the town. The event starts every year in the first
week of 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 theater (Schützentheater)
Christmas Market
The annual Christmas market, called "Christkindlesmarkt", which
takes 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 and eat "Knabberfleisch" (small breaded pieces
of pork eaten with a small wooden fork).
Other Events in Biberach
- Musiknacht
- Musikfrühling
- Kabarettherbst
Sports in Biberach
TG Biberach 1847 e. V. is one of
the biggest unions in the region. It has more than 6000 members and
27 divisions including American football, tennis, chess or
volleyball.
IBOT Another important sports festival in Biberach
is IBOT. It's an annual international handball tournament for
youths with more than a thousand participants which takes place at
Easter.
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