Heilbad Heiligenstadt

This article is about the German spa town. For other places named Heiligenstadt, see Heiligenstadt (disambiguation).
Heilbad Heiligenstadt

Saint Mary's Church, 14th century

Coat of arms
Heilbad Heiligenstadt

Coordinates: 51°22′44″N 10°08′19″E / 51.37889°N 10.13861°E / 51.37889; 10.13861Coordinates: 51°22′44″N 10°08′19″E / 51.37889°N 10.13861°E / 51.37889; 10.13861
Country Germany
State Thuringia
District Eichsfeld
Government
  Mayor Thomas Spielmann (BI Menschen für Heiligenstadt)
Area
  Total 61.57 km2 (23.77 sq mi)
Population (2015-12-31)[1]
  Total 16,772
  Density 270/km2 (710/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 37308
Dialling codes 03606
Vehicle registration EIC, HIG, WBS
Website www.heilbad-heiligenstadt.de

Heilbad Heiligenstadt is a spa town in Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Eichsfeld district.

Geography

Heiligenstadt is approximately 14 km east of the tripoint where the states of Thuringia, Hesse and Lower Saxony meet. An upper reach of the River Leine, a tributary of the Aller, flows through the town from east to west and is joined near the centre of the town by the River Geislede.

South of the town is the Iberg, a 453.2 m tall peak located in the Heiligenstadt Stadtwald, which forms part of the Naturpark Eichsfeld-Hainich-Werratal.

Local subdivisions

History

Name of the town

Despite the official designation of the town as a spa in 1929 and a 1950 decision by the town council to append the word Soleheilbad (salt-water spa) to its name, it remained officially "Heiligenstadt" throughout the GDR years. In 1990 the city government still used only Heiligenstadt.

However, the post office used Heilbad Heiligenstadt, as did post card companies and the local savings bank. In fact between 1950 and 1990, the town had the distinction of being referred to in three different ways: as Heiligenstadt, Heilbad Heiligenstadt, or Heiligenstadt (Eichsf.) (for Eichsfeld).

In 1990, the town council and especially the mayor began expanding spa business and it took on increasing importance. In addition, after German reunification, there were several Heiligenstadts in Germany. Initially the government declined to rename the town Heilbad Heiligenstadt because of a lack of evidence that it was a spa, but the town lodged an appeal and used the one and a half years before an official visit and the relative lack of oversight immediately after reunification to create spa facilities and integrate the word Heilbad into official usage. Permission for the renaming was then granted since the town was evidently a spa and using that name.

Statue of Theodor Storm in front of the Storm Literary Museum

Culture and sights

Theatre

Museums

Buildings and monuments

Churches and chapels

Cemeteries

Parks

Regular events

Heiligenstadt, like the rest of Eichsfeld, is traditionally Roman Catholic, so there are several annual religious events, in particular the procession through the old town on Palm Sunday with life-size figures from the Passion of Christ, which attracts numerous believers from the region and the rest of Germany.

Ibergrennen

The Ibergrennen is an annual road race held since 1994 on the last weekend in June on Landesstraße 2022 (Holzweg) in the western foothills of the Iberg. Sponsored by the German Mountain Cup and German Mountain Championship, it has included sports and touring cars since 1998, when the road surface was renewed and the barriers reinforced. In 2000, the course was extended from 1.96 km to 2.05 km. The climb remains 200 m. It is thus one of the shortest mountain race routes in Germany, but not without challenges.

The drivers' encampment is traditionally set up near the centre of Heiligenstadt, next to a filling station and a supermarket which is open on Sundays.

The first race was held in 1925, but only for motorcycles.

Heiligenstadt around 1840, by Carl Duval

People associated with Heilbad Heiligenstadt

Honorary citizens

Natives

Others

References

  1. "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden, Gemeinschaftsfreie Gemeinde, erfüllende/beauftragende Gemeinden, Verwaltungsgemeinschaft/Mitgliedsgemeinden in Thüringen". Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik (in German). July 2016.
  2. Thomas T. Müller, ed., Die St.-Martins-Kirche zu Heiligenstadt, Heiligenstädter Schriften 2, Heiligenstadt 2003 (German)
  3. H. Scholle, Ein Denkmal für den Ehrenbürger der Stadt Heiligenstadt Johann Wolf in Kreuzebra, Eichsfeld 9, Heimat- und Verkehrsverband Eichsfeld e.V, 1997 (German)

Sources

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