Sinsheim

Sinsheim is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state Baden-Württemberg in the district Rhein-Neckar between Heidelberg and Heilbronn. It consists of a core town and 11 villages; as of 2003 its population is 335,092. Its area is 127 km².

Tourist attractions

Sinsheim's main tourist attraction is the Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum, a large technology museum with over 1 million visitors per year. Additionally, Sinsheim has a beautiful historic city core; the Altes Rathaus (old city council) is a museum for the town and its role in the 1848 revolution.

History

The region around Sinsheim has been settled since 700.000 BC, as shown by the finding of the Homo Heidelbergensis near Sinsheim. The Romans have ruled the area from 90 AD to 260 AD. The city was probably founded in about 550 AD by the frankish nobleman Sunno. It was first historically mentioned in 770 AD in the Codex of the cloister Lorsch. Since 1192, the town had "city rights" (special privileges), first granted by Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor.

Sinsheim has been a rather poor town throughout the ages, and has been affected heavily by wars from the 16th to the 18th century. Sinsheim-born revolutionary Franz Sigel became a famous general in the US civil war.

The first railroad in Sinsheim was built in 1900; Electricity and public water pipes have been introduced into the city from 1910 on. The World Wars and the Great Depression kept Sinsheim from growing, until in 1968 the highway A6 was built. It connencted Sinsheim to national and international traffic ways, with Mannheim, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Heilbronn, Heidelberg, Ludwigshafen within 1 hour of driving.

Population

Historic population

The numbers are estimates, census results(¹) or official data of the statistical offices (only primary residences).

¹ census results

Population of the suburbs

as of 31 December 2004