Freudenstadt: Difference between revisions

{{Expand German|topic=geo|date=May 2021}}

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'''Freudenstadt''' ({{IPA|de|ˈfʁɔɪ̯dn̩ˌʃtat}}, [[Swabian German|Swabian]]: ''Fraidestadt'') is a town in [[Baden-Württemberg]] in southern [[Germany]]. It is the capital of the [[landkreis|district]] [[Freudenstadt (district)|Freudenstadt]]. The closest population centres are [[Offenburg]] to the west (approx. 36&nbsp;km away) and [[Tübingen]] to the east (approx. 47&nbsp;km away).

Freudenstadt is a climatic health resort of international renown. In the 19th and 20th centuries, visitors of note included [[George V of the United Kingdom]], the Queen of Sweden, [[John D. Rockefeller]], and even the American writer [[Mark Twain]]. With its many hotels and guest houses, and its high-class cuisine, Freudenstadt remains a popular vacation spot for Germans from every part of the country. Among the many Germans of note who considered Freudenstadt a second home was the justice inspector [[Friedrich Kellner]] whose WWII [[My Opposition|diary]] is the subject of a [[My Opposition: the Diaries of Friedrich Kellner|Canadian documentary]].

The building of Freudenstadt was ordered by duke [[Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg|Frederick]] of [[Württemberg]] in 1599 with the initial population largely being made up of many of the 11,000 Protestants who left the Inner Austrian provinces by force or through self-exile beginning in 1598.<ref>{{Cite book |last=authpr. |first=Wilson, Peter H. (Peter Hamish) |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1191904012 |title=The Thirty Years War : Europe's tragedy |isbn=978-0-674-24624-9 |pages=72 |oclc=1191904012}}</ref> The designer was architect Heinrich Schickhardt.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}

In 1799 the monastery in Kniebis was burned down by the French.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} Because of the Württemberg foundation, Freudenstadt was almost entirely Protestant for a long time.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} The young church belonged to the dean's office respectivelyas well as the church district [[Herrenberg]] within the [[Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg]].{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}

In [[World War II]], on the nearly 1,000 meter high [[Kniebis]], not far from the [[Alexanderschanze]], a Command Center of the Armed Forces was built to defend the [[Western Front (World War II)|Western Front]]: the [[Führer]]'s headquarterheadquarters Tannenberg. Heavy [[Antianti-aircraft warfare]] positions with the associated supply and accommodation buildings were built in the area as part of the [[Siegfried Line#Western Air Defence Zone|LVZ West (Western Air Defense Zone)]], especially on the [[Schliffkopf]] and the [[Hornisgrinde]].<ref name="ReferenceA">{{citation|surname1=F. Wein|title=Die Luftverteidigungszone West |year=2010 |publisher=Explorate Verlag|isbn=978-3-937779-25-6|language=de}}</ref> In the Freudenstadt hospital many wounded were treated. Hitler's one-week visit to Tannenberg and Freudenstadt in 1940 (after the French campaign) at the inauguration of the headquarterheadquarters was for propaganda, which was reported in news reelsnewsreels. Thus, Freudenstadt including the nearby region in France, has becomebecame a symbol of the Nazi regime and the French defeat, which in 1945 was to play an important role.

On 16 April 1945, three weeks before the war ended, the city was unexpectedly attacked by the troops of the [[1re armée (France 1944-1945)|1st French army]] under General [[Jean de Lattre de Tassigny]]. There was a large-scale destruction caused by bombing and shelling.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Freudenstadt fell, with interruptions, for about 16 hours under artillery fire. No residents dared to go to meet the French troops to surrender the city, conversely the French troops expected considerable military resistance.<ref name="HR" />

Since the water main line washad been destroyed by US air strikes and the fire engines had been destroyed by shelling, fire spread easily.<ref name="HR">Hans Rommel: ''Vor zehn Jahren 16./17. April 1945 – Wie es zur Zerstörung von Freudenstadt gekommen ist.'' In: ''Freudenstädter Heimatblätter.'' Beiheft 1 Freudenstadt: Oskar Kaupert 1955 56</ref>

A handover took place only when French troops reached the town hall.<ref name="GLA">Der deutsche Südwesten zur Stunde Null. Zusammenbruch und Neuanfang im Jahr 1945 in Dokumenten und Bildern. (paper backpaperback) Generallandesarchiv Karlsruhe (author). Publisher: Karlsruhe, Harschdruck, (1 January 1975)</ref> There were several dozen civilian casualties; about 600 buildings, 95 percent of the town, were destroyed directly or indirectly during the night from 16 to 17 April and 1,400 families were made homeless. Over the next three days, during the occupation by French troops, there were many violent attacks by soldiers of the Moroccan units.<ref>{{citation|surname1=Volker Kopp|title=Besetzt. Französische Besatzungspolitik in Deutschland |publisher=be.bra-Verlag|publication-place=Berlin|language=de}}</ref> According to a doctor, Renate Lutz, she alone treated over 600 raped women.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Bruhns|first=Annette|periodical=Spiegel Special|title=Der Krieg gegen die Frauen|issue=2|pages=84|department=Der Ostfeldzug|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{citation|surname1=Margarete Dörr|title="Wer die Zeit nicht miterlebt hat...". Frauenerfahrungen im Zweiten Weltkrieg und in den Jahren danach |publisher=Campus Verlag|pages=575|isbn=3-593-36095-0|language=de}}</ref> According to witnesses, when the townsfolk complained, they were told it was war and that Freudenstadt had to burn for three days.<ref>{{citation|surname1=Bundesministerium für Vertriebene, Flüchtlinge und Kriegsgeschädigte|title=Dokumente deutscher Kriegsschäden |pages=181|language=de}}</ref>

Many of the remaining buildings were then occupied by French troops. {{citation needed|date=March 2017}} Many families lived in makeshift -roofed cellars.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} Overall, the average living space per inhabitant was reduced to less than eight square metres.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} The need was great, and the cleanup of the debris was initially slow.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}

The [[value added]] comes in 2006 from the service sector (54,2%), the manufacturing industry (45,0%) and from agriculture (0,8%). 2007 were in the urban area 2,832 guest beds available. The number of overnight stays was 339,292.<ref>{{cite web|title=Struktur- und Regionaldatenbank|publisher=Statistisches Landesamt Baden-Württemberg|url=http://www.statistik.baden-wuerttemberg.de/SRDB/|access-date=2009-02-01|language=de|archive-date=29 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629165632/http://www.statistik.baden-wuerttemberg.de/SRDB/|url-status=dead}}</ref>