Renchen

Renchen
Coat of arms
Renchen
Location of Renchen within Ortenaukreis district
Coordinates:
Country	Germany
State	Baden-Württemberg
Admin. region	Freiburg
District	Ortenaukreis
Government
• Mayor	Bernd Siefermann
Area
• Total	32.08 km2 (12.39 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)
• Total	7,316
• Density	230/km2 (590/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	77871
Dialling codes	07843
Vehicle registration	OG
Website	www.stadt-renchen.de

Renchen is a small city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, part of the district of Ortenau.

Geography

Renchen is located in the foothills of the northern Black Forest at the entrance to the Rench valley at the edge of the Upper Rhine River Plains.

Neighboring communities

The city shares borders with the following cities and towns, listed clock-wise from the north: Achern, Kappelrodeck, Oberkirch, Appenweier, and Rheinau.

Boroughs

In addition to Renchen (proper) the city includes the boroughs of Erlach and Ulm zu Renchen.

History

Renchen was first in official documents in 1115. In 1326 it received a city charter but the city lost it again as well as all significance when it was destroyed during the Thirty Years' War. In 1838 the Grand Duke of Baden again granted a city charter to Renchen but it again lost the right to call itself a city as a result of the German district reform in 1935. Renchen then received a city charter for the third time in 1950 in recognition of its historic importance.

Renchen's borough of Ulm zu Renchen is known mostly for its Ulmer Bier, a specialty beer brewed only at full moon.

Government

City council

As of February 2006, Renchen's city council has the following composition:

Party	Seats
CDU	8
SPD	4
Independents	8

Mayor

As of February 2006, Renchen's mayor is Bernd Siefermann.

People, culture & architecture

Grimmelshausen Prize

The Grimmelshausen Prize is a literary prize of €10,000 awarded in odd-number years on September 15, in turn, by Renchen or the city of Gelnhausen.

Economy and infrastructure

Media

In Renchen the Offenburger Tageblatt publishes a daily local edition as "Acher-Rench-Zeitung" and the Stattzeitung für Südbaden is an alternative magazine offered in the area.

Famous people

Renchen likes to call itself the city of Grimmelshausen, as the poet Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen, author of Der Abenteuerliche Simplicissimus Teutsch, served from 1667 until his death in 1676 as the Bishop of Strasbourg's executor in Renchen.

External links

• (German) www.stadt-renchen.de
• (German) Stattzeitung für Südbaden, erscheint in Renchen