Pirmasens
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| Country | Germany |
| State | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| District | urban district |
| Population | 43,482 (2005) |
| Area | 61.37 km² |
| Population density | 709 /km² |
| Elevation | 360-400 m |
| Coordinates | 49°12′ N 7°36′ E |
| Postal code | 66953-66955 |
| Area code | 06331 |
| Licence plate code | PS |
| Mayor | Bernhard Matheis (CDU) |
| Website | pirmasens.de |
Pirmasens is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with France. It is famous for the manufacture of shoes.
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[edit] History
- First mention of "pirminiseusna" in 860 as a colony of the cloister Hornbach. The name belongs to holy Pirminius, the founder of the cloister.
- 1763 Pirmasens is chartered by landgrave Ludwig IX. (Hessen-Darmstadt)
- 1790 Death of Ludwig IX. (Hessen-Darmstadt) and annulment of the garrison
- 1793 battle of Pirmasens; Prussia and Braunschweig fight against the french Moselle Army
- 1793 - 1815 affiliation to France
- 1923/24 tests of palatinate separatists to settle down in Pirmasens failed on 12 February 1924: occupation of the district town hall, home of the separatistic administration; many deaths on both sides
- 9 November 1938 destruction of the synagogue during the so called "Novemberpogrome"
- 15 March 1945 invasion of US-troops, World War II is over for the civilization
- 1946 Pirmasens becomes part of the newly founded Bundesland Rhineland-Palatinate
- 1989 Foundation of the FH Kaiserslautern which will be located in Pirmasens
- After the fall of communism, and the reunification of East and West Germany, Pirmasens saw an influx of Russian immigrants( mainly from White Russia)claiming to be descendants of German soldiers caught behind the iron curtain after the second World War. Russian immigrants claiming German decendency were given permanent resident status. As expected, tensions began to build between the newly arrived immigrants and local residents, who were already at odds with the increasing Turkish and former Yugoslavian populations.
[edit] Incorporation
- 1969: Erlenbrunn, Fehrbach, Hengsberg, Niedersimten, Winzeln
- 1972: Gersbach, Windsberg
Evolution of population (since December 2002):
dennis rush
[edit] Politics
[edit] Common council
Town council election 13 June 2004:
CDU 46,0% (-1,8) - 21 seats (-1)
SPD 23,8% (-11,4) - 11 seats (-5)
WGR 10,8% +3,7) - 5 seats (+3)
REP 10,2% (+7,3) - 5 seats (+5)
The Greens 4,3% (+0,3) - 2 seats (=)
Other 5,1% (+2,0) - 0 Sitze (-1)
[edit] Major
- Dr. Bernhard Matheis (CDU), lord major
- Peter Scheidel (CDU), major
- Michael Schieler (crossbench), full time councilor
- Helga Knerr (FWG), honorary councilor
[edit] Town Twinning
- Poissy (France)
[edit] Culture and Sights
- Museums
- Collected works of Hugo Ball
- Picture-gallery of the painter Heinrich Bürkel
- Museum of shoes
- Silhouettes from Elisabeth Emmler
- Westwallmuseum
[edit] Music
- Choir of oratory Pirmasens
- Chantor's house of Pirmasens
[edit] Theater
- Performances at the festival hall
[edit] Sports
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[edit] Clubs
- Aero-Club Pirmasens
- First carnival club of Pirmasens, CVP
- "Knubbe un Knode" - club of old manual work practices (e.g. knitting)
[edit] Regular Events
- the "Landgrafen-Tage" (days of the landgraves) - every second weekend in April
- Open-Air Highlights at the parade-ground (e.g. musicals, opera)
- "Schlabbeflicker-Fest", a parade of uniformed musicians - every first weekend in August
- Parade-ground festival - every second weekend in September
- Euroclassic festival (Festival of the cities: Pirmasens, Bitche, Zweibrücken, Blieskastel and of the Verbandsgemeinde Zweibrücken-Land)
- "Grenadiermarkt" (infantryman market) - in Autumn
- "Novembermarkt" - last weekend of October or first weekend of November
- Christmas market in the Advent
[edit] Corporations
- Carl Zeiss Meditec Systems GmbH
- Ergo-Fit - manufacturer of cardiology equipment
- Kennel&Schmenger Schuhfabrik - manufacturer of shoes
- Koch Maschinenbau GmbH - engineering
- Peter Kaiser GmbH - Germany's oldest shoe-factory
- Park&Bellheimer AG - brewery
- Profine GmbH, Kömmerling - manufacturer of synthetic material; major company
- psb GmbH
- SympaTel Telemarketing GmbH
- WAFO GmbH - specialist in the abrasion technique
- WAWI Euro GmbH - chocolate factory
- "Pirmasenser Zeitung" local newspaper
- "Die Rheinpfalz" national newspaper
[edit] Education
- Fachhochschule Kaiserslautern located in Pirmasens
- Deutsche Schuhfachschule
[edit] Trivia
Pirmasens is ...
- the only international location in Rhineland-Palatinate for exhibitions
- the world's biggest trade center of shoes
- the location of Germany's oldest shoe-factory (Peter Kaiser, founded 1838)
- the city with the most millionairs in Rhineland-Palatinate
- built, like Rome, on seven hills
- the city with the highest number of private insolvency in Germany
- location of the US-channel "Pirmasens-Husterhöhe", which transferred the signals of the Apollo 11 Mission to Houston,Texas in 1969.
- Pirmasens was home to the 197th Ordnance Battalion, part of the 59th Ordnance Brigade. The 197th oversaw the special weapons depots of the southwestern section of Germany. The 197th gradually began pulling out of Husterhoehe Kaserne, and completed pullout in the late 1990s. Most of Husterhoehe was eventually returned to German government control, and privatized, with the exeption of a large medical supply depot called the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center, Europe (USAMMCE).
- Pirmasens is one of the largest Landkreisses in Germany.
[edit] Literature
- German literature
- J.B.Lehnung, Geliebtes Pirmasens, 12 Bände, Pirmasens (Komet), 1978 ff. [with a lot of photos]
- Gräber/Spindler, Die Pfalzbefreier, Ludwigshafen/Rhein, 2005 [discussed separatism]
[edit] External links
- Homepage (de)
- Westwallmuseum (de)
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Urban and rural districts in the Federal State of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany |
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Urban |
Frankenthal | Kaiserslautern | Koblenz | Landau | Ludwigshafen | Mainz | Neustadt (Weinstraße) |
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Rural |
Ahrweiler | Altenkirchen | Alzey-Worms | Bad Dürkheim | Bad Kreuznach | Bernkastel-Wittlich | Birkenfeld | Bitburg-Prüm |
