page_title: Bad Wimpfen
section_title: Growth of trade
hierarchical_section_title: Bad Wimpfen / History / Growth of trade
caption_attribution_description: Detail der Wandmalereien in der Kreuzkapelle Duttenberg. Die Szene mit der Königin von Saba und König Salomon ist vor 1485 entstanden, der unbekannte Maler hat die Szene vor den Hintergrund der Silhouette der nahen Stauferpfalz Wimpfen gesetzt und damit eine der ältesten Darstellungen von Wimpfen hinterlassen.
context_page_description: Bad Wimpfen is a historic spa town in the district of Heilbronn in the Baden-Württemberg region of southern Germany. It lies north of the city of Heilbronn, on the river Neckar.
context_section_description: In 965 a document dictated by King Otto I granted market rights to Wimpfen. Thanks to its good location in terms of transport and catchment area, the market developed significantly. Wimpfen's Talmarkt (valley market) has a history of more than 1000 years and is one of the longest running traditional market events in Germany.
  In 1182 Frederick Barbarossa is believed to have stayed in Wimpfen. He had decentralised the administration of his empire. The Staufers had built Kaiserpfalzen (local castles) across the empire. These were big castles where local lords stayed and gave rulings. The Pfalz of Wimpfen was built on a rocky hill above the settlement of the Neckar Valley. The Pfalz and its surrounding settlement grew so strong that it outstripped the older settlement on the Neckar bank. By around 1200 most of the Staufer buildings had been built, including the Blauer Turm (Blue Tower), which is now generally seen as the town's principal visual landmark. It served as a watch-tower until the 20th century.
  The Stauferpfalz of Wimpfen is the largest to be preserved north of the Alps. Its original length was about 215 metres (705 ft), its width about 88 metres (289 ft). Emperor Henry VI stayed there at least three times, Frederick II eight times. In 1235 there was a historical meeting between Frederick II and his rebellious son Henry. Also in the 13th century Richard von Deidesheim arranged a rebuilding of the diocesan church into the Gothic style. At the same time a hospital and a Dominican monastery was founded.
  Due to the decline of the Staufers' Empire, Wimpfen became an imperial city, many manual workers settled there, and the population grew, establishing a large core of citizens. A town constitution was established, setting an example to many other towns. Many of today's buildings originate from this time.
  Emperor Frederick III gave the right to hold a second annual market, the Katharinenmarkt, in addition to the established Talmarkt. This second market, held before Christmas, also survives in today's Christmas market, and its fame extends throughout the Baden-Württemberg region.
caption: Wall drawings in the Duttenberg chapel from the 15th century show the oldest known view of Wimpfen
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA", "Image Make": "OLYMPUS OPTICAL CO.,LTD", "Image Model": "C100,D370", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS Macintosh", "Image DateTime": "2006:09:10 19:12:57", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "280", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "858", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5712", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/30", "EXIF FNumber": "4", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0210", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "0000:00:00 00:00:00", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "0000:00:00 00:00:00", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "4", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired", "EXIF FocalLength": "9/2", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "400", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "352", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed"}