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Offenburg
	Offenburg
	; Offenburg
Coordinates	48°28′15″N 07°56′27″E / 48.47083°N 7.94083°E
	Administration
Country	Germany
State	Baden-Württemberg
Admin. region	Freiburg
District	Ortenaukreis
Lord Mayor	Edith Schreiner (CDU)
	Basic statistics
Area	78.39 km2 (30.27 sq mi)
Elevation	163 m (535 ft)
Population	59,171 (31 July 2008)Statistisches Landesamt Baden-Württemberg
- Density	755 /km2 (1,955 /sq mi)
	Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	OG
Postal codes	77601–77656
Area code	0781
Website	www.offenburg.de

Offenburg is also the German name of Baia de Arieş in Romania.

Offenburg is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With about 60,000 inhabitants, it is the largest city, and also the capital of the Ortenaukreis.

Offenburg also houses The Graduate School of Offenburg University of Applied Sciences.

[edit] Geography

Offenburg is located near the Rhine between Karlsruhe and Freiburg. The French city of Strasbourg lies directly west across the Rhine. Offenburg lies at the mouth of the Kinzig river valley. The Kinzig flows out of the Black Forest and meets the Rhine near Kehl.

[edit] History

The city is first mentioned in historical documents dating from 1148. By 1240 Offenburg had already been declared a Free Imperial City. The city was nearly totally destroyed in the Nine Years War. In 1803 Offenburg lost its status as a Free City and fell under the rulership of the Grand Duchy of Baden.

During the outbreak of the Revolutions of 1848, the "Offenburger Program" which contained thirteen demands "in the name of the people of Baden" was announced at the Salmen Inn on 12 September 1847. This was the first democratic demand in Germany. Along with the Karlsbad Resolves, the Offenburger Program demanded basic and human rights as well as freedom of the press and a progressive income tax structure. On 19 March 1848 the demands were confirmed by the 20,000 member Offenburg Peoples' Assembly.

[edit] Government

[edit] Mayors

Gustav Rée (1845 - 1849)

Karl Heitz (1949 - 1975)
Martin Grüber (1975 - 1992)
Dr. Wolfgang Bruder (1992 - 2002)
Edith Schreiner (since 2003)

[edit] Representatives to the Federal Parliament

Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU)

[edit] Economy

Offenburg is home to Hubert Burda Media, a large printing and publishing company.

[edit] Culture and Attractions

There are several historical attractions in Offenburg including:

The Salmen Inn
The Capuchin Monastery
The Ritterhaus, a 1784 manor-house that has been converted into the city archives and museum
The Jewish Bath (Mikwe): a bathhouse belonging to the city's historical Jewish community; it was held to be medieval, but recent research suggests it may be from the 16th or 17th century http://www.offenburg.de/scripts/download.php?key=3b550fde53bb&file=/dynamic/presse/offenblatt/c0f7fe26ed198ad3.pdf&name=offenblatt_240104
The former Royal Palace (Königshof) built by Michael Ludwig Rohrer, now the Police station

The Offenburg Hauntings Local folklore claims that the Jewish Bath at Offenburg is haunted due to a series of murders in and around the medieval bath house. Descriptions of sightings have included voices crying for help and complete or partial apparitions. The Society for Paranormal Investigation has rated it as one if its Top 100 Most Haunted places in the World.^{[citation needed]}

It should be noted, however, that the facts do not bear out the claims made by "local folklore." Almost all Jews were deported from Baden in 1940/1941 (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Gurs#Jews_deported_from_Baden). Indeed, local folklore knows nothing of the bath being haunted - there is no mention of such at the website describing tours of the bath in German http://www.offenburg.de/html/besichtigung_des_judenbads.html, nor is there any mention of this in German on the Internet. The claim here is a complete fabrication, not local folklore. The head of Alemanica Judaica in Offenburg, which documents Jewish life in the region http://www.alemannia-judaica.de/, stated in reaction to this Wikipedia entry, "Sorry, but I have never heard of any stories of the bath being haunted."

[edit] People

Kurt Baschwitz, Jewish journalist
Atika Bouagaa, female volleyball player
Burda family
- Aenne Burda, an honorary citizen
- Franz Burda I. (Franz Burda), founder of the Hubert Burda Media, an honorary citizen
- Hubert Burda, an honorary citizen
Artur Dinter, lived here
Hans Furler, lived here
Johann Hofer, layer, lived here
Michael Kaeshammer, boogie-woogie pianist, vocalist, composer, arranger
Otto Kumm, lived here
Dirk von Lowtzow
Georg Monsch, an honorary citizen
Lorenz Oken
Franz von Roggenbach, an honorary citizen
Felix Roth, football player
Hanns-Martin Schleyer, manager, employer and industry representative
Emil Sutor, sculptor
Hermann Vallendor, WWI German Ace, Jagdstaffel Boelcke
Martin Wagner, football player