Bad Reichenhall

Bad Reichenhall
Former town hall
Bad Reichenhall
Location of the town of Bad Reichenhall within Berchtesgadener Land district
Coordinates	47°43′29″N 12°52′37″E
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Upper Bavaria
District	Berchtesgadener Land
Lord Mayor	Herbert Lackner (CSU)
Basic statistics
Area	39.44 km2 (15.23 sq mi)
Elevation	473 m  (1552 ft)
Population	17,513 (31 December 2011)
- Density	444 /km2 (1,150 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	BGL (until 1979: REI)
Postal code	83435
Area code	08651
Website	www.stadt-bad-reichenhall.de

Bad Reichenhall is a spa town, and administrative center of the Berchtesgadener Land district in Upper Bavaria, Germany. It is located near Salzburg in a basin encircled by the Chiemgauer Alps (including Mount Staufen (1,771 m) and Mount Zwiesel (1,781 m)).

Bad Reichenhall is a traditional center of salt production, obtained by evaporating water saturated with salt from brine ponds.

History

• The earliest known inhabitants of this area are the tribes of the Glockenbecher-Culture (a Bronze Age Culture, from about 2000 B.C.)
• In the age of the La Tene culture (about 450 B.C.) organized salt production commenced utilizing the local brine pools. In the same period a Celtic place of worship is placed at the "Langacker"
• From 15 B.C to 480 A.D, the city is part of a roman province, Noricum
• 1136 A.D bought the founding of a monastery St. Zeno
• In 1617-1619, a wooden pipeline for brine exportation to Traunstein was built, with a length of 31 km, and more than 200 m in altitude difference
• In 1834, two thirds of the city's buildings were destroyed by a major fire
• The early 19th century saw the beginning of tourism, with Reichenhall becoming a famous health resort
• From 1890, Reichenhall is now called "Bad Reichenhall"
• On 25 April 1945, the area was bombed by allied forces, 200 people were killed. The town centre with many hospitals and the train station was nearly totally destroyed, the barracks didn't suffer any damage. After World War II the area was under American military governance (1945–1948)
• On 8 May 1945, a dozen French POWs from the SS Division Charlemagne were executed without trial on the orders of General Leclerc.
• On 1 November 1999, 16-year-old Martin Peyerl shot at people in the streets from his bedroom window, killing three and wounding several others, among them actor Günter Lamprecht. He finally committed suicide after fatally shooting his sister and the family cat.

Ice rink disaster

Main article: Bad Reichenhall Ice Rink roof collapse

Fifteen people, twelve of them children, died in the collapse of the Bad Reichenhall Ice Rink on 2 January 2006. Thirty-four people were injured in the accident.

Famous people from Bad Reichenhall

• Anni Friesinger, speed skater (born in Bad Reichenhall, lived in Inzell ~10 km away and now lives in Salzburg)
• Lore Frisch, well known German actress in the 1940s and 1950s. Moved from Traunstein to Bad Reichenhall in the mid-1930s and got her start in acting in Bad Reichenhall beforfe becoming famous in Munich and Berlin.
• Barbara Gruber, ski mountaineer
• Regina Häusl, alpine skier (born in Bad Reichenhall, started for the Ski-Klub Bad Reichenhall, lives in Schneizlreuth since her birth)
• Andreas Hinterstoisser, Mountaineer
• Andreas Hofer (composer), composer
• Stefan Holzner, triathlete
• Michael Neumayer, ski jumper
• Georg Nickaes, ski mountaineer
• Gunther Rall, World War II Luftwaffe Ace
• Karl Ullrich, Knights Cross holder
• Jutta Rüdiger, Doctor
• Johannes Frießner, Heer General
• Walter Grabmann, Luftwaffe General
• Hans Söllner, singer-songwriter
• Peter Schreyer, car designer
• Dr. Maria Theresia Starzmann, archaeologist

Gallery

• 

  Alte Saline (old salt refinery)

External links

• City of Bad Reichenhall
• Bad Reichenhall Tourist Centre
• Alpine Pearls