Bad Mergentheim: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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EUR 50 - 82 Hotel Deutschmeister
 This 3-star, family-run hotel offers comfortable accommodation in the heart of Bad Mergentheim´s Old Town. It lies 50 metres from the marketplac… MoreEUR 52 - 89 Hotel Wanfried
 This family-run 3-star hotel in Bad Mergentheim enjoys a peaceful location on the banks of the Tauber river, just a 10-minute walk from the historic q… MoreEUR 53 - 90 Kurhotel Alexa
 Situated on the edge of the spa town of Bad Mergentheim, this family-run, 3-star spa hotel provides cosy rooms, healthy cuisine and a tranquil environ… MoreEUR 69 - 120 Ringhotel Bundschu
 This family-run, 4-star hotel restaurant enjoys a quiet location in Bad Mergentheim, a short walk from the town centre and spa park. It offers Francon… MoreEUR 70 - 150 Hotel Central Vital
 Situated in the heart of the spa town of Bad Mergentheim, in the Main-Tauber district, this family-run 3-star Superior hotel offers total relaxation w… MoreEUR 46 - 79 Hotel Alexander
 Set amid the scenic Taubertal valley, this family-run hotel in Bad Mergentheim is a 5-minute walk from the historic town centre, Kurpark spa gardens, … MoreEUR 65 - 119 Edelfinger Hof
 This hotel offers regional food and bright, spacious rooms with free Wi-Fi. It is located in the village of Edelfingen, a 5-minute drive from the cent… MoreEUR 70 - 149 Familotel Granfamissimo
 This 4-star hotel with swimming pool is situated in the historic spa town of Bad Mergentheim, and provides excellent dining and leisure activities for… MoreEUR 46 - 119 Flair Hotel Weinstube Lochner
 Boasting a spacious spa area with indoor swimming pool, and serving delicious regional dishes in the traditional restaurant, this hotel in Markelsheim… MoreEUR 97 - 153 Best Western Premier Parkhotel Bad Mergentheim
 Set amid scenic green landscapes, this 4-star hotel in Bad Mergentheim offers modern and spacious rooms, excellent leisure facilities and wonderful vi… More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bad Mergentheim: Guide
Bad Mergentheim (Mergentheim until 1926) is a town in the Main-Tauber (district)|Main-Tauber district in the Germany|German state of Baden-Württemberg.
History
Mergentheim (Mariae domus) is mentioned in chronicles as early as 1058, as the residence of the family of the counts of Hohenlohe, who early in the 13th century assigned the greater part of their estates in and around Mergentheim to the Teutonic order. In 1340 Mergentheim got Town privileges. It rapidly increased in fame, and became the most important of the eleven commanderies of that society. On the secularization of the Teutonic Order in Prussia in 1525, Mergentheim became the residence of the grand master, and remained so until the final dissolution of the order in 1809 by Napoleon.
Bad Mergentheim's fortunes were reversed in 1826, when a shepherd discovered rich mineral springs in the surrounding area, during the time when spas were expanding in Germany at a rapid pace. The water turned out to be the strongest sodium-sulfate water in all of Europe, especially good for the treatment of digestive disorders.
In the 1970s several neighbouring villages were incorporated during the "Gemeindereform".
Villages
(inhabitants)
Althausen (600), Apfelbach (350), Dainbach (370), Edelfingen (1.400), Hachtel (360), Herbsthausen (200), Löffelstelzen (1.000), Markelsheim (2.000), Neunkirchen (1000), Rengershausen (480), Rot (260), Stuppach (680), Wachbach (1.300)
Sights
The most interesting sight in Bad Mergentheim is the Deutschordenschloss, the medieval castle where the Teutonic Knights once had their home base. It is a complex of buildings built over a period of eight hundred years. The first buildings of the castle were probably already erected in the 12th century. The castle was expanded in the late 16th century under Grand Master Walter von Cronberg. Over the course of time a representative Renaissance complex was built by connecting the individual buildings in the inner palace courtyard to a closed ring of buildings. In 1574, the main architect, Blasius Berwart, also constructed the spiral staircase between the west and north wing still famous today. Today the castle houses the Deutschordensmuseum (Museum of the Teutonic Order).
The castle complex is dominated by the Schlosskirche (Castle Church), built in 1730 in Baroque style. Its Rococo interior features elaborate ceiling frescos by the court painter Nikolaus Gottfried Stuber, depicting "The Defense of Faith", the "Glorification of the Cross in Heaven and on Earth" and the "Emperor Constantine I (emperor)|Constantine's Vision of the Cross". Almost 200 years ago the Schlosskirche became Evangelische Kirche or Protestant church.
Modern facilities
Löffelstelzen Transmitter
Twin Towns
Digne-les-Bains, France
Sainte-Marie-du Mont, France
Isawa, Japan
Borgomanero, Italy
Notable residents and natives
1854 Ottmar Mergenthaler, (1854-1899), born in Bad Mergentheim-Hachtel, died in Baltimore (Maryland, USA), inventor of the linotype
1944 Barbara Stamm, German politician and vice-chairwoman of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria|CSU
1955 Fritz Kuhn, German politician and former co-chairman of the German Green Party
Eduard Mörike, German poet, lived in Bad Mergentheim from 1844-1851.
Notes
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikipedia article "Bad Mergentheim". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.