Achern. Our Town. Information for Citizens, Guests and interested Visitors Welcome to Achern, our Town at the foot of the Hornisgrinde Mountain With Town street map of Achern, including local districts 1 Achern. Our Town. Contents A Welcome Message from the Lord Mayor, Klaus Muttach ................1 Open-Air Swimming Pool ......................................................................................20 A Stroll through Achern’s History .........................................................................2 Day-Care Centres ........................................................................................................21 Town Councillors ...........................................................................................................4 Education and Teaching Institutions .............................................................22 Town Administration and Districts .....................................................................6 Churches ..........................................................................................................................26 Illenau Municipal Government Authorities Centre ..................................8 Social Welfare and Advice Centres ..................................................................28 Cultural Institutions for Children, Young People, Families and Senior Citizens ..11 Miscellaneous ...............................................................................................................32 Municipal Social Services Department .........................................................12 Local Associations ......................................................................................................34 Cultural Events Programme ..................................................................................14 Events Calendar ...........................................................................................................34 Public Library ..................................................................................................................16 Where and how to get matters dealt with? ...............................................35 Tourist Information ....................................................................................................17 Words of Thanks ..........................................................................................................60 Market Days ...................................................................................................................17 Emergency Telephone Numbers ......................................................................61 Achern Shoppers‘ Town Guide ..........................................................................19 Welfare ..............................................................................................................................61 Greetings from the Mayor Klaus Muttach Citizens, welcome to Achern! I am pleased to present this information brochure and, over the The planned new hospital to be built in Achern is a centennial pro- following pages, to invite you to get to know our town. We have ject, which guarantees long term medical care for the entire northern succeeded in presenting this edition in English for our foreign fellow Ortenau region, securing numerous jobs and also promises many citizens and guests staying in our town. job-seekers the chance of lucrative employment. Standing still means going backwards. A company must constantly Many other projects are still pending. Explaining them all would take develop further in order to survive in the market-place. In a certain too long and goes beyond the scope here. sense, a town works in the same way albeit with another goal in I hope that you will all enjoy these developments, to take an active mind: to make the town and life in it attractive for its inhabitants. part in what is happening in your town and to identify with Achern. I am so happy to see the many successful projects we have been I am grateful for every suggestion, every piece of information from able to implement in Achern in recent years. I look forward eagerly you and for your help, because we are all part of this beautiful town. to the future over the coming years. There are numerous projects in Right here and now, you are holding just one small but completed the pipeline, which I would like to launch and to successfully com- project in your own hands. I hope that the new Citizens Information plete, together with the members of the Achern Municipal Council Brochure will be useful to you as a small guide in offi cial matters and and my fellow employees of the Achern Municipal Administration, to provide you with comprehensive information about Achern. always with your support, dear fellow citizens. Always with the aim of I would like to say a big thank you to the Achertäler Druckerei GmbH making life, work and business in Achern advantageous, worthwhile & Co. KG, which has produced this brochure in close cooperation and rewarding. with the employees of our Citizens Advice Bureau. I would also like to More than 1,000 new fl ats will be built over the coming years. We thank all the companies and enterprises which have supported the would like to help people gain access to aff ordable rented housing or creation of the brochure by placing advertisements within it. to give them the chance of making their dream of having a home of their own come true. The necessary infrastructure for jobs, kindergar- dens, schools, entertainment, streets, car parks, etc. must be created. Yours sincerely The planned Cultural and Conference Centre in the Illenau, with a hotel complex to be erected on the Illenau Meadows, is an opportu- nity to make Achern known both beyond the region, in professional Klaus Muttach circles and in establishing new contacts. Oberbürgermeister (Mayor) 1 A Stroll through Achern’s History 1st century A.D. Tracks of Roman settlement 1557 The bishops of Strasbourg sold their half of the about 1090 In the Codex of Hirsau, Achern was mentioned for Ortenau to King Ferdinand I. Achern now the fi rst time. belonged to Greater Austria. 13th century The court of the Bailiwick of Ortenau was located 1618–1648 During the Thirty Years’ War, Achern was burnt to in Achern. the ground and remained uninhabited for eleven years. 1351 Achern was governed by the bishops of Strasbourg. 1701–1771 Achern was governed by the margraves of Baden. 1405 Count Pfalzgraf bei Rhein and the bishops of Strasbourg had authority over the judicial district 1771–1805 Achern was part of Greater Austria. of Achern. 1805 Achern became part of the Grand Duchy of Baden. 1415 Oldest documented seal of the court of Achern It was administered by their own Oberamt (regional Bailiwick), which was later turned into a District Offi ce. 1452 Previous building of the catholic church “of Our Beloved Lady”. 14 June 1808 Achern received town rights. 1495 (Lower-) Achern burnt to the ground. 1824 The new catholic church of Our Beloved Lady was built. 1504 Count Wolfgang of Fürstenberg obtained half of the Palatinate part of the Bailiwick of Ortenau. 1842 The Illenau Sanatorium and Nursing Home was inaugurated. 1535 The parish rights of St. John’s Church in Oberachern (“upper-Achern”) were conveyed to 1844 Railway connected. the Chapel of Our beloved Lady. 02 April 1848 People’s Assembly of Revolutionaries gathered at 1551 King Ferdinand I of Habsburg obtained half of the “Zur Hoff nung” Inn. the Bailiwick of Ortenau from the Count of 1855 The Leopold monument was inaugurated at the Fürstenberg. Adlerplatz (geographic centre of Baden). In 1955 it was relocated to its current position. Leopold Monument Hauptstraße (Main Street) in 1927 2 1856 The hospital at 21, Spitalstraße was inaugurated. 01 January 1973 Reformation of administrative districts: The new 1877 The secondary school was founded. district of Ortenaukreis was formed, villages were incorporated. 1892 A separate protestant town parish was created in addition to the Illenau parish. 01 January 1974 Achern was promoted “Große Kreisstadt” („large district town“). 1908 The new Protestant Church of Christ was built. 1994 Withdrawal of French troups from Illenau The “Anniversary Well” or “Philipp’s Well” was inaugurated at the Adlerplatz. 1999 Achern bought the Illenau terrain. 1924 The Achern District Offi ce was closed. 2008 First occupation of fl ats in the Illenau. 1938 The Town Hall moved into the former Trades School 2009 Technical town hall was re-located to Illenau. (today School of Music and the Fine Arts as well as 2010 The Illenau Youth Church was consecrated. Primary School). 2011–2013 Town Administration was moved to 73, Illenauer 1940 The Illenau Sanatorium and Nursing Home was Allee. wound up. 19 Sept. 2014 The Illenau Arcades Bistro Café was opened. The “Reichsschule für Volksdeutsche“ was opened 07 March 2015 Opening of the Illenau Arcades Museum. at Illenau. 2015–2018 Further Departments of the Town Administration, 1942 Polish girls were abducted and brought to Illenau. branch offi ces of the Regional Administration, 07 January 1945 Air raids on Achern: a major part of the town centre Caritas Association and other public and private was destroyed. service centres were moved to the Illenau. 1963/1964 Inauguration of today’s town council on the market square at the turn of the year. 01 January 1971 Incorporation of the village of Oberachern. Furniture delivery by the Seifert Company Ratskellerstraße, about 1950 3 Town Councillors Political Party, Name, Town