Lauffen am Neckar

Sister cities

• Meuselwitz

History

It is presumed that the area around Lauffen had already been settled in pre-Christian times, although the only evidence consists of a few bones. The settlement's high level of frequentation can be attributed to the shallow water between the present old Neckar bridge and the cliffs by the castle and Regiswindis Church. Here the river was fordable for most of the year and the spot used by both men and animals as a crossing point. Such opportunities were few and far between along this stretch of the original Neckar. Indeed, the nearest fords were some kilometres distant. The two prominent cliffs may well have served as lookouts and refuges since primeval times. The foundations of a Roman estate (Villa Rustica) dating from between the 2nd and 3rd centuries, along with coins and pottery, were discovered some two kilometres () to the southeast of the present town centre. Archaeological excavations show that the Alemannians came to the area in around 260 AD upon the departure of the Romans. With the arrival of the Franks in 500 AD, a royal estate was founded together with a church dedicated to St Martin. The ownership of the estate alternated frequently between princes and church. A document from 823 refers to this “church in the tribal district of Neckar which is dedicated to Saint Martin in the Villa Hlauppa.” The rapids which are occasionally visible at Lauffen were created by erosion when the Neckar shortened its course after breaking through the neck of a great bow – an event which is estimated to have taken place between 400 BC and 100 BC. After this incident, the margrave Ernst returned to his home in the Upper Palatinate and the village was transferred back to the emperor with effect from 861, before the expiration of the lease and the death of the Graf. In 889,…

Geography

Lauffen is located in the southern part of the district of Heilbronn, south of Heilbronn and north of the capital of Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart, on the Neckar. The small river Zaber flows into the Neckar at this point. The neck of the previous great bow in the course of the north-flowing Neckar was broken through by erosion somewhere between 400 BC and 100 BC Neighbouring towns and villages of Lauffen are (clockwise from the west): Brackenheim, Nordheim, Heilbronn, Talheim, Isfeld, Neckarwestheim and Kirchheim am Neckar (District of Ludwigsburg). The exclave Stadtwald Etzlenswenden is surrounded (from the west) by Abstatt, Untergruppenbach, Löwenstein and Beilstein. All neighbouring villages as far as Heilbronn and Kircheim come under the Landkreis (district) Heilbronn. Lauffen has combined with Neckarwestheim and Nordheim to form a joint association of administrations. The localities of Lauffen-Stadt (town) and Lauffen-Dorf (village) were combined on 1 April 1914 to create today's Lauffen am Neckar. The outlying farmsteads of the Landturm, an old customs house on the former Württemberg boundary, are included as part of the town. The defunct hamlets of Osterhofen and Talhofen originally lay within its bounds.

Most-observed species

• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,386
• Zoropsid spider

  Zoropsis spinimana (Dufour, 1820) · Arachnida
  2,277
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,274
• Common Buzzard

  Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,172
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,021
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,940
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,505
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,492

Most recent

• M 3.4 — 2022-10-16
  Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
• M 4 — 2022-07-09
  2 km NNE of Grosselfingen, Germany
• M 3.6 — 2014-05-17
  2 km ESE of Pfungstadt, Germany
• M 2.5 — 2008-12-12
  2 km ESE of Nehren, Germany
• M 2.8 — 2008-11-25
  1 km S of Steinmauern, Germany
• M 2.7 — 2008-07-09
  1 km WSW of Dußlingen, Germany