Bad Wörishofen

Bad Wörishofen (German pronunciation: [ˈvøːʁɪsˌhoːfə̆n]) is a spa town in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria, Germany, known for the water-cure (hydrotherapy) developed by Sebastian Kneipp (1821–1897), a Catholic priest who lived there for 42 years. Many of the resort hotels and boarding-houses in Bad Wörishofen offer their guests treatment using Kneipp's methods.

St. Justina Church at Bad Wörishofen

Bad Wörishofen
Kurhaus of Bad Wörishofen
Coat of arms
Location of Bad Wörishofen within Unterallgäu district
Bad Wörishofen Bad Wörishofen
Coordinates: 48°00′21″N 10°35′49″E
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Schwaben
District	Unterallgäu
Subdivisions	12 Gemeindeteile
Government
• Mayor	Stefan Welzel (CSU)
Area
• Total	57.80 km^2 (22.32 sq mi)
Highest elevation	670 m (2,200 ft)
Lowest elevation	603 m (1,978 ft)
Population  (2019-12-31)[1]
• Total	16,328
• Density	280/km^2 (730/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	86825
Dialling codes	08247
Vehicle registration	MN
Website	www.bad-woerishofen.de

The new spa complex out of town is called Therme Bad Wörishofen. Time Magazine called the town "the secret capital of health".[2]

Geography

The town is located on the Wörthbach, a tributary of the River Mindel in Donau-Iller, which is a border region straddling Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. It is approximately 80 km / 50 miles west of Munich and 35 km / 22 miles east of Memmingen.

History

The first known reference to the place dates from 1067, where it is described as the lordship "Werenshova". The name is thought to mean "Homestead of Werin". For centuries Wörishofen was an agricultural settlement. Between 1719 and 1721 the Dominican Wörishofen Monastery was built under the direction of Dominikus Zimmermann.

After World War II, with south-western Germany belonging to the American occupation zone, Bad Wörishofen was the site of a displaced persons camp.[3] Most of the displaced people in question were of Lithuanian provenance. The camp enjoyed the confidence and support of the UNRRA, and was accordingly permitted to print its own bank notes.

Celebrity connections

Film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder and actor Yank Azman were born in Bad Wörishofen.

Personality

Sons and daughters of the town

• Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1945–1982), film director
• Jeremias Schröder OSB (born in 1964 as Maximilian Schröder), Benedictine Abbot and President of the Benedictine Congregation of St. Ottilien.

Personalities associated with Bad Wörishofen

• Hermann Aust (1853–1944), a keen supporter of Sebastian Kneipp and supporter of the development of Bad Wörishofen as a spa town.
• Viktor Frankl (1905–1997), founder of logotherapy , worked in Bad Wörishofen in 1945 where he was a doctor at the Hospital for Displaced Pe rsons.

Sebastian Kneipp 1915

• Sebastian Kneipp (1821–1897), pastor and Hydrotherapeut, inventor of Kneipp health treatment using water.
• Katherine Mansfield (1888–1923), English/New Zealand writer, wrote the short stories in "In a German Pension " after a stay in 1909.
• Franz "Bulle" Roth (born in 1946), football player for the German national football team and FC Bayern München, owner of a shop for sportswear in Bad Wörishofen
• Ulla Salzgeber (born in 1958), dressage rider, lived in Bad Wörishofen until 2011.
• Irmgard Seefried (1919–1988), soprano, lived in Bad Wörishofen from 1923 to 1940, winner of Bad Wörishofen's Public Service Medal in Gold.
• Ethel Smyth (1858–1944), an English composer, lived in Munich for a while and had a health-related stay in Bad Wörishofen in 1889.
• Antanas Deksnys (1906 05 07 - 1999 05 05), a Catholic bishop from Lithuania.

Economy

Wörishofer sandals are made here.[4]

Notes and references

1. "Tabellenblatt "Daten 2", Statistischer Bericht A1200C 202041 Einwohnerzahlen der Gemeinden, Kreise und Regierungsbezirke". Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik und Datenverarbeitung (in German). July 2020.
3. DP Camp Bad Wörishofen
4. Imogen Fox (23 July 2010), "Ooh, but they are comfy . . .", The Guardian: 13