Pforzheim

Pforzheim is a town of 115,000 inhabitants in the state of Baden-Württemberg, south-west Germany at the gate to the Black Forest. It has an area of 98 km² and lies between the cities of Stuttgart and Karlsruhe at the confluence of three rivers (Enz, Nagold and Würm) and marks the frontier between Baden and Schwaben.

Politics

City council

The city council of Pforzheim consists of the Lord Mayor as its president and 40 elected (part-time) councillors. It is democratically elected by the citizens for a period of five years. The last election was June 13, 2004. The city council is the main representative body of the city and determines the goals and frameworks for all local political activities. It makes decisions about all important issues regarding the public life and administration of the city and directs and monitors the work of the

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city administration. It forms expert committees in order to deal with

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specialized issues.

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City administration

The city administration is lead by the Lord Mayer (presently Christel Augenstein) and three Mayors (presently Alexander Uhlig, Gert Hager and Andreas Schuetze). The administration consists of four departments (Dezernat) which are in charge of the following areas:

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Department I: Personnel, finances, business development, general

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administration. (Managed by Christel Augenstein.)

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Department II: Construction and planning, environment. (Managed by Alexander Uhlig.)

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Department III: Education, culture, social affairs, sports. (Managed by Gert Hager.)

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Department IV: Security and public order, health, energy and water supply, local transportation and traffic. (Managed by Andreas Schuetze.)

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(Lord) Mayors

At an early stage, the town administration was led by the mayor

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(Schultheiss) who used to be appointed by the lord (owner) of the

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town. Later on, there was a council with a mayor leading it, who since 1849 holds the title "Lord Mayor". The terms of office of the mayors until 1750 are unknown. Only the names of the mayors are mentioned in historical documents.

Related Topics:
1849 - 1750

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• 1750-1758: Ernst Matthaeus Kummer
• 1758-1770: W.C. Steinhaeuser
• 1770-1775: Weiss
• 1775-1783: Kissling
• 1783-1795: Guenzel
• 1795-1798: Geiger
• 1798-1815: Jakob Friedrich Dreher
• 1815-1830: Christoph Friedrich Krenkel
• 1830-1837: Wilhelm Lenz
• 1837-1848: Rudolf Deimling
• 1848-1849: Christian Crecelius
• 1849-1862: Karl Zirenner
• 1862-1875: Kaspar Schmidt
• 1875-1884: Karl Gross
• 1885-1889: Emil Kraatz
• 1889-1919: Ferdinand Habermehl
• 1920-1933: Erwin Guendert
• 1933: Dr. Emil Goelser
• 1933: Dr. Hans Gottlob
• 1933-1941: Hermann Kuerz
• 1941-1942: Karl Mohrenstein
• 1942-1945: Ludwig Seibel
• 1945: Albert Hermann
• 1945: Wilhelm Becker
• 1945-1947: Friedrich Adolf Katz
• 1947-1966: Dr. Johann Peter Brandenburg, FDP/DVP
• 1966-1985: Dr. Willi Weigelt, SPD
• 1985-2001: Dr. Joachim Becker, SPD
• 2001-now: Christel Augenstein, FDP/DVP

The Coat of Arms

The Coat of Arms of Pforzheim city shows in the left-hand half of a shield an inclined bar in red color on a golden background, and the

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right-hand half is divided into four fields in the colors red, silver, blue and gold. The city flag is white-blue.

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The inclined bar can be traced back to the 13th century as the symbol of the lords (owners) of Pforzheim, which later on also became the National Coat of Arms of Baden, but its meaning is unknown. Since 1489 the coat of arms in its entire form can be verified, but its meaning is not known, either. Nowadays coloring has been used only since 1853; in earlier times the coloring was different.

Related Topics:
13th century - 1489 - 1853

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Sister city and friendship agreements

Pforzheim has sister city agreements with the following cities:

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• Gernika-Lumo (Spain), since 1989
• Saint-Maur-des-Fosses (France), since 1989
• Vicenza (Italy), since 1991

Friendship agreements exist with the following cities and regions:

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• Osijek (Croatia), since 1994
• Irkutsk (Russia), since 1999
• Nevsehir (Turkey), since 2000
• Czestochowa (Poland), since 2000
• Gy?r-Moson-Sopron county (Hungary), since 2001 in conjunction with the Enzkreis district