Bretten
Dear Citizens of Bretten,
Dear Visitors to Our City,
The greater municipality of Bretten with its 28,000 inhabitants is an rising urban center between
the major hubs of Karlsruhe, Pforzheim, Stuttgart and Heilbronn in Germany. Its excellent
transportation connections to the A5, A8 and A6 motorways (maximum 25 km) and location at the
intersection of the Karlsruhe, Heilbronn and Bruchsal urban transit lines provides visitors easy
access to Bretten. Bretten’s excellent location is also an important advantage for business.
A brief history of the city: Bretten was first mentioned in 767 A.D. as “villa bretenheim” in the
Lorsch Codex. In 1148, the right to mint coins was mentioned and Duke Philipp awarded the city
with four fairs in 1492. In 1497 Philipp Melanchthon was born in Bretten. The 500th anniversary
of his birth was celebrated in 1997 under the patronage of Federal President Roman Herzog.
In 1504, the city was successfully defended from occupation by Ulrich of Württemberg. This is
commemorated at the end of every June or beginning of every July with the Peter and Paul Festival,
the oldest folk festival in Southwest Germany, attended by around 80,000 visitors.
Since 1803, Bretten has been a part of the state of Baden and is the Baden Administrative Centre
for District Municipalities. Industrialisation took place in the middle of the 19th century. Oven
manufacturing dominated the city’s economic development for many years. Today Bretten’s
business structure is characterised by a mix of innovative companies from across many sectors.
Bretten was named a Greater Municipality in 1975.
Bretten maintains several active partnerships with other cities, such as Wittenberg and Hemer in
Germany, Condeixa in Portugal, Longjumeau Bellegarde in France and Pontypool in Wales. Several
of Bretten’s nine city districts also have partnerships with cities in France and Hungary.
Bretten has a total area of more than 7,000 hectares and 28,000 inhabitants (14,000 in the city
core); 40% are Protestant and about 37% are Catholic.
