- Furtwangen im Schwarzwald
Infobox Ort in Deutschland
Art = Stadt
Wappen = Wappen Furtwangen im Schwarzwald.png
lat_deg = 48 |lat_min = 03 |lat_sec = 01
lon_deg = 08 |lon_min = 12 |lon_sec = 33
Lageplan =
Bundesland = Baden-Württemberg
Regierungsbezirk = Freiburg
Landkreis = Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis
Höhe = 850-1150
Fläche = 82.57
Einwohner = 9463
Stand = 2006-12-31
PLZ = 78113–78120
Vorwahl = 07723
Kfz = VS
Gemeindeschlüssel = 08 3 26 017
Gliederung = 4 Stadtteile
Adresse = Marktplatz 4
78120 Furtwangen
Website = [http://www.furtwangen.de/ www.furtwangen.de]
Bürgermeister = Richard Krieg
Partei = CDUFurtwangen im Schwarzwald is a small city located in the
Black Forest region of south westernGermany . It belongs to the district (Kreis) ofSchwarzwald-Baar along with the two more important cities ofVillingen andSchwenningen .The total population of Furtwangen was 9673 inhabitants onDecember 31 2004 . Furtwangen gained the right to call itself a city in 1873.The "Breg" is a small stream which, coming from the mountainous areas around Furtwangen, flows down through the inner city to the east. The Breg is one of the two little rivers which unite to form the riverDanube .Furtwangen is a city with an industrial past:
At one time Furtwangen was a major producer of clocks that were made and sold all over the world. While many different kinds of clocks were produced in Furtwangen, Furtwangen was unique for the production of musical clocks from the factory of Emilian Wehrle.
Emilian Wehrle (1832-1896) made musical clocks in the Furtwangen-Schonenbach area from about 1857 until his death in 1896. These musical clocks included the Trumpeter clock, Flute clock, Singing Bird Clock, and Rooster Clock. These clocks call the hour with the sound of the trumpet, flute, song bird and rooster respectively.
These clocks were the highest quality and were very expensive at the time. Because of this few were produced, and even fewer survived. Today collectors are after these musical pieces, and they continue to be sold at record prices.
This industry was very important in previous centuries, but with the appearance of the quartz watch this branch of the economy is now almost gone.
Today, Furtwangen is a city with a more balanced industry, there are many small and medium-sized industrial companies focused in
microelectronics and precision mechanics. Among the cities in Germany Furtwangen one of those with the lowest unemployment rate.There is a university of applied sciences (
Fachhochschule Furtwangen ). This university specialises in microelectronics, precision mechanics, computer sciences and other faculties. Beside one of the university entrances is theDeutsches Uhrenmuseum "(German Clock and Watch Museum)" with many historical and modern clocks and watches on display. Tourists are often highly interested in visiting this museum.Strongly frequented by traffic is the "B 500" road which is also commonly known as the black forest "Panoramastraße". In 1972, the railway connection called "Bregtalbahn" was closed after 80 years of service. The railway track had led from Furtwangen to
Donaueschingen .External links
* [http://www.deheim.de/furtwangen/ Furtwangen: pictures & history (de)]
* [http://www.snetzle.de/ The net of the city]
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