Steinbach

The Baden-Baden district of Steinbach lies southwest of the town centre, in the Rebland (wine-growing region). Every year in early June, the Mittelalterliche Winzertage (Medieval Winegrowers’ Days) take place in and around Steinbach’s old town centre.

Sights

Buildings

Steinbach’s historic old town, with its town wall and numerous old buildings, recalls the former importance of Steinbach. Because the people of Steinbach were thrifty and built some of their houses directly against the town wall, large parts of this wall survive today and convey a picture of medieval conditions. Also worth admiring are the listed Zehnthaus (tithe house) and the Catholic Kirche St. Jakobus (Church of St James). For some years now there has been a stork’s nest on the church. The Reblandmuseum is likewise located in Steinbach’s old town centre. It provides information about the history of the Rebland and viticulture in the region. As the landmark of the Rebland, the Yburg must of course not go unmentioned either. It sits enthroned on the Yberg above Steinbach.

Small-scale architecture

Above the cemetery stands the Meister Erwin Denkmal (Master Erwin Memorial). On a clear day, from this spot you can see all the way to Strasbourg Cathedral, on which Erwin von Steinbach worked. The Galgenbosch Stele is a more recent monument commemorating the violence of the witch hunts. Steinbach has numerous fountains, such as the Pferdebrunnen (horse fountain). Further fountains can be found on Yburgstraße and by the district administration.

Festivals and events

The most important festival in Steinbach is the Mittelalterliche Winzertage Steinbach in early June. The Steinbach clubs and associations invite visitors to this town festival with its many attractions.

The evening cycling race of the RSV Yburg Steinbach also takes place in June. For this, several streets are regularly closed to traffic. The Katharinenmarkt Steinbach (St Catherine’s market) is held on a Wednesday in November. In addition, there is a small Christmas market in the Bürgergarten on the Saturday before the third Sunday of Advent. Events organised by Steinbach’s clubs often take place at the covered Festplatz Kolbenacker on Alte Landstraße.

History

Early settlement

When the first people settled in the area around Steinbach can no longer be said with certainty today. Finds of 4,500-year-old spearheads and arrows point to a human presence at that time. In any case, Steinbach’s location at the edge of the fertile Rhine plain, outside the flood zones of the Rhine and near the hunting grounds of the Black Forest, offered good conditions for settlement.

Roman period

In the first century, the Romans occupied the land east of the Rhine. Coming from Basel in the south, the Trajan Road, an important Roman state and military road, ran past Steinbach to the west, heading north. In 1580, a leuga stone (milestone) dating from 213 AD was found. The inscription read “from here to Aquae, four leugae”. Further stone finds towards Sinzheim also attest to the course of the road. The street names Römerwall and Steinweg date back to this circumstance.

With the fall of the Roman defensive rampart, the Limes, in 254 AD, Roman rule in the region came to an end and the Rhine once again became the border of the Roman Empire. The Alemanni destroyed most of the Romans’ buildings, but adopted their advanced farming techniques. It is assumed that the cultivation of vines was also continued and that the wine tradition of the Rebland can therefore be traced back to the Romans.

The name Steinbach

The origins of Steinbach probably lie in the period after the Migration Period. Researchers suspect that Alemannic settlers established a thing site (Germanic assembly place) by a stone on what is now the Kirchenbuckel. Such a site was a place for court hearings and for holding assemblies. The name Steinbach could thus derive from “the stone (Stein) not far from the brook (Bach)”. It is known that the early Christian missionaries deliberately built their churches at old cult sites and replaced old symbols. Another scholarly opinion is that Steinbach arose along the road and the brook, and that the church was later built beside it on the hill.

The parish of Steinbach

It was probably Irish monks who built a first church in Steinbach around the 7th or 8th century. The parish (Kirchspiel) of Steinbach was of great importance for the region. All places and settlements between Büllot and Oos initially belonged to the parish of Steinbach. Over time, communities such as Iffezheim, Stollhofen and Sinzheim built their own churches and ecclesiastical administrative centres.

In 1070, Steinbach was first mentioned in writing. Berthold, the Gaugraf (district count) of the Ortenau, had given Hirsau Abbey, among other things, woodlands and vineyards located within Steinbach’s boundaries. These possessions were then recorded in the Codex Hirsaugiensis.

Town charter

A particularly important date for Steinbach is 23 August 1258. At the request of Margrave Rudolf I of Baden, King Richard of Cornwall granted the town its town and market rights on that day. The weekly market was set for Wednesday. Steinbach received a coat of arms and a seal. Construction of the town wall probably began at the start of the 14th century. Of the wall, originally 450 metres long, 337 metres survive today. There were two town gates, the Bühl Gate and the Baden Gate.

In 1333, before attacking the Yburg, the army of the Bishop of Strasbourg also destroyed Steinbach’s three noble estates and other houses. In 1643 and 1689, Steinbach was completely destroyed within its town walls.

In 1810, the town gates were removed to make access to the town easier.

Loss of independence and recent history

Over the centuries, Steinbach steadily lost importance and fell behind neighbouring towns such as Bühl. In the Baden-Württemberg territorial reform of 1972, the small town also lost its independence. It was incorporated into the town of Baden-Baden. Since then, together with Neuweier and Varnhalt, it has formed the southern Rebland villages of Baden-Baden. Initially, each of the three villages had its own local council (Ortschaftsrat). Before the 2004 local elections, the local councils decided to merge into a single “Ortschaft Rebland”, with one local council and one local mayor (Ortsvorsteher), who has since been responsible for all the Rebland villages alike.

Organisations

Restaurants & cafés

The restaurant Herd’s Eintracht is located in the traffic-calmed old town centre of Steinbach, right next to the Church of St James. The restaurant also has a beer garden. The Gasthaus Linde is on Yburgstraße and is both a restaurant and a hotel. Opposite the Linde is Café Vollmer. The treats of master confectioner Vollmer can either be enjoyed on the spot or taken home.

Day-care centres, kindergartens and schools

• Grundschule Steinbach
• Kindertagesstätte Haus Löwenzahn
• Kindergarten Regenbogen
• Kindergarten St. Jakobus

Wineries

• Weingut Fischer
• Weinbau Lörch

Other local businesses

• Gärtnerei Werr
• Tankstelle Karcher
• Edeka Fischer
• Maler Eckerle GmbH
• Wäldele’s Mutterkuhhaltung

Steinbach has its own commercial area. It lies west of the old town centre along the railway line. Numerous companies are located here, including:

• Lehnhoff Hartstahl GmbH & Co. KG
• Butsch & Meier GmbH
• Schöck Bauteile GmbH

Clubs and associations

• Historischer Verein Yburg
• SR Yburg Steinbach e.V.
• Radsportverein Yburg e.V.
• Hundesportverein Baden-Baden-Steinbach e.V.
• Schützenverein von Steinbach 1863 e.V.
• Freiwillige Feuerwehr Baden-Baden Abteilung Steinbach
• Türkisch-Islamischer Kulturverein e.V.

Playgrounds and green spaces

• Bürgergarten Steinbach
• Grünanlage Alte Tongrube
• Freibad Steinbach

Map

Sources

• Information brochure Das Baden-Badener Rebland, published by the town of Baden-Baden / Ortsverwaltung Rebland, January 2015 edition, pp. 8 f.
• Chronik der Stadt Steinbach by Roland Seiter (press officer of the town of Baden-Baden) (unfortunately no longer available online)