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WORMS
- GERMANY
Worms is a city in Germany, situated in
Rhineland-Palatinate. The name is pronounced as vorms with a long "o" (like
in English "caught") and a sharp final "s" (like in English "once"). The
name is of Celtic origin: Borbetomagus meant "settlement in a watery area".
This was probably transformed into the Latin name Wormatia that had been in
use since the 6th century.
Today, it is an industrial centre and is famed for its local wine called
Liebfraumilch. Other industries include chemicals and metal goods. At the
end of 2001, it had 84,426 inhabitants.
Worms claims to be the site where the events
of the ancient German Nibelungenlied took place -- but several other cities
make this claim as well. Nevertheless, a multimedia Nibelungenmuseum was
opened in 2001, and a yearly festival attempts to recapture the atmosphere
of the piece.
History
The city has existed since at least as early as the 4th century. A bishopric
has certainly existed since 614, but was dissolved in 1801 in the process of
secularization. In the Frankish Empire, the city was the location of an
important palatinate of Charlemagne, and it prospered especially in the High
Middle Ages.
It is maybe most well known for its cathedral, one of the finest pieces of
romanesque architecture in Germany. Alongside the nearby romanesque
cathedrals of Speyer and Mainz, it is one of the so-called Kaiserdome
(Imperial Cathedrals). Some parts in early romanesque style from the 10th
century still exist, while most parts are from the 11th and 12th century,
with some additions in gothic style. (See the external links below for
pictures.)
Four other romanesque churches as well as the romanesque old city
fortification still exist, making the city Germany's second in romanesque
architecture only to Cologne.
Having received far-reaching privileges from King Henry IV (later Emperor
Henry III) as early as 1074, the city later became a Reichsstadt, being
independent of a local territory and responsible only to the Emperor himself.
As a result, Worms was the site of several important events in the history
of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1122 the Concordat of Worms was signed; in
1495, a Reichstag took an attempt at reforming the disintegrating Reich.
Maybe most importantly, at the end of the Reichstag of 1521 (commonly known
as the Diet of Worms), in the Edict of Worms, Martin Luther was declared an
outlaw after refusing to recant his religious beliefs.
The city is known as a former center for Judaism. A cemetery dating back to
the 11th century is believed to be the oldest in Europe; an ancient
synagogue was built around 1034. Although much of the Jewish Quarter was
destroyed in the events known as Kristallnacht of 1938 and a recognizeable
Jewish community no longer exists, after renovations in the 1970s and 1980s,
much of the buildings can be seen in a close to original state.
The city has been nearly destroyed twice in its history. In 1689, French
troops invaded, almost eradicating the city; it came under French rule again
from 1789 till 1816. In World War II, it was heavily bombed.
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