Bruchsal

Bruchsal (ˈbʁʊxzaːl; orig. Bruohselle, Bruaselle, historically known in English as Bruxhall; South Franconian: Brusel) is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Bruchsal is the largest city in the district of Karlsruhe and is known for being Europe's largest asparagus producer and one of the economic centers of the region of Karlsruhe. The Bruchsal area also includes the cities and towns of Bad Schönborn, Forst, Hambrücken, Karlsdorf-Neuthard, Kraichtal, Kronau, Oberhausen-Rheinhausen, Östringen, Philippsburg, Ubstadt-Weiher and Waghäusel. Until 1972 Bruchsal was the seat of the district of Bruchsal, which was merged into the district of Karlsruhe as a result of the district reform, effective January 1, 1973. Bruchsal's population passed the 20,000 mark around 1955. When the new Body of Municipal Law for Baden-Württemberg went into effect on April 1, 1956, the city was therefore immediately awarded Große Kreisstadt status. In addition, Bruchsal cooperates with the neighboring communities of Forst, Hambrücken and Karlsdorf-Neuthard in administrative matters. Bruchsal is located at the edge of the Upper Rhine River Plains and the Kraichgau along the Saalbach, which is a small tributary of the Rhine that joins it between Philippsburg and Oberhausen. The following cities and towns share a border with Bruchsal. They all belong to the district of Karlsruhe and are listed clockwise, starting in the North: Forst (Baden), Ubstadt-Weiher, Kraichtal, Bretten, Gondelsheim, Walzbachtal, Weingarten (Baden), Stutensee and Karlsdorf-Neuthard. In addition the exclave of Bruchsal situated North of Karlsdorf-Neuthard shares borders with the towns of Graben-Neudorf, Waghäusel and Hambrücken. The city of Bruchsal is made up of Bruchsal proper along with the boroughs of Büchenau, Heidelsheim, Helmsheim, Obergrombach and Untergrombach. A few neighborhoods within the city limits are known by their own name, but their limits are not precisely documented.