Thesaurus

The town of Zweibrücken is located on the Schwarzbach river some 53 miles west southwest of Mannheim. It was an independent countship and noted medieval center, receiving its charter in 1352/ It passed to the Wittelsbach family in 1385. It produced famous early editions of Roman and Greek classic texts, the Editiones Bipontinae. In 1410 it became a duchy and in 1477 passed into the possession of the house of Pfalz-Zweibrücken. Possession passed to Bavaria in 1816. The town was almost totally destroyed in World War II, but has been mostly rebuilt. Its surviving historic architecture includes the late Gothic Church of St. Alexander, the castle built in 1720-1725, and the Baroque town hall built 1779-1785. The modern town bears the nickname "the town of roses and horses" after its famous Garden of Roses east of the town and its local horse breeding and racing industry. Other industries include metalworking and the production of wood products, textiles, machinery, and footwear. The calculated population for 2005 was 35,970.