Germany - Bretten

Bretten is a picturesque little city with a medieval old center. It is located in the Kraichgau and surrounded by the hills of the Odenwald and Schwarzwald. The nobleman Wigilo gave in the year of 767 a piece of land to the Lorsch Monastery under the name of “villa breteheim”. This was entered into the codex of the monastery and is considered being the first time the name of Bretten was officially mentioned. Since 1148 Bretten had the right to mint and issue coins and in 1254 it received city rights.

The heart of the city is the market square, which is surrounded by half-timbered houses, dating back from the early 18th century. The Melanchthonhaus (Melanchthon’s House) – PiP2 - is also standing on the market square. This imposing reddish neo-gothic building was built in 1897 - erected as a memorial on the 400th anniversary of the birth - on the place of the birth house of Philipp Melanchthon, which was burnt down in the devastating fire of 1689. It hosts the second biggest exposition in Germany dedicated to the Reformation.
(Melanchthon was one of the most important figures of the Reformation, a man of great erudition, a scholar, a theologian, an educator and one of Martin Luther’s close personal friends.)