Waldkirch, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

🇩🇪 Waldkirch is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located 15 km north-east of Freiburg im Breisgau. While the English translation of its name is Forest Church, it is known as the "town of mechanical organs", where fairground organs played on the streets were long manufactured by such well-known firms as Carl Frei, Andreas Ruth and Son, and Wilhelm Bruder and Sons. The largest employers today are SICK AG, which manufactures optical sensors, Faller AG, which prints pharmaceutical packages and inserts, and Mack Rides, which exports amusement park and water park rides worldwide. Cultural events include the Klappe 11 Cinema festival, the Organ Festival and the Peter Feuchtwanger Piano Masterclass.

Economy Waldkirch has a long history of industry and craftsmanship. The tradition of gemstone cutting, which reaches back to the Middle Ages, is still upheld today by the Wintermantel company. Organ building in Waldkirch, first established by Matthias Martin in 1799, grew to include barrel organs and orchestrions in the 19th century, gaining worldwide renown well into the 1920s. The organ builders Jäger and Brommer, Paul Fleck Söhne, Achim Schneider and Wolfram Stützle continue the tradition to this day. During the industrial revolution, Waldkirch - along with the entire Valley of the Elz - was an important location of the textile industry. Of this tradition, all that remains today is the Gütermann company in the neighboring community of Gutach. In contrast, optical and electrical manufacturing, represented in Waldkirch by the company SICK AG, has been enjoying steady growth since World War II, as has paper manufacturing represented by the company August Faller GmbH. Since 1877, a successful viticulture has been established in the district of Buchholz, which is also known trans-regionally for its cultivation of fruit and berries. In the district of Suggental, several silver mines were in use during the Middle Ages. Some parts of the mines are being uncovered and made accessible again by the mining research team Suggental, and tourist visits can be arranged ("Silberbergwerk Suggental"). Tourism is another important economic sector for Waldkirch, which is located alongside the German Clock Road ("Deutsche Uhrenstraße"), and is also a part of the Network of German Organ Road ("Kulturnetzwerk Deutsche Orgelstraße"). Friends of winter sports will enjoy the ski lifts on the local mountain, the Kandel. The most challenging slope is the partial valley run "Nordhang" (northern slope). Since April 30, 2016, Waldkirch has a new public open-air swimming pool in the district of Kollnau.

Local Businesses Some of Waldkirch's businesses are well-known beyond the immediate area, and a few operate worldwide - even as global market leaders in their field. Organ building is still an active trade, conducted by Jäger and Brommer, Paul Fleck Söhne, Achim Schneider and Wolfram Stützle. Mack Rides, a family business founded in Waldkirch in 1780, is one of the leading suppliers of amusement rides. Its former exhibition area in Rust is now home to the Europa Park, Germany's largest theme park. Another company located in Waldkirch is SICK AG, a manufacturer of industrial sensors and optical technology, with more than 8000 employees worldwide. The local company Ganter Interior is an owner-operated family business with a global market presence in interior construction and shop fitting. August Faller GmbH is another family business with its headquarters in Waldkirch, which was founded in 1882. It is one of the market leaders in pharmaceutical secondary packaging in German-speaking countries.

Transportation Waldkirch is located along the Federal Highway ("Bundesstraße") 294 between Bretten and Freiburg im Breisgau. The road circumvents the town through the Hugenwaldtunnel to the south. The Kandel road ("Kandelstraße"), which starts at the north-eastern edge of town, has connected Waldkirch to the Kandel since its construction in the 1930s, and was extended in the 1950s to the village of St. Peter. Waldkirch train station can be reached by the Elz Valley Railway ("Elztalbahn"), which is serviced by the regional railway operator "Breisgau S-Bahn" and runs half-hourly between Freiburg im Breisgau and Elzach. In addition, Waldkirch is serviced by two regional bus lines. The nearest railway station with access to long-distance trains is "Freiburg Hauptbahnhof" (Freiburg main station). Waldkirch is part of the regional public transportation authority "Regio-Verkehrsverbund Freiburg". The nearest international Airports are the EuroAirport Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg, Zurich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, the Airport Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden and Strasbourg.