Welcome

Schwäbisch Hall is a special city, a family-friendly city with medieval flair and high quality of life and work, an education city with character and a supra-regional important arts and culture program, hospitable and cosmopolitan, a city where tradition and innovation merge in an excellent manner.

Historic buildings in Schwäbisch Hall are associated with award-winning modern architecture. Between the old and new houses, an inspired and diverse culture blossoms. People from more than 100 countries live here together colourful, peaceful, cosmopolitan. This city breathes urbanism. The people living here are used to rolling up their sleeves and shaping their future themselves, relying on their own strength.

Formerly, the wealth and the importance of the city was founded on salt, the white gold during medieval times. Our particular focus is on education, because the gifts and talents of the people are our greatest wealth today. We are rightfully proud of the excellent basic structure and the diversity of profiles ranging from the child day-care centre to the polytechnic university, from the school centres to professional further qualification, from the music school to the adult learning centre. And arts and culture in Schwäbisch Hall radiate far beyond the region the Kunsthalle (Arts Hall) Würth, the Open-Air Plays or the museums. Maintaining these, particularly in financially difficult times, is a great achievement and remains our ambitious goal for the future. But we also have a very committed and active bourgeoisie, who identify themselves with the city and who take over responsibilities, through foundations, associations, support groups, parents and neighbourhood initiatives or service clubs.

The city's prosperity of course strongly depends on its economic constitution. And Schwäbisch Hall is home to an explicitly healthy and broad economic structure. The city is home to strong performance companies that successfully compete on the national and international scene with their services and innovative technologies. Saving through a building and loan bank 'Made in Schwäbisch Hall' became the trademark and companies such as the Optima-Group, Recaro or Klafs matured into market leaders. The business location achieves its strong basis from a healthy mix of sectors.

We promote and support the economic development, provide the required infrastructure, develop attractive industrial zones and improve the short connections to the supra-regional traffic routes. The business airport, put into operation in 2004, brings strategic advantages and an additional push for the economic development. Our most recent investment in the future is the construction of Würth's solar factory. Service provider in the interest of the companies that is the creed of our successful business development: active, strategic orientation, competent. And with the centrally located Haus der Wirtschaft (House of the Economy) we have established an entrepreneur and technology centre, where all our company-relevant services are found under one roof.

I invite you to discover Schwäbisch Hall, this special city with tradition and future.

Hermann-Josef Pelgrim
Lord Mayor