The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Pforzheim

PFORZHEIM, pfōrts'hīm, Germany, the fourth largest (1914) city of Baden, 15 miles southeast of Carlsruhe, on the northern edge of the Black Forest, at the junction of the Würm, the Nagold and the Enz. Among its buildings are the remains of an ancient castle, formerly the residence of the margraves of Baden-Durlach; the castle church, dating from the 12th century, containing the tombs of many of the margraves; the townhouse, a handsome building, rebuilt in 1892-95; the post office; a fine museum, a gymnasium, and many other educational institutions. The chief industry of the place is the manufacture of cheap jewelry, which employs over 22,000 hands. There are also chemical works, machine-works, forges, tanneries, copper-works, bleachfields, paper-mills, oil-mills, saw-mills, etc. The trade in wood is important, the timber being floated by the Enz and Neckar to the Rhine. There is also a considerable trade in oil, fruit, wine and cattle. The inhabitants distinguished themselves in the Thirty Years' War. Reuchlin, one of the most distinguished precursors of the Reformation, was born here. Pop. 73,786.