Worms | Germany, Map, & History

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Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). </div> <div class="type-menu"> <label for="feedback-type" class="label mb-10">Feedback Type</label> <select id="feedback-type" class="form-select mb-30" name="feedbackTypeId" required> <option value="" selected="selected">Select a type (Required)</option> <option value="1">Factual Correction</option> <option value="2">Spelling/Grammar Correction</option> <option value="3">Link Correction</option> <option value="4">Additional Information</option> <option value="5">Other</option> </select> </div> <label for="feedback" class="label mb-10">Your Feedback</label> <textarea id="feedback" class="form-control mb-30" name="feedback" maxlength="3000" rows="7" required></textarea> <button class="btn btn-blue" type="submit">Submit Feedback</button> </form> <div class="success-messaging d-none mt-30"> <div class="title">Thank you for your feedback</div> <p>Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-websites-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom font-weight-bold"> External Websites </div> <div class="pb-20"> <ul class="list-unstyled mt-20 lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="http://www.sacred-destinations.com/germany/worms.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Sacred Destinations - Worms, Germany</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 js-header-ai-ask-button d-none btn-sm btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="caption alternate-titles">Also known as: Barbetomagus, Celtic Borbetomagus, Civitas Vangionum</div> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written and fact-checked by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Worms/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref35975"></span>Worms</strong>, city, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Rhineland-Palatinate" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Rhineland-Palatinate</a> <em>Land</em> (state), southwestern <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Germany</a>. Worms is a port on the left (west) bank of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Rhine-River" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Rhine River</a>, just northwest of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Mannheim" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Mannheim</a>. Known originally as Celtic Borbetomagus, by the reign of Julius Caesar it was called Civitas Vangionum, the chief town of the Vangiones. In 413 <span class="text-smallcaps">ce</span> it became the capital of the Burgundians, who, after disputes with the Romans, rose in revolt in 435 against the Roman governor Flavius Aelius. He called upon his Hun allies, who destroyed the city in 436. The Hun destruction of Worms and the Burgundian kingdom inspired heroic <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="legends" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legends" data-type="MW">legends</a> in the epic poem <em><span id="ref35976"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nibelungenlied" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Nibelungenlied</a></em> (c. 1200).</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="289796" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/24/246824-050-527A602A/Locator-map-Worms.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/649130/289796"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/24/246824-050-527A602A/Locator-map-Worms.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/24/246824-050-527A602A/Locator-map-Worms.jpg?w=300" alt="Worms, Germany" data-width="2000" data-height="2000" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/24/246824-050-527A602A/Locator-map-Worms.jpg" data-href="/media/1/649130/289796">Worms, Germany</a><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Rebuilt by the Merovingian kings, Worms became a bishopric about 600 and a favourite residence of the Carolingian and Salian emperors. The bishopric (secularized in 1803) grew steadily in temporal power and territory, particularly under Bishop Burchard I (1000–1025), and Worms became a free <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/imperial-city-Holy-Roman-Empire" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">imperial city</a> of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Holy-Roman-Empire" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Holy Roman Empire</a> in 1156, remaining free until 1801.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">More than 100 imperial diets (assemblies) were held in the city (<em>see</em> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Diet-of-Worms-Germany-1521" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Diet of Worms</a>). The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Concordat-of-Worms" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Concordat of Worms</a> closed the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Investiture-Controversy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Investiture Controversy</a> in 1122, the “perpetual public peace” (<em>Ewiger Landfriede</em>) was proclaimed by the emperor Maximilian I there at the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Diet-German-history" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Diet</a> of 1495, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Martin-Luther" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Martin Luther</a> appeared before the famous Diet of 1521 to defend his <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="doctrines" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/doctrines" data-type="EB">doctrines</a> to the emperor Charles V. Worms became Protestant in 1525 and was the site of religious conferences in 1540 and 1557. It suffered severely during the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Thirty-Years-War" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Thirty Years’ War</a> and was looted and burned by the French in 1689. These events led to a precipitous decline, which lasted until the city revived and expanded under the stimulus of industrial development in the 19th century. It was annexed to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/France" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">France</a> in 1797 and passed to Hesse-Darmstadt in 1816.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="191906" data-asm-type="video"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="video" video-id="179843"><a data-id="179843" class="gtm-assembly-link d-flex justify-content-center" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9" href="/video/Overview-Cathedral-of-St-Peter-Germany-Worms/-191906"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/43/179843-138-31453969/Overview-Cathedral-of-St-Peter-Germany-Worms.jpg?w=800&h=450&c=crop" alt="The rich history of Worms, Germany" loading="lazy"><script type="application/json"> { "sources": [ { "file" : "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/HBiI79g1.m3u8" } ], "image": "https://cdn.britannica.com/43/179843-138-31453969/Overview-Cathedral-of-St-Peter-Germany-Worms.jpg" ,"tracks": [ { "file" : "//assets-jpcust.jwpsrv.com/tracks/W116unUC", "label": "English" } ] ,"adfile": "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/9tBIUIpD.m3u8" } </script><div class="btn btn-xl btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; transform: translateY(-50%)"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="play_arrow"></em></div></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><span class="md-assembly-title font-weight-bold mr-5 d-inline font-sans-serif md-video-caption" video-control="179843">The rich history of Worms, Germany</span><span>Overview of the Cathedral of St. Peter (also known as Worms Cathedral), Worms, Germany.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div><a class="font-14 mt-10 d-inline-block" href="/place/Worms/images-videos">See all videos for this article</a></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Worms has an important wine trade. Its industries include the manufacture of leather, machinery, chemicals, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/synthetic-fiber" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">synthetic fibre</a>. Although Worms was severely damaged in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">World War II</a>, it was subsequently rebuilt. The <span id="ref35977"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Cathedral-of-Saint-Peter-cathedral-Worms-Germany" class="md-crosslink ">Cathedral of St. Peter</a> (also known as Worms Cathedral) ranks with those of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Speyer" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Speyer</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Mainz" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Mainz</a> as one of the finest Romanesque churches of the Rhine. The original building was <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="consecrated" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consecrated" data-type="MW">consecrated</a> in 1018 and was completed and remodeled in the 12th century. Additions were made in the 13th and 14th centuries, and the whole has often been damaged and restored. In the crypt are tombs of the dukes of the Salian line. Other noteworthy churches include the Church of Our Lady (Liebfrauenkirche; consecrated 1467), whose vineyards produce the famous white wine known as Liebfraumilch (a term now broadly applied to a variety of exported German semisweet white wines); <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Saint-Paul-Minnesota" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">St. Paul’s</a> Church (1002); <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Andrew" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">St. Andrew’s</a> (1016; now the municipal museum); and the Trinity Church (1726). The old <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/synagogue" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">synagogue</a> (1034, restored 13th century), which was destroyed in 1938, was rebuilt and modernized after World War II. The <span id="ref35978"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jew-people" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Jewish</a> <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="community" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/community" data-type="MW">community</a> of Worms claims to be the oldest in Germany and to have existed since the earliest Christian era, although the first authenticated mention of it was in 588. The city’s other historic landmarks include the Hagen Monument and the Siegfried Fountain, both <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="commemorating" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commemorating" data-type="MW">commemorating</a> the Nibelungen legends, and the 19th-century Luther Monument. Pop. (2011) 79,207.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></span><span class="md-signature">This article was most recently revised and updated by <a href="/editor/Amy-Tikkanen/6393">Amy Tikkanen</a>.</span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":649130,"pageLength":529,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"B","adLeg":"B","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"MEDIUM","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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