ZWEIBRCKEN

city, Rhineland-Palatinate Land (state), southwestern Germany, on the Schwarz River. The name, meaning two bridges, appeared in Latin documents as Bipontium and in French as Deux-Ponts. The town is known to scholars for the Editiones Bipontinae, early printed volumes of Roman and Greek classics. Originally an independent countship, Zweibrcken was chartered in 1352 and passed to the Palatinate lands of the Bavarian Wittelsbachs in 1385. From 1410 it was a duchy, and it became the residence of the house of Pfalz-Zweibrcken in 1477. The kings of Sweden between 1698 and 1718 were members of the house of Pfalz-Zweibrcken. The duchy fell to France in 1801, and most of it passed to Bavaria in 1816. Almost completely destroyed in World War II, the town has since been rebuilt. The castle (172025) and the late Gothic-style Church of St. Alexander (1493) survived. The town hall (177985) and other buildings are in Rococo and Baroque styles. Zweibrcken is known as the town of roses and horses for its Rose Garden (east of the city) and its horse breeding (since 1744) and racing. Industries include metalworking and the manufacture of machinery, textiles, shoes, and wood products. Pop. (1992 est.) 34,645.