OFFENBURG

city, Baden-Wrttemberg Land (state), southwestern Germany, in the Kinzig River Valley, at the western edge of the Black Forest (Schwarzwald). First mentioned in 1101, it was founded by the Zhringen margraves on the site of a Roman settlement and was an imperial free city from 1289 to 1802. In 184649 it was a centre of the revolutionary movement in Baden. Gothic and Baroque buildings and remains of the old fortifications are preserved in the city. From the nearby Staufenberg Castle, atop the Durbach (1,257 feet ), the cathedral at Strasbourg, France, 10 miles (16 km) northwest, can be seen. The principal town of the Ortenau wine- and fruit-growing district, Offenburg is also a road and rail junction, with printing, structural steel, machinery, electrical, and textile industries. Tourism is important. Pop. (1994 est.) 54,963.