Walldorf is a town in the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Walldorf is home to the world's third largest software company SAP. In the eighteenth century, it was the birthplace of John Jacob Astor, who emigrated and became a prominent fur trader in the newly independent United States, establishing a monopoly in North America. Concentrating on real estate acquisition and investment, and based in New York City, he grew even wealthier and was the patriarch of the wealthy and influential Astor family.
Geography
The neighbouring town to the east is Wiesloch. The towns are strongly linked economically. Adjacent municipalities are Sandhausen, Leimen, Nußloch, St. Leon-Rot and Reilingen. The train station, named Wiesloch-Walldorf, is located between the two towns.
History
A. Hallstatt culture barrows are preserved in the Hochholz woods, near the offices of SAP Deutschland. The earliest documentary mention of the settlement occurs as Waltorf in a 770 deed issued by the Abbey of Lorsch. The Electorate of the Palatinate received Walldorf as an Imperial fief in 1230. The town suffered much during the Thirty Years' War of 1618-1648, and in 1689 was completely destroyed in the course of the French invasion during Nine Years' War. The area was settled anew by religious refugees, among them the predecessors of John Jacob Astor, Waldensians from Piedmont. German Mediatisation, Walldorf fell to Baden. In 1843 the Rheintalbahn was built: this railway decisively promoted economic development. In 1901 Grand Duke Frederick I of Baden granted Walldorf town privileges. After World War II the companies Heidelberger Druckmaschinen and SAP were established in Walldorf.
Politics
Seats in the municipal assembly as of 2019 elections:
The Astorhaus was built in 1854, from a pecuniary legacy of the deceased John Jacob Astor to his hometown. For decades, it served as an almshouse, and now hosts the register office and a museum. The 19th-century synagogue was devastated in the 1938 Kristallnacht attacks and most of the congregation was killed in the Holocaust. The building is now used as a New Apostolic Church. Walldorf is known for cultivating white asparagus, which is available in the months of April through June.
Representation in other media
British writer John Le Carré refers to the town, without naming it, in his novel Absolute Friends, which is primarily set in Heidelberg.
John Jacob Astor, entrepreneur, emigrated as a young man to the United States, where he made a fortune in fur trading and real estate acquisition: at his death in 1848, he was the wealthiest man in the nation.
