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{{Infobox German place
|name = Landau in der Pfalz
|type            = Stadt
|image_photo     = Court House in Landau.JPG
|image_caption   = Courthouse
|image_flag      = Flagge Landau in der Pfalz.svg
|image_coa       = Wappen Landau Pfalz.svg
|coordinates     = {{coord|49|12|N|8|7|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|image_plan      =
|state           = Rheinland-Pfalz
|district        = Kreisfreie Stadt
|elevation       = 142
|area            = 82.94
|postal_code     = 76829
|area_code       = 06341
|licence          = LD
|Gemeindeschlüssel = 07 3 13 000
|divisions         = 8 [[Ortsteil]]e
|website           = [https://www.landau.de/ www.landau.de]
|mayor             = Dominik Geißler<ref>[https://www.wahlen.rlp.de/de/kw/direktwahlen/wahl-der-buergermeister-kreisfreier-staedte/ Wahl der Oberbürgermeister der kreisfreien Städte], Landeswahlleiter Rheinland-Pfalz. Retrieved 5 June 2023.</ref>
|leader_term       = 2023&ndash;31
|Bürgermeistertitel = Oberbürgermeister
|party             = CDU
}}
'''Landau''' ({{langx|pfl|Landach}}), officially '''Landau in der Pfalz''' ({{IPA|de|ˈlandaʊ ʔɪn deːɐ̯ ˈpfalts}}, {{lit|Landau in the Palatinate}}), is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the [[Südliche Weinstraße]] ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern [[Rhineland-Palatinate]], [[Germany]]. It is a university town (since 1990), a long-standing cultural centre, and a market and shopping town, surrounded by vineyards and wine-growing villages of the [[Palatinate (wine region)|Palatinate wine region]]. Landau lies east of the [[Palatinate forest]], on the [[German Wine Route]].

It contains the districts (''Ortsteile'') of Arzheim, Dammheim, Godramstein, Mörlheim, Mörzheim, Nussdorf, Queichheim, and Wollmesheim.

==History and other settings==
Landau was first mentioned as a settlement in 1106. It was in the possession of the counts of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Landeck, whose arms, differenced by an [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|escutcheon]] of the Imperial eagle, served as the arms of Landau until 1955.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ngw.nl/int/dld/kreis/landaup.htm |title=Landaup |access-date=2005-06-13 |archive-date=2005-05-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050504014211/http://www.ngw.nl/int/dld/kreis/landaup.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The town was granted a charter in 1274 by King [[Rudolph I of Germany|Rudolf I]] of [[Kingdom of Germany|Germany]], who declared the town a [[Free Imperial Town]] in 1291; nevertheless Prince-Bishop Emich of [[Prince-Bishopric of Speyer|Speyer]], a major landowner in the district, seized the town in 1324. The town did not regain its ancient rights until 1511 from [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian I]]. An [[Augustinians|Augustinian]] monastery was founded in 1276. It has also helped provide college education for the past 28 years.

[[File:LASB K Hellwig 1040.jpg|thumb|Fortress of Landau 1695]]
[[File:LASB K Hellwig 1041.jpg|thumb|Siege of Landau 1702]]
After the [[Peace of Westphalia]] in 1648, control of Landau was ceded to France, although with certain ill-defined reservations.<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Landau |volume=16 |page=153}}</ref> Landau was later part of [[France]] from 1680 to 1815,<ref>{{cite web |title=Landau |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Landau-Germany |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> during which it was one of the ''[[Décapole]]'', the ten free cities of [[Alsace]], and received its modern fortifications by [[Louis XIV]]'s military architect [[Vauban]] in 1688–99, making the little town (its 1789 population was approximately 5,000) one of Europe's strongest citadels. In the [[War of the Spanish Succession]] it had four sieges. After the [[Siege of Landau (1702)|siege of 1702]] lost by the French, an Imperial garrison was installed in Landau. In a [[Siege of Landau (1703)|subsequent siege]] from 13 October to 15 November 1703 the French regained the town, following their victory in the [[Battle of Speyerbach]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Ehrend |first=Helfried |title=Die vier Belegerungen von Landau auf Münzen und Medaillen |language=de |publisher=Numismatische Gesellschaft Speyer e.V. |location=Speyer |year=1972 |pages=26}}</ref> A [[Siege of Landau (1704)|third siege]], begun on 12 September 1704 by [[Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden|Louis, Margrave of Baden-Baden]], ended on 23 November 1704 with a French defeat.<ref>{{cite book |last=Heuser |first=Emil |title=Die dritte und vierte Belagerung Landaus im spanischen Erbfolgekrieg (1704 und 1713) |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_y3gqAAAAYAAJ |language=de |publisher=Ed. Kaußlers Buchhandlung |location=Landau Pfalz |year=1896 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_y3gqAAAAYAAJ/page/n14 3]–99}}</ref> During this siege [[Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor|King Joseph I]] arrived at Landau coming from Vienna in a newly developed convertible carriage. This carriage would become very popular and became named the [[Landau (carriage)|landau]] in English, or [[:de:Landauer|Landauer]] in German. The French recaptured Landau once more in a [[Siege of Landau (1713)|final siege]] which lasted from 6 June to 20 August 1713 by Marshal General [[Claude Louis Hector de Villars|Villars]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Heuser |first=Emil |title=Die dritte und vierte Belagerung Landaus im spanischen Erbfolgekrieg (1704 und 1713) |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_y3gqAAAAYAAJ |language=de |publisher=Ed. Kaußlers Buchhandlung |location=Landau Pfalz |year=1896 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_y3gqAAAAYAAJ/page/n173 163]–214}}</ref>

Landau was part of [[Bas-Rhin]] department between 1789 and 1815. After [[Napoleon]]'s [[Hundred Days]] following his escape from Elba, Landau, which had remained French, was granted to the [[Kingdom of Bavaria]] in 1815 and became the capital of one of the thirteen ''Bezirksämter'' (counties) of the Bavarian [[Palatinate (region)|Rheinkreis]], later renamed Pfalz.

In 1840 famous political cartoonist [[Thomas Nast]] was born in Landau.

Following [[World War II]], Landau was an important barracks town for the [[History of Germany since 1945|French occupation]].

==Main sites==
[[File:Landau Rathausplatz02.jpg|thumb|right|Landau's main square ''Rathausplatz'']]
Landau's large main square (''Rathausplatz'') is dominated by the town hall (''Rathaus'') and the market hall (''Altes Kaufhaus''). In the 19th century, the former fortifications gave way to a ring road that encircles the old town centre, from which the old industrial buildings have been excluded. A convention hall, the ''Festhalle'', was built in [[Art Nouveau]] style, 1905–07 on a rise overlooking the town park and facing the modernist ''Bundesamt'', the regional government building.
The Protestant [[Collegiate Church]] ([[:de:Stiftskirche (Landau in der Pfalz)|Stiftskirche]]) in Landau in der Pfalz is one of the oldest buildings in the town. With the construction of the church started in the 14th century, was completed in the mid-16th century.

The zoo is located close to the center of Landau alongside the historical fortifications. Animals are held in natural enclosures. The zoo contains numerous exotic species such as tigers and cheetahs, but also seals, penguins,  kangaroos and flamingos and many more.

==Economy==
Wine-making continues to be an important industry of Landau.
==Transport==
The nearest airports to Landau are:
*[[Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport]], located {{convert|66|km|0|abbr=on}} south.
*[[Saarbrücken Airport]], located {{convert|98|km|0|abbr=on}} west.
*[[Strasbourg Airport]], located {{convert|111|km|0|abbr=on}} south west
*[[Stuttgart Airport]], located {{convert|114|km|0|abbr=on}} south east. 
*[[Frankfurt Airport]], located {{convert|123|km|0|abbr=on}} north east.

==Culture==
The "[[Landau (carriage)|landau]]," a luxury open carriage with a pair of folding tops, was invented in the town during the [[War of the Spanish Succession]].

A frequent [[Ashkenazi]] [[surname]] originates in this town. Probably its most famous bearer was [[Yechezkel Landau]], an 18th-century [[talmud]]ist and [[halakha|halakhist]] and the [[chief rabbi]] of [[Prague]].

==Twin towns – sister cities==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany}}
Landau in der Pfalz is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite web |title=Partnerstädte|url=https://www.landau.de/Leben–Wohnen/Stadtportrait/Partnerst%C3%A4dte|website=landau.de|publisher=Landau in der Pfalz|language=de|access-date=2021-02-18}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Haguenau]], France
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Ribeauvillé]], France
*{{flagicon|RWA}} [[Ruhango]], Rwanda

==Notable people==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*[[Jan Boner]] (1463–1523), German-Polish merchant and banker
*[[Johann Caspar Bagnato]] (1696–1757), German-Italian architect
*[[Johann Christoph Wendland]] (1755–1828), botanist
*[[Johann Birnbaum]] (1763–1832), jurist
*[[Jacques-Louis Copia]] (1764–1799), German-French engraver
*[[Charles-Frédéric Soehnée]] (1789–1878), German-French painter
*[[Heinrich Jakob Fried]] (1802–1870), painter
*[[François Fleischbein]] (1804–1878), painter
*[[Franz Joseph Lauth]] (1822–1895), egyptologist
*[[Marcus Otterbourg]] (1827–1893), American diplomat, lawyer, and judge
*[[Michel Bréal]] (1832–1915), German-French philologist
*[[Ludwig Levy]] (1854–1907), architect
*[[Jakob Ritter von Danner]] (1865–1942), general
*[[Ludwig Maria Hugo]] (1871–1935), Roman Catholic bishop in Mainz
*[[Heinrich Kaspar Schmid]] (1874–1953), composer
*[[Franz Ritter von Hörauf]] (1878–1957), general
*[[Helmuth Theodor Bossert]] (1880–1961), art historian, philologist and archaeologist
*[[Ludwig Kohl-Larsen]] (1884–1969), physician
*[[Arnold Metzger]] (1892–1974), philosopher
*[[Ferdinand Jodl]] (1896–1956), general
*[[Ernst Maisel]] (1896–1978), general
*[[Thomas Nast]] (1840–1902), American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist
*[[Gustav Harteneck]] (1892–1984), general
*[[Lil Picard]] (1899–1994), German-American cabaret actress
*[[Richard Rudolf Klein]] (1921–2011), composer, musician and teacher
*[[Friedrich Wetter]] (born 1928), Roman Catholic bishop in Munich
*[[Fritz Strack]] (born 1950), psychologist
*[[Albrecht Hornbach]] (born 1953), businessman
*[[Volker Zotz]] (born 1956), German-Austrian philosopher and writer
*[[Éric de Moulins-Beaufort]] (born 1962), French prelate of the Roman Catholic Church
*[[Anne Lünenbürger]] (born 1964), operatic soprano
*[[Charlotte Seither]] (born 1965), composer and pianist
*[[Christine Schneider]] (born 1972), politician (CDU)
*[[Bas Kast]] (born 1973), science writer
*[[Stefan Raunser]] (born 1976), scientist
*[[Bernd Metz]] (born 1979), artist
*[[Kris Menace]] (born 1980), electronic musician
*[[Benjamin Auer]] (born 1981), footballer
*[[Marlene Zapf]] (born 1990), handball player
*[[Michael Schultz (footballer)|Michael Schultz]] (born 1993), footballer
*[[Ricarda Lobe]] (born 1994), hurdler
*[[Jan May]] (born 1995), cyclist
*[[Niklas Hoffmann]] (born 1997), footballer
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Landau in der Pfalz}}
* {{wikivoyage inline|Landau in der Pfalz}}
* [https://www.landau.de Official website]
* [http://www.badische-seiten.de/bilder/landau/ Pictures] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522131412/http://www.badische-seiten.de/bilder/landau/ |date=2011-05-22 }}
* [[Lev Landau]]
{{Germany districts Rhineland-Palatinate}}
{{Décapole}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Landau| ]]
[[Category:Free imperial cities]]
[[Category:Palatinate Forest]]
[[Category:South Palatinate]]
[[Category:Anterior Palatinate]]
[[Category:Palatinate (region)]]
[[Category:Vauban fortifications]]
[[Category:Urban districts of Rhineland-Palatinate]]