Pirmasens, District capital in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Pirmasens is an independent city in Rhineland-Palatinate, located at 387 meters elevation in the Pfälzerwald forest, near the French border and Saarland. The municipality spreads across a wooded hill landscape with compact residential quarters and industrial zones on the outskirts.
The settlement emerged in 860 as Pirminiseusna, a foundation of Hornbach Abbey named after Saint Pirminius. Centuries later the place developed into a center of shoe manufacturing that employed thousands of workers into the 20th century.
The town takes its name from Saint Pirminius, whose monastery shaped the early settlement and still echoes in the local landscape. Visitors notice above all the traces of the shoe industry, visible in the buildings and museums throughout the area.
The town center can be reached on foot from the train station in a few minutes through the main streets. Those wanting to explore the surroundings will find hiking trails leading directly from the edge of town into the Pfälzerwald.
The Dynamikum offers hands-on experiments in physics and technology where visitors of all ages can try things themselves. In the old town, the former town hall now serves as a museum displaying the history of local shoe production.
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