Bad Wimpfen (German: [baːt ˈvimpfn̩] ⓘ) is a historic spa town in the district of Heilbronn in the Baden-Württemberg region of southern Germany.

Bad Wimpfen is located on the west bank of the River Neckar, around 15 kilometres (9 mi) north of Heilbronn.

An old trade road running from France forks here towards Nürnberg and Öhringen linking to the Danube.

the Celtic tribe of Helvetii settled around the Neckar, Kocher and Jagst, including the site of Bad Wimpfen.

[citation needed] It is believed that around 98 A.D. the Romans secured the area in southwestern Germany conquered by Domitian (called the Agri Decumates) by the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes, a system of castella built every 12 to 15 kilometres (7 to 9 mi).

After the expansion of the Roman Empire up to the limes near Jagsthausen arranged by emperor Antoninus Pius in 138–161 A.D., the castellum lost its military importance.

It used to be the centre of a district called the Civitas Alisinensium and was surrounded by a city wall like only a few Roman towns in what is southern Germany today.

In addition, there was a wooden bridge above the Neckar which got destroyed by severe ice occurrence in the early Middle Ages.

Thanks to its good location in terms of transport and catchment area, the market developed significantly.

By around 1200 most of the Staufer buildings had been built, including the Blauer Turm (Blue Tower), which is now generally seen as the town's principal visual landmark.

Also in the 13th century Richard von Deidesheim arranged a rebuilding of the diocesan church into the Gothic style.

Due to the decline of the Staufers' Empire, Wimpfen became an imperial city, many manual workers settled there, and the population grew, establishing a large core of citizens.

Emperor Frederick III gave the right to hold a second annual market, the Katharinenmarkt, in addition to the established Talmarkt.

This religious conflict soon grew less important, as the imperial troops of the Count of Tilly fought against the army of Margrave Georg Friedrich of Baden-Durlach in 1622 near the town.

In 1783 it was declared that the removal of wood from surrounding forests was to be taxed to improve the town's financial situation.

Finally Baden agreed to cede the area, since their own territory was far away – and so Wimpfen under Hessian rule.

At the time of the foundation of the People's State of Hesse in 1919, Wimpfen became part of the district of Heppenheim.

In 1945 the American military government reorganised administrational areas, and Bad Wimpfen came again under the reign of Baden (Nord-Württemberg Nord-Baden).

After the opening of the new rail road, running from Heilbronn to Heidelberg, in the 1860s, the spa business increased greatly.

On November 26 the occupying American officials decided to transfer control of Wimpfen to the district of Sinsheim.

The present-day town of Bad Wimpfen is impressive both due to its various spa institutions and its numerous fine historic buildings.

Due to the recession of the 1990s, private initiatives have now superseded the earlier state interventions, but generally the pace of development has decreased and settled.

Aside from a Protestant and Catholic parish in Bad Wimpfen, the town also has a New Apostolic Church and some Jehovah's Witnesses.

One of the earliest mentioned Jews in Wimpfen was Alexander ben Salomon, who released the remains of Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg in the early 14th century.

From the 17th century Jewish families lived in at least five houses in Bad Wimpfen, although several orders were passed that discriminated against them in 1598, 1630, 1756 and 1762.

The diocesan church St. Peter in Wimpfen im Tal, under the control of Grüssau Abbey from 1947 to 2004, is thought to go back to the 7th century.

One of the biggest employers in Bad Wimpfen is Solvay Fluor GmbH containing more than 350 employees and producing different products in fluorine chemistry, e. g. refrigerants and propellants.

Bad Wimpfen station is on the Elsenz Valley Railway (Elsenztalbahn) running from Heilbronn to Heidelberg.

The Heilbronner Stimme (edition north-middle) and the official paper Wimpfener Heimat-Bote report on the happenings of the area.

The urban health centre of Bad Wimpfen (former cure hospital) cares about 4800 patients by a staff of around 200.