PFORZHEIM, one of the chief industrial towns in the grand-duchy of Baden, is pleasantly situated at the confluence of the Nagold, the Würm, and the Enz, on the northern margin of the Black Forest, 15 miles to the south-east of Carlsruhe. The most prominent buildings are the old palace of the margraves of Baden-Durlach and the Schlosskirche, the latter an interesting edifice of the 12th to the 15th centuries, containing the tombs and monuments of the margraves. The staple industry is the manufacture of gold and silver λvare and jewellery, which gives employment to nearly 10,000 workmen, besides which there are iron and copper works, and manufactures of chemicals, paper, leather, cloth, and other articles. A brisk trade is maintained in timber, cattle, and agricultural produce. In 1880 the population was 24,037, having almost doubled itself in twenty years. Four-fifths of the inhabitants are Protestants.

Pforzheim (Porta Hercyniae) is of Roman origin, and has belonged to Baden for 600 years. From about 1300 down to 1565 it was the seat of the margraves of the Baden-Durlach-Ernestine line, now extinct. The town was taken by the troops of the Catholic League in 1624, and was destroyed by the French in 1689. The story of the 400 citizens of Pforzheim who sacrificed themselves for their prince after the battle of Wimpfen (1622) has been relegated by recent historical research to the domain of legend. The humanist Reuchlin was born at Pforzheim in 1455.