The common Jewish name Halpern, and many variants such as Alpert, derive from the name of this city Heilbronn. Heilbronn is located in Germany, in the northern corner of the Neckar basin at the bottom of the Wartberg (308 m). It occupies both banks of the Neckar, and the highest spot inside city limits is the Schweinsberg with a height of 372 meters. Heilbronn is adjacent to Swabian-Franconian Forest Nature Park and is surrounded by vineyards.
Ever since the Franks under Chlodwig settled in the Neckar region around 500AD the area has been predominantly Christian and when Heilbronn was first mentioned in an official document in 741AD Christian Michaelsbasilica, present day's Kilianskirche, was mentioned along with the city. The Teutonic Knights constructed its church from the 13th century and both churches were continually expanded. They were joined later by other churches and cloisters in the city.
Around 1050AD an important Jewish community was mentioned that had settled in what became known as the Judengasse (Lohtorstraße). In 1298AD, 143 Jews were killed during the Rintfleisch-Pogrom and in 1350AD Jews suffered attacks again during a European epidemic of the Bubonic plague. The city's constitution required the council to include Jews, but already in the middle of the 15th century Jews were the target of vigilantes again until they were evicted from the city in 1490 with the blessings of Emperor Frederick III.
