Worms, Germany

Worms (pronounced [voɐms]) is a city in the southwest of Germany. Its name is of Celtic origin: Borbetomagus meant "settlement in a watery area". This was eventually transformed into the Latin name Vormatia that had been in use since the 6th century.

Established by the Celts who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over title of "Oldest City in Germany". Worms in the meantime remains the only German member in the organization Most Ancient European Towns Network (German: Arbeitskreis der ältesten Städte Europas).

Today the city, in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate (German: Rheinland-Pfalz) and lying on the Rhine, is an industrial centre and is famed for the original «Liebfrauenstift-Kirchenstück» Epotoponym for the Liebfraumilch wine. Other industries include chemicals and metal goods. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.

Worms is one of the major sites where the events of the ancient German Nibelungenlied took place. A multimedia Nibelungenmuseum was opened in 2001, and a yearly festival right in front of the Dom, the Cathedral of Worms, attempts to recapture the atmosphere of the time period.