Waiblingen (; Swabian: Woeblinge) is a town in the southwest of Germany, located in the center of the densely populated Stuttgart region, directly neighbouring Stuttgart. It is the capital and largest city of the Rems-Murr district. , Waiblingen had 57,313 inhabitants.

Etymology

Waiblingen is of Alemannic origin, designating a place (as indicated by the suffix -ingen) ruled by, or settled by the descendents of, someone probably named Wabilo or Wahilo. and runs northwest in several meandering bends between the outlying districts of Neustadt, Hohenacker, and Hegnach, on its way to its confluence with the Neckar in Remseck.

The city of Waiblingen consists of the inner city of Waiblingen proper, and the outlying districts of Beinstein, Bittenfeld, Hegnach, Hohenacker, and Neustadt, which were incorporated during municipal reforms in 1971 and 1975. Each of these five districts has its own local council as defined by the Baden-Württemberg municipal code.

Due to urban expansion, modern Waiblingen is almost contiguous with its neighbouring towns of Fellbach in the west, Kernen in the south, and Korb in the east.

History

Pre-history to early Middle Ages

The earliest archaeological finds in the area date from the Neolithic, as early as 5,000 BCE. Between 155 and 260, Waiblingen lay just inside the borders of the Roman Empire in the province of Germania Superior; the nearest border defenses of the Limes in Welzheim were only about 25 kilometers away. Near Beinstein, the remains of a Roman artisan's village were found, producing earthenware and ceramics which were traded in a range of up to 100 kilometers.

Little evidence exists for Waiblingen's history during and after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, a period known as the Migration Period (German: Völkerwanderung). Writing in 1666, local chronicler Wolfgang Zacher relates that older sources spoke of the town being destroyed in around 450 by Huns which were part of Attila's forces. The town was part of the tribal confederation of the Alemanni between the 5th and 8th century, who were gradually christianized and subjugated by the Franks, until Carloman summarily executed all Alemannic nobility at the blood court at Cannstatt in 746.

High and late Middle Ages

By the 9th century, Waiblingen had become an important religious, economic, and administrative center in the region. This is evidenced by the erection of a Kaiserpfalz ("imperial palace") in the town by Carolingian rulers. While no archaeological evidence for this palace has been found, it is theorized to have been located in the area of the central town square (Rathausplatz). Chronicler Wolfgang Zacher asserts that emperor Charlemagne visited Waiblingen in 801, although there is no contemporary evidence for such a visit. The last East Frankish ruler of the Carolingian dynasty, Louis the Child, also signed an act in Waiblingen in December 908, after which there is no further documentary evidence for roughly 140 years. The town reached the height of its importance under Henry IV during the Investiture Controversy, when it served as an imperial fortress. and indicators of an emerging town appear in the same period, including "urban" trades such as butchers and, by 1273, a community of citizens (universitas civium) headed by a Schultheiß (bailiff). Waiblingen's earliest town seal survives on a charter of 1291 and bears the three stag's antlers of the Counts of Württemberg, which survive in the city's coat of arms today. After Count Ulrich V was captured and held for a large ransom in his war against the Electoral Palatinate, the town was pledged to the Palatinate from 1463 until 1491. The recently founded University of Tübingen took refuge in Waiblingen during an outbreak of plague in 1482/83.

In 1634, Waiblingen was almost completely destroyed during the Thirty Years' War. After their victory over the Swedes at the Battle of Nördlingen, Imperial and Spanish troops of Ferdinand II stormed and burned Waiblingen on 19 September 1634; the town, its two suburbs, and the parish church were reduced almost entirely to ashes. Local chronicler Wolfgang Zacher relates that the town's population fell from about 1,300 in 1634 to roughly 100 by 1639. The devastation was so complete that when Matthäus Merian published the Swabian volume of his atlas Topographia Germaniae in 1643, he was unable to provide a view of Waiblingen, noting that all but five houses had been destroyed. In 1820, visiting poet Achim von Arnim found the town disappointing, as it had lost the medieval charm von Arnim had expected. Waiblingen remained part of the Duchy of Württemberg, whose status changed dramatically during the Napoleonic era. Allied with France, its ruler Frederick I was elevated to King in 1806; in the administrative reorganization of the new kingdom, Waiblingen became the seat of an Oberamt (district), formed in 1808 from the older Württemberg districts of Waiblingen and Winnenden and assigned to the Neckarkreis (Neckar district). In 1861, the Remsbahn (Rems valley railway) from Cannstatt up the Rems towards Aalen was opened, giving Waiblingen a station, and the branch line towards Backnang and Schwäbisch Hall followed in 1876, making the town a railway junction and emerging industrial center.

During World War I, 238 soldiers from Waiblingen died, out of a total population of about 7,000. As early as 1915, the town had to implement a system of food rationing, and in 1917, two bells of Michael's Church were melted down to support the war effort. While the town was not a stronghold of Nazism in the 1920s – the Nazi Party had logged relatively modest vote tallies in national and local elections The Postplatz, a main square south of the old town, was renamed Adolf-Hitler-Platz in March 1933, and two schools were renamed after Hitler and Horst Wessel in 1936.

  • Beinsteiner Torturm (Beinstein gate tower). The only remaining gate of the medieval battlements, the other gate towers having been demolished in the 1830s. The 22-meter tower is topped with a timber-frame structure, and housed a small prison until the mid-19th century. It features the arms of Count Eberhard V from 1491, and a Nazi-era sgraffito of idealized Hohenstaufen knights and a heroic standard-bearer from 1938.
  • Hochwachtturm (high watch tower). Erected at the highest point of old town, a first tower may have been built as early as the 11th century, which was heightened several times in subsequent centuries.

Economy

Waiblingen houses the principal office of the world's biggest chainsaw manufacturer, Stihl. Engineering and technology multinational Robert Bosch GmbH has two factories in the city producing polymer and packaging technology.

It is also the location for the letter processing center for the Stuttgart region of the Deutsche Post.

Climate

Twin towns – sister cities

Waiblingen is twinned with:

  • Baja, Hungary
  • Devizes, England, United Kingdom
  • Jesi, Italy
  • Mayenne, France
  • Virginia Beach, United States

Notable people

thumb|140px|[[Eberhard II, Duke of Württemberg, ]]

thumb|140px|Norbert F. Pötzl, 2017

thumb|140px|[[Nadine Krause, 2008]]

  • Ludwig II, Count of Württemberg-Urach (1439–1457, the Count of Württemberg, reigned from 1450 to 1457.
  • Eberhard II, Duke of Württemberg (1447–1504), a nobleman, Count of Württemberg-Stuttgart from 1480 to 1496.
  • Jakob Andreae (1528–1590), a significant German Lutheran theologian and Protestant Reformer
  • Adam Gottlieb Weigen (1677–1727), a German pietist, theologian and early animal rights writer.
  • Luise Duttenhofer (1776–1829), a German papercutting artist.
  • Karl Daiber, (DE Wiki) (1878-1956) architect and politician in Ulm
  • Carl Paul Pfleiderer (1881–1960), mechanical engineer and university lecturer, developed the centrifugal pump
  • Christian Mergenthaler (1884–1980), a Nazi politician, Ministerpräsident of Württemberg, 1933–1945
  • Gottlob Kopp, (DE Wiki) (1895-1970), a German painter, president of the Stuttgart Chamber of Crafts
  • Lenore Volz (1913–2009), a Protestant theologian, one of the first local women to be a church minister.
  • Manfred Wundram, (DE Wiki) (1925–2015), a German art historian, died locally
  • Ulrich Gauß, (DE Wiki) (born 1932), politician (FDP), Lord Mayor of Waiblingen, 1970-1994.
  • Alfred Biolek (1934–2021), a German entertainer and TV producer, grew up locally
  • Norbert F. Pötzl, (DE Wiki) (born 1948), journalist, author and editor of Der Spiegel
  • Mathias Richling (born 1953), actor, author, comedian and Kabarett artist.
  • Claus E. Heinrich (born 1955), a German manager and entrepreneur
  • Christoph Niemann (born 1970), an illustrator, graphic designer and children's book author.
  • Boris Palmer (born 1972), politician and former member of the Green Party; mayor of Tübingen since 2007.

Sport

  • Manfred Winkelhock (1951–1985), a German racing driver
  • Joachim Winkelhock (born 1960), a German motor racing driver
  • Günther Schäfer (born 1962), a German football coach and a former player who played 373 games
  • Thomas Winkelhock (born 1968), a German racing driver
  • Anouschka Bernhard (1970–2026), a German footballer who played 47 games for Germany women
  • Achim Pfuderer (born 1975), a German former footballer who played over 240 games
  • Michael Fink (born 1982), a German football manager and player who played 414 games
  • Nadine Krause (born 1982), a German former handballer who played 188 games for Germany women
  • Matthias Morys (born 1987), a Polish-German former footballer who played over 400 games
  • Alessandro Abruscia (born 1990), an Italian-German footballer who has played over 380 games
  • Simon Skarlatidis (born 1991), a German footballer who has played over 330 games
  • Bernd Mayländer (born 1971) F1 Safety Car driver since 2000

Notes

References

  • Galerie Stihl Waiblingen in 360°-Panoramapictures