Herrenberg (; Swabian: ''Härrabärg'' or ''Haerebärg'') is a town in the middle of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

, Germany, about 30 km south of

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

and 20 km from

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

. After

Sindelfingen Sindelfingen ( Swabian: ''Sendlfenga'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg in south Germany. It lies near Stuttgart at the headwaters of the Schwippe (a tributary of the river Würm), and is home to a Mercedes-Benz assembly plant. The current mayor ...

Böblingen Böblingen (; ) is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, seat of Böblingen (district), Böblingen District. Sindelfingen and Böblingen are Geographic contiguity, contiguous. History Böblingen was founded by Count Wilhelm von Tübingen-Bö ...

, and

Leonberg Leonberg (; ) is a town in the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg about to the west of Stuttgart, the state capital. About 45,000 people live in Leonberg, making it the third-largest borough in the rural district () of Böblingen (afte ...

, it is the fourth largest town in the district of

Location

Herrenberg is situated on the western edge of the

Schönbuch Schönbuch (; ) is an almost completely wooded area southwest of Stuttgart and part of the Southern German Escarpment Landscape (German language, German: ''südwestdeutsches Schichtstufenland''). In 1972, the central zone of Schönbuch became the ...

forest and is a central town within the Gäu region. The Stiftskirche, which houses the Glockenmuseum (bell museum), is a tourist attraction in the main square. The following towns and municipalities border Herrenberg. They are listed in clockwise direction beginning in the north: Deckenpfronn, Gärtringen, Nufringen,

Hildrizhausen Hildrizhausen is a municipality in the district of Böblingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Geography Hildrizhausen, with its 3,615 inhabitants, is located on a clearing of the Schönbuch and about 9 kilometres south of Böblingen. In Hildri ...

and Altdorf (all

district), Ammerbuch (

district), Gäufelden and Jettingen (both

district) as well as Wildberg (

Calw Calw (; previously pronounced and sometimes spelled Kalb accordingly; ) is a Landstadt, town in the middle of Baden-Württemberg in the south of Germany, capital and largest town of the Calw (district), district Calw. It is located in the North ...

district).

History

The once small community Herrenberg was formed out of the hamlets "Mühlhausen" and "Raistingen", which were combinated in the 13th century, when Herrenberg was founded. In 1278, Herrenberg was first documented, although Pfalzgraf Rudolf von Tübingen already wrote in 1228 "castrum nostrum herrenberc" into a certificate. From 1276, the church building was started, which at the time, had two towers. In the year 1276, Herrenberg was described as a fortified town with a market. Two years later, the town used its first official seal. Herrenberg then became the main town for the counts Palatine of Tübingen, known as "die Scherer". In 1382, the town was sold to Count Eberhard II (the Greiner) of Württemberg by the last Count Konrad II (the Scherer). Following this, Herrenberg became the main center for the nearby villages and was recognized as an official Württemberg town. On the 5th of January in the year 1293, the church of Herrenberg was consecrated by Brother Boniface, the Bishop of Constance. On February 6, 1347, Herrenberg underwent a division of the lordship, resulting in the establishment of Oberherrenberg and Unterherrenberg by the brothers Count Palatine Rudolf III and Conrad I. This division led to the creation of separate courts and town seals for each part. In 1382, the lordship and the town of Herrenberg, along with all its associated assets and rights in Schönbuch, were transferred to the Counts of Württemberg. After Herrenberg suffered a devastating fire in 1466 and was affected by the Peasants' War in 1525, the Thirty Years' War marked the conclusion of the town's medieval era. The extensive town fire of 1635 resulted in the destruction of almost all buildings. Furthermore, the population decreased to approximately 40% of its pre-war level due to plague and epidemics. The supposed founder of the

Rosicrucian Rosicrucianism () is a spirituality, spiritual and cultural movement that arose in early modern Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts announcing to the world a new Western esotericism, esoteric order. Rosicruc ...

movement in Europe, Johann Valentin Andreae, who also wrote '' The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz'', was born in Herrenberg on 17 August 1586.

Town arrangement

Herrenberg consists of the town centre and the 7 additional towns which were merged in the regional reorganization of the 1960s and 1970s. The number of inhabitants of Herrenberg exceeded 20,000 in 1972 due to the incorporation of the following formerly independent municipalities: * 1965: Affstätt * 1971: Haslach, Kayh, Kuppingen, and Mönchberg * 1972: Oberjesingen * 1975: Gültstein In each different area of Herrenberg there is an office for the district and a town clerk.

Population

* ¹ Census results * ² Herrenberg Amtsblatt 23 November 2006 S-Bahn Stuttgart Type 423

Politics

A total of 32

Seats A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

make up the local council, with the latest

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

having been held in 2019. The distribution of the different parties and groups are as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Free Voters Free Voters (, FW) is a political party in Germany. It originates as an umbrella organisation of several Free Voters Associations (), associations of people which participate in an election without having the status of a registered party. These a ...

(FW) , 113,548 , 25.3 , 5.9 , 8 , 4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...

(Grüne) , 107,224 , 23.9 , 7.3 , 8 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 77,319 , 17.2 , 6.3 , 5 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

(SPD) , 65,099 , 14.5 , 2.5 , 5 , ±0 , - , , align=left, Frauenliste (FL) , 41,232 , 9.2 , 0.7 , 3 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , ? , 5.8 , 2.6 , 2 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

(AfD) , ? , 3.8 , New , 1 , New , - , colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , , align=left, Liste Perspektive , ? , 0.3 , New , 0 , New , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! ? ! 65.3 ! 11+ ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
herrenberg.de

Business

Internationally known businesses located in Herrenberg include: *

Frog Design frog (styled as ''"frog, part of Capgemini Invent"'') is a global creative and design consultancy founded in 1969 by industrial designer Hartmut Esslinger in Mutlangen, Germany, where it was initially named “esslinger design”. Soon after the ...

(industrial design) *

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

(IT training and sales) *

Omega Pharma Omega Pharma was a Belgian-based pharmaceutical company which was acquired in 2014 by Perrigo Company plc, an Irish/United States–based global pharmaceutical public company. The company was founded in 1987 and was based in the Industrial are ...

(pharmaceuticals) * Walter Knoll (furniture)

Transport

Herrenberg station Herrenberg station is located on the Stuttgart–Horb railway () and is at the start of the Ammer Valley Railway (''Ammertalbahn''). Because it is a stop for Regional-Express services and it is a terminus for both Stuttgart S-Bahn line S 1 and R ...

is on the

Stuttgart–Horb railway The Stuttgart–Horb railway is a 67.227 kilometer-long railway in the southern part of the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany, running from Stuttgart to Horb. It forms part of a railway known as the Gäubahn () or Gäu Railway. The Royal W� ...

and is at the start of the

Ammer Valley Railway The Ammer Valley Railway (''Ammertalbahn'') runs through the German state of Baden-Württemberg, connecting the university town of Tübingen Hauptbahnhof, Tübingen with Herrenberg station, Herrenberg in the Böblingen (district), Böblingen ...

(''Ammertalbahn'') It is the southern end of services on line S1 of the

Stuttgart S-Bahn The Stuttgart S-Bahn is a suburban railway system (S-Bahn) serving the Stuttgart Region, an urban agglomeration of around 2.7 million people, consisting of the city of Stuttgart and the adjacent districts of Esslingen, Böblingen, Ludwigsb ...

. It also has connections, via the A81, to

and

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

ern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. To the south the A81 provides access to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Herrenberg is also close to

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, which is only about 110 km to the west.

Tourism

Herrenberg has several hotels as well as accommodations in smaller guest houses in the Old Town. The Old Town has many restaurants including; Italian, Chinese, Indian, Greek, Mexican and German cuisine. There are also ice cream shops and cafes. The Stadtfest (town festival) is held annually in July. 25,000 people turn up for the town festival to celebrate, drink, and listen to the live music in the squares.

Sights

The symbol of the town, the traditional church "Stiftskirche", with its Glockenmuseum (bell museum) the tower, as well as the "Herrenberger Rathaus" (town hall) and the historical ruins of the castle "Schlossberg", are an attractive destination for tourists of all over the world. There are guided tours (some in English) as well through the historical buildings of the town. Large sections of the old city wall are still standing (or have been rebuilt) and numerous timber-framed houses fill the "Old Town" surrounding the "Marktplatz" (market place).

Sport

The Baseball & Softball Club Herrenberg Wanderers' men's team played in the Baseball Bundesliga in 2002 and 2004, and since 2007 the women have been represented in the 1st Softball Bundesliga. In 1999, the youth team became German champions. The first men's handball team, SG H2Ku Herrenberg (SGH2Ku), secured the championship title in the Southern Regional League on the last matchday of the 2009–2010 season and thus promotion to the 2nd Handball Bundesliga, the second handball league. The SG finished the 2010–2011 season in 14th place, which was not enough to stay in the 2nd Handball League due to the league restructuring. The SG played in the 3rd league in the 2011–2012 season. In June 2011, the team was renamed SG H2Ku Herrenberg. The female A-youth team became German runner-up in the 2002–2003 season. Currently, there is one major football club in Herrenberg called VfL Herrenberg, which plays in the

Bezirksliga The Bezirksliga () is commonly a medium set of amateur divisions set at steps 7, 8 or 9 in the German football league system. Structure Depending on the structural organisation within each of the 21 state football associations of the German Fo ...

, the eighth step of the

German football league system The German football league system, or league pyramid, refers to the hierarchically interconnected league system for Football in Germany, association football in Germany that in the 2016–17 Season (sports), season consisted of 2,235 Sports_leagu ...

Notable people

Johannes Valentinus Andreae Johannes Valentinus Andreae (17 August 1586 – 27 June 1654), a.k.a. Johannes Valentinus Andreä or Johann Valentin Andreae, was a German theologian, who claimed to be the author of an ancient text known as the ''Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Ro ...

(1586–1654), a German theologian, linked with

Rosicrucianism Rosicrucianism () is a spiritual and cultural movement that arose in early modern Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts announcing to the world a new esoteric order. Rosicrucianism is symbolized by the Rose ...

Wilhelm Schickard Wilhelm Schickard (22 April 1592 – 24 October 1635) was a German professor of Hebrew and astronomy who became famous in the second part of the 20th century after Franz Hammer, a biographer (along with Max Caspar) of Johannes Kepler, claimed ...

(1592–1635), professor of Hebrew and astronomy * Johann Conrad Klemm (1655–1717), a Lutheran theologian *

Conrad Weiser Conrad Weiser (November 2, 1696 – July 13, 1760), born Johann Conrad Weiser, Jr., was a Pennsylvania German pioneer who served as an interpreter and diplomat between the Pennsylvania Colony and Native American nations. Primarily a farmer, ...

(1696–1760), a

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch (), also referred to as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania in the United States, Ontario in Canada, and other regions of both nations. They largely originate from the Palatinate (region), Palatina ...

pioneer, interpreter and diplomat * Hubertus Prinz von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha (born 1961), landed aristocrat *

Tatjana Piotrowski ''Tatjana Piotrowski'' (born 1968) is a German molecular geneticist who researches zebrafish as models of vertebrate development. She has worked at Stowers Institute for Medical Research since 2011 and is editor-in-chief, editor of the ''Annual R ...

(born 1968), molecular geneticist who researches

zebrafish The zebrafish (''Danio rerio'') is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Danionidae of the order Cypriniformes. Native to South Asia, it is a popular aquarium fish, frequently sold under the trade name zebra danio (an ...

Sport

* Karl Link (born 1942), racing cyclist, team gold medallist at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

* Kim Kulig (born 1990), retired footballer, played 33 games for

Germany women's national football team The Germany women's national football team () represents Germany in international Women's association football, women's football. The team is governed by the German Football Association (DFB). The Germany national team is one of the most succ ...

* Manuel Bihr (born 1993) footballer, has played 21 games for the

Thailand national football team The Thailand national football team (, , ) represents Thailand in senior international football and is controlled by the Football Association of Thailand. In the regional competition, Thailand is the most successful football team in Southeas ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Herrenberg is twinned with: *

Fidenza Fidenza (, locally ) is a town and (municipality) in the province of Parma, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. It has around 27,000 inhabitants. The town was renamed Fidenza in 1927, recalling its ancient Rome, Roman name of ; before, it was ...

, Italy *

Tarare Tarare is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France. It lies on the Turdine river, 28 miles west-northwest of Lyon by rail. History The city was founded at the beginning of the 12th century, as the priory of Tarare by the Savigny ...

, France

References

{{Authority control Böblingen (district)