Ebingen is a town in the large district of

Albstadt Albstadt () is the largest city in the district of Zollernalbkreis in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the Swabian Jura mountains, about halfway between Stuttgart and Lake Constance. Geography Albstadt is spread across a variety of ...

, district

Zollernalbkreis The Zollernalbkreis is a Districts of Germany, ''Landkreis'' (district) in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The district is located in the Swabian Alb, and contains the second highest elevation of this range, the high ''Oberhohenberg'' ...

, in the German state of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a 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 inhabitants across a ...

. It is located on the river

Schmiecha Schmiecha (in its lower course: ''Schmeie'') is a river of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It runs from the Raichberg through the town of Albstadt and through a valley of the Swabian Jura. It flows into the Danube near Inzigkofen. See also * List o ...

, a left-hand tributary of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

, south of

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional 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 rivers. about one in thr ...

and west of

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

History

Ebingen received city rights around 1250 from the Hohenberg ducal family. In 1367 it became a part of the kingdom of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

. In the early 20th century, it was known for manufacturing

velvet Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

and

velveteen Velveteen (or velveret) is a type of cloth made to imitate velvet, which is a type of pile fabric. Normally cotton, the term is sometimes applied to a mixture of silk and cotton. Some velveteens are a kind of fustian, having a rib of velvet pile ...

(cotton-velvet), "Manchester" goods, stockings, stays, hats, needles, tools and tanneries. In 1975 Ebingen joined 8 other towns in the area to form the city of

. Current population is at 18,700, with all of

having around 45,000 inhabitants.

Economy

Most of the textiles industry is gone today, leaving some monuments, like

Villa Haux Villa Haux is a villa in the Art Nouveau style built in 1908 by architects Richard Böklen and Carl Feil in the southern German town of Ebingen. It was built for Kommerzienrat Friedrich Haux (1860–1929), entrepreneur in the local textile in ...

. However, one of the world's biggest makers of industrial needles,

Groz-Beckert The Groz-Beckert KG is part of the Groz-Beckert Group based in Albstadt-Ebingen in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. Groz-Beckert is the world's leading provider of industrial needles, precision components and fine tools as well as systems and service ...

still resides there. Other prominent local companies include Mey (knitwear),

Mettler Toledo Mettler Toledo () is a multinational manufacturer of scales and analytical instruments. It is the largest provider of weighing instruments for use in laboratory, industrial, and food retailing applications. The company also provides various ana ...

(weighing systems) and a major part of

Assa Abloy Assa Abloy AB is a Swedish conglomerate whose offerings include products and services related to locks, doors, gates, and entrance automation. Related products and services include controlling access and confirming identities with keys, cards, ...

security systems (Eff-Eff Brand). Ebingen also hosts the technical and computer science faculties of Albstadt-Sigmaringen University with about 3,000 students (2014).

Architecture

Bürgerturm.jpg, Citizens' tower, ~1500 Albstadt Ebingen Zehntscheuer Kornspeicher 2011.jpg, old warehouses Ebingen Samtfabrik.jpg, Former velvet factory Ebingen HauxVillen.jpg, Haux houses Ebingen Schweinweiher.jpg, Central square: Schweinweiher, Kurt-Georg-Kiesinger-Platz, Marktstraße Ebingen Rathaus Turm.jpg, Art nouveau Town hall by

Martin Elsaesser Martin Elsaesser (28 May 1884 – 5 August 1957) was a German architect and professor of architecture. He is especially well known for the many churches he built. Life From 1901 to 1906, Elsaesser studied architecture at the Technical University ...

Churches

* The main church of Ebingen is St.Martin's church. The choir is late gothic (1473), the tower from 1670. They are integrated in the art nouveau building from 1906. * Next to the church is the former hermitage, inhabited from 1344 until 1608 by third order nuns. * The smaller ''Kapellkirche'' was founded in 1382 „in honor of Our Lady and of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem“. The existing building is from 1490, renewed in 1833. * Since the reformation, Ebingen was Protestant. A new Catholic church was not built before 1892 for workers of the then growing industry. St. Joseph church needed to be enlarged in 1912. * The evangelic ''Friedenskirche'' (peace church) was built in 1931 in

New Objectivity The New Objectivity (in german: Neue Sachlichkeit) was a movement in German art that arose during the 1920s as a reaction against expressionism. The term was coined by Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub, the director of the ''Kunsthalle'' in Mannheim, who ...

style at the outskirt of the town. Urban development let it end up in a commercial area. * After World War II, four modern churches were built, for both denominations in new residential areas in the west and east. * The Taize Prayer is spoken in the Thomaskirche Taize Prayer
/ref> Ebingen Martinskirche.jpg, Martinskirche, main façade Ebingen Klause.jpg, hermitage Ebingen StJosef.jpg, St. Joseph Ebingen Friedenskirche.jpg, Friedenskirche Ebingen HlKreuz.jpg, Heilig-Kreuz (holy cross) Ebingen Thomaskirche.jpg, Thomas church Ebingen Friedhof Kapellen.jpg, new and old cemetery chapel Ebingen Lighthouse.jpg, BGG Lighthouse (Pentecostal)

Notable people

Kurt Georg Kiesinger Kurt Georg Kiesinger (; 6 April 1904 – 9 March 1988) was a German politician who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1 December 1966 to 21 October 1969. Before he became Chancellor he served as Minister President of Baden-Württemberg ...

(1904-1988), German politician, German former chancellor

References

{{Authority control Towns in Baden-Württemberg Albstadt