The Truppenübungsplatz Heuberg is a training ground of the
Bundeswehr
The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...
in the districts of
Sigmaringen
Sigmaringen ( Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district.
Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, Schloss Sigmaringen ...
and
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
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 ...
. Since the establishment of the
Wilhelmine
The Wilhelmine Period () comprises the period of German history between 1890 and 1918, embracing the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II in the German Empire from the resignation of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck until the end of World War I and Wilhelm' ...
Empire it has always been a reflection of German history.
[Gerd Feuerstein: ''Die Opfer nicht vergessen. SPD-Bundestagskandidatin legt Blumen am Mahnmal beim Truppenübungsplatz nieder''. In: '']Südkurier
The Südkurier is a regional daily newspaper in Germany serving the regions northwest of Lake Constance, Hochrhein and Black Forest with its headquarters Konstanz, Germany. The paper appears with a circulation of around 130,000, six times per w ...
'' of 19 November 2008
Geography
On the
Großer Heuberg
Großer Heuberg (Great Heuberg) or Grosser Heuberg, often simply called Heuberg ( Swabian: ''Haiberg''), is the name of a sparsely populated plateau in the southwestern Swabian Jura with mountains of about 1,000 metres above sea level or even hig ...
, a plateau in the southwest of the
Swabian Jura
The Swabian Jura (german: Schwäbische Alb , more rarely ), sometimes also named Swabian Alps in English, is a mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, extending from southwest to northeast and in width. It is named after the region of ...
in an altitude of ,
is the area between
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 ...
in the north,
Meßstetten
Meßstetten () is a town in the Zollernalbkreis district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Overview
It is situated in the Swabian Jura, 24 km southeast of Balingen and at an altitude of is the highest city (of more than 10,000 inhabitan ...
in the west,
Schwenningen in the south and
Stetten am kalten Markt on the south-east, where the
army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
installations at
Lager Heuberg Lager Heuberg (Camp Heuberg) () is a Bundeswehr quarters located in the southern corner of the '' Truppenübungsplatz Heuberg'' (Heuberg military training area) in (Baden-Württemberg), near the city of Stetten am kalten Markt.
From March to Decem ...
and Albkaserne are located.
The barracks, the training area and the proving ground comprise approximately .
[Total area: ] Of these, are exercise area, of which are suitable for tracked vehicles. The two sites of the
Bundeswehr
The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...
in Stetten am kalten Markt - Lager Heuberg and Albkaserne - account for ,
[Total area: ] where approximately are within the boundaries of the municipality Stetten am kalten Markt
[Standortprofil Stetten a.k.M.](_blank)
(PDF; 3,4 MB), May 2007; retrieved on 7 November 2011 and in the municipality Schwenningen
; retrieved on 7 November 2011 are omitted.
In 1909 the city of Meßstetten had to sell nearly 40% of their district area to the Reich Treasury.
[Wilfried Groh (wgh): ]
Ein geschichtsträchtiger Ort. Mit Gerhard Deutschmann über den östlichen Teil des Truppenübungsplatzes Heuberg
''. In: '' Zollern-Alb-Kurier'' of 30 September 2009
The training area is the hub of the federal armed forces in the Sigmaringen district, and the last military training center still in use in southern Germany. Construction and expansion measures cost tens of millions of marks.
In connection with the Heuberg training area are the following external firing positions:
* "Sieben Jauchert" (
Kaiseringen district)
* "Wachtbühl" and "Wanne" (
Schwenningen district)
* "Vogelbühl" (
Bärenthal
Bärenthal is a municipality in the district of Tuttlingen (district), Tuttlingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
History
Beuron Archabbey, Beuron Abbey gained possession of Bärenthal in 1751. It became a possession of the Principality of Hohen ...
district)
* "Bol" (
Hartheim district) and "Wiedenäcker" (
Unterdigisheim district)
* "Blumersberg" (closed) (
Meßstetten
Meßstetten () is a town in the Zollernalbkreis district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Overview
It is situated in the Swabian Jura, 24 km southeast of Balingen and at an altitude of is the highest city (of more than 10,000 inhabitan ...
district)
Underneath the training area was
CAOC
Combined Air Operations Centres (CAOCs) are multinational headquarters for tactical and operational control of NATO Air Forces below the Joint Force Command level''. They operate within the NATO Integrated Air Defense System (NATINADS) framework. ...
4, belonging to adjacent Zollernalb barracks in
Meßstetten
Meßstetten () is a town in the Zollernalbkreis district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Overview
It is situated in the Swabian Jura, 24 km southeast of Balingen and at an altitude of is the highest city (of more than 10,000 inhabitan ...
. Of the
air force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
installations, only one
air surveillance
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...
radome
A radome (a portmanteau of radar and dome) is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a radar antenna (radio), antenna. The radome is constructed of material transparent to radio waves. Radomes protect the antenna from weather and ...
on the
Weichenwang hill in the vicinity has remained active.
History
Conception
The Heuberg training area originated from the requirements of the
XIV Army Corps in 1885, which had expressed a need for a new maneuver area that was large enough for
military exercise
A military exercise or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat. This also serves the purpose of ensuring the com ...
s according to the new military principles. In August 1899 the
Grand Duchy of Baden
The Grand Duchy of Baden (german: Großherzogtum Baden) was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918.
It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subs ...
's Ministry of Finance was informed by the General Command in
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
of the requirements for a future training area. In addition to many other criteria, the future area should not have a high elevation, should have a railway terminal and should be as circular as possible. The agency assigned to conduct the search (''Domänendirektion'') quickly determined that the wishes of the military could not be met by any of the candidates.
In 1905, the interest of the agency focused on the Heuberg. Since both the terrain and the purchase presented the fewest difficulties, the site was chosen, despite the fact that the future training area was only one-third in Baden and would not have a railway connection. Plans for a military station below the outer firing position Blumersberg in Meßstetten were worked out in detail for 8000
gold marks
The German mark (german: Goldmark ; sign: ℳ) was the currency of the German Empire, which spanned from 1871 to 1918. The mark was paired with the minor unit of the pfennig (₰); 100 pfennigs were equivalent to 1 mark. The mark was on the ...
.
From 1908 on purchase negotiations were held for the areas in
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...
,
[ Großherzogtum Baden, Bezirksamt Meßkirch: Heinstetten, Schwenningen und Stetten am kalten Markt] 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 ...
Königreich Württemberg
Jork is a small town on the left bank of the Elbe, near Hamburg (Germany).
Jork belongs to the district of Stade, in Lower Saxony. The town is the capital of the Altes Land, one of the biggest fruit growing areas in Europe, and Jork is home to a ...
, Oberamt Balingen: Ebingen
Ebingen is a town in the large district of Albstadt, district Zollernalbkreis, in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the river Schmiecha, a left-hand tributary of the Danube, south of Tübingen and west of Ulm.
History
E ...
und Meßstetten
Meßstetten () is a town in the Zollernalbkreis district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Overview
It is situated in the Swabian Jura, 24 km southeast of Balingen and at an altitude of is the highest city (of more than 10,000 inhabitan ...
und
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
,
[ Hohenzollernsche Lande, Oberamt Gammertingen Frohnstetten, Kaiseringen und Straßberg] which dragged on for some time. In some cases forced
expropriation
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
s by the Reich Treasury was necessary, since not all prospective sellers were in agreement with the land prices offered by the military.
[Oberleutnant Marcus Klotz, Offizier für Standortangelegenheiten in Stetten a.k.M.: ''Militär setzt auf den Heuberg'' (1. Teil). In: Marcus Klotz: ''Serie „100 Jahre Truppenübungsplatz“'' in ''Südkurier'' of 25 March 2010]
Construction and commissioning
By 1910 the first military exercises by the XIV Army Corps could take place at the training course, which was only partially purchased at this time. Because there were not enough fixed accommodations, the soldiers were housed in tents or quartered in the surrounding communities.
Between 1912 and 1916
Camp Heuberg was built in the district of Stetten am kalten Markt.
The establishment of the training area forced the destruction of several settlements which had been built to improve the economic situation of the population in the former territory of
Straßberg, Zollernalbkreis. for example, Harthof and Lenzenhütte— also called Glashüttehof— in Straßberg,
Ochsenkopf and Waldhof in
Kaiseringen, Knobelhof in Heinstetten,
Sebastiansweiler with the Sebastian Chapel and Weinitz and Hardt in
Frohnstetten.
A special challenge was supplying water for 6000 soldiers in training and 2500 horses. For this purpose, on February 19, 1910, the National Military Treasury acquired the so-called Hammermühle, an old ironworks in Thiergarten in
Beuron
Beuron (Swabian: ''Beira'') is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Beuron is known for the Beuron Archabbey and the Beuron Art School for religious art.
Geography
Beuron is divided into subdistricts ( ...
with channel and weir from the
House of Fürstenberg
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
for 35.000
Reichsmark
The (; sign: ℛℳ; abbreviation: RM) was the currency of Germany from 1924 until 20 June 1948 in West Germany, where it was replaced with the , and until 23 June 1948 in East Germany, where it was replaced by the East German mark. The Reich ...
s. They also bought a water source, Rainbrunnenquelle, which originated in between
Neidingen
Neidingen is a German village with approximately 100 inhabitants
and part of the municipality of Beuron, in Baden-Württemberg. The village is historically important as health retreat and place of death of Emperor Charles the Fat (d. 888) whose d ...
and .
After the demolition of the Hammerschmiede a pumping station was erected at its place. Along the more than higher training area three elevated tanks and a pressure line were built from 1909. In 1912 a power plant was built, which supplied the training ground with electricity via a power line from Thiergarten.
In 1911 the planning of a wastewater treatment plant began; the construction took place 1912 to 1914, and in 1914 it was able to go into operation. 1925 Stetten was connected to the sewage treatment plant with the western center part, 1981 the district Glashütte was added.
To build and supply the facility, a freight
funicular
A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...
was inaugurated in 1912. It went from train station in
Kaiseringen to the Alb plateau with a length of , and from there an additional of railroad, of which only some concrete remains. After many repairs the railroad, completed in 1915, continued to suffer may accidents and was soon abandoned. At the end of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in 1918 the training ground could initially no longer be used because of the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
. This treaty demanded the demilitarization of military proving grounds. The funicular was decommissioned in 1921 and never rebuilt.
[Kaiseringen - Truppenübungsplatzes Heuberg](_blank)
retrieved on 7 November 2011 In 1985 a tank loading facility was built on the Zollernalb Railway (
Tübingen–Sigmaringen railway) in Storzingen.
First and Second World War
In May 1914, shortly before the war began, the training area was opened. The
Prussian Ministry of War
The Prussian War Ministry was gradually established between 1808 and 1809 as part of a series of reforms initiated by the Military Reorganization Commission created after the disastrous Treaties of Tilsit. The War Ministry was to help bring the ...
.
gave careful consideration to the naming of the training area.
In addition to the proposals as "Truppenübungsplatz Stetten", "Truppenübungsplatz Heuberg" was ultimately selected and approved by the Minister of War. In both World Wars a
prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war.
There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...
was established at the site.
At the beginning of 1933 the existing buildings on the Heuberg north of the facility were used as one of the first
concentration camp
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
s of the
Nazi regime
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. Up to 2,000 people, mostly political opponents of the regime, were taken in
protective custody
Protective custody (PC) is a type of imprisonment (or care) to protect a person from harm, either from outside sources or other prisoners. Many prison administrators believe the level of violence, or the underlying threat of violence within pri ...
. After nine months, Concentration Camp Heuberg was dissolved. Most prisoners were then deported into larger concentration camps, such as
Dachau.
On March 1, 1945, on the Ochsenkopf about from the Camp Heuberg, 23-year-old Luftwaffe test pilot
Lothar Sieber
Lothar Sieber (7 April 1922 – 1 March 1945) was a German test pilot who was killed in the first vertical take-off manned rocket flight, in a Bachem Ba 349 "Natter".
Before he became a test pilot for Bachem, he piloted an Arado Ar 232 in hig ...
made the initial (and only) test flight of the
Bachem Ba 349
The Bachem Ba 349 Natter ( en, Colubrid, grass-snake) was a World War II German point-defence rocket-powered interceptor, which was to be used in a very similar way to a manned surface-to-air missile. After a vertical take-off, which eliminated ...
"Natter"— the world's first manned flight of a vertical take-off
rocket plane
A rocket-powered aircraft or rocket plane is an aircraft that uses a rocket engine for propulsion, sometimes in addition to airbreathing jet engines. Rocket planes can achieve much higher speeds than similarly sized jet aircraft, but typicall ...
. He was killed shortly after take-off in a crash near Nusplingen, in Stetten am kalten Markt. In March Sieber was buried with military honors in the cemetery of Stetten am kalten Markt. The grave is still there today; also still to be seen at the launch point are the concrete launch pad and the wooden stump of the launching ramp.
Postwar years until today
From 1945 to 1959 the site was under French administration. The last
French army unit moved from Camp Heuberg in 1997.
In 1966 the Bundeswehr expanded in Stetten am kalten Markt with the construction of the Albkaserne. Missiles were stationed here during the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
.
In 1995 the city of Meßstetten reacquired the former "Blumersberg" artillery site.
Used chiefly for the armored corps until the end of the twienth century, Heuberg is now used in many ways besides— practicing Army force basic training,
bomb disposal
Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous Explosive device, explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functi ...
,
military police
Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...
,
Technisches Hilfswerk
The (THW, English: ''Federal Agency for Technical Relief'') is the federal civil protection organisation of Germany. It is controlled by the German federal government. 99% of its 79,543 members (2019) are volunteers.
Tasks
The tasks of t ...
,
professional fire,
Federal Police
A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.
Jurisdiction
LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction.
LEAs ...
,
customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...
and police,
CBRN defense
Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence (CBRN defence) are protective measures taken in situations in which chemical warfare, chemical, biological warfare, biological, radiological warfare, radiological or nuclear warfare, nucle ...
.
Nature and landscape protection
The training center possesses an extraordinarily important ecology for nature preservation. The area is divided into 40 per cent forest cover and 60 percent open meadow areas, some interspersed with juniper heath. It is characterized by the traditional herding economy (
transhumance
Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower vall ...
). So it is possible to maintain or expand the typical landscape of the past centuries at the facility.
On the hills are old bunkers, or what is left of them to see after bombardment. Since the training area is burdened by its nearly century-old military use to a large extent with ammunition and parts, entering and driving is extremely dangerous and therefore strictly forbidden for civilians.
Natura 2000 site
The Heuberg training area is a
Natura 2000
Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...
- Area On the grounds the Bundeswehr is planning the construction and expansion of a new and an existing explosives-disposal site in Spitalwald. The site consists of a large main area, which is predominantly within the Heuberg Training Area, and several small subdivisions in
Frohnstetten and south
Ebingen
Ebingen is a town in the large district of Albstadt, district Zollernalbkreis, in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the river Schmiecha, a left-hand tributary of the Danube, south of Tübingen and west of Ulm.
History
E ...
. The total size of the habitat-protection area is . Of these, are within the military use training area. This has been protected since 2001 as a
bird sanctuary
An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and to be protected for the rest of their lives. Pattrice Jones, co-founder of VINE Sanctuary defines an animal sanctuary as "a safe-enough place or relationship within the cont ...
and since 2005 as a
conservation area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
. The area is especially worthy of protection—it is particularly suitable as a summer meadow for sheep—because of its species-rich limestone meadows and juniper heaths.
[Kurt Loescher (loe): ''Experten stellen Natura 2000 vor''. In: ''Südkurier'' of 22 October 2010]
Historic sites
Within the area there is the legendary ''Dreibannmarke'', also called the "Dahn", a 17th-century border, which today marks the border between three different municipalities, formerly in the three states of Württemberg, Baden, and Hohenzollern. The meadow at the Dreibannmarke served as a stopping place for traveling merchants, wagons and craftsmen. With care it is possible to identify traces of the border. After the inauguration of the firing ranges, a meadow was allocated to the Gypsies as a camping site at the edge of the restricted area. Until 1835 merchants were smuggled over the customs borders guarded by local hunters.
Ritter Heinrich von Tierberg, called Haiterbach, had most likely sold his property in
Haiterbach
Haiterbach is a town in the district of Calw, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
History
Haiterbach was given its town rights by the Counts of Hohenberg in 1349. The County of Hohenberg sold Haiterbach and the villages of Beihingen and Oberschwan ...
, and in 1345 acquired his new territory on the grounds of the military training center, the center of which was Meßstetten. In 1418 he sold it to Württemberg.
Literature
*Klaus Hörter, Manfred Hensel: Chronik des Truppenübungsplatzes und der Garnison Heuberg bei Stetten am Kalten Markt : hrsg. aus Anlass des 70-jährigen Bestehens des Truppenübungsplatzes Heuberg : A. Wolf Selbstverlag, Inzigkofen, 1980, , (Geschichte des Garnisonsorts Stetten am Kalten Markt und seiner Umgebung, Volume 1)
Notes
External links
References
{{Authority control
Military training areas in Germany
Nature reserves in Baden-Württemberg
Bundeswehr training areas