Waiblingen (; Swabian: ''Woeblinge'') is a town in the southwest of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, located in the center of the densely populated Stuttgart region, directly neighboring Stuttgart. It is the capital and largest city of the

Rems-Murr Rems-Murr is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Heilbronn, Schwäbisch Hall, Ostalbkreis, Göppingen, Esslingen, the district-free city Stuttgart and the dis ...

district. , Waiblingen had 55,449 inhabitants (27,334 men and 28,115 women). , the area of the town (including all external properties, such as forests) was .

History

Waiblingen was first mentioned in Carolingian documents in 885 at the time of

Charles the Fat Charles III (839 – 13 January 888), also known as Charles the Fat, was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 888. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandso ...

. It received its town charter in 1250. Waiblingen was the property of the

Salian The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty (german: Salier) was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125). After the death of the l ...

kings, from whom the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

dukes and kings inherited it. It is intimately tied to the conflict between Guelphs and Ghibellines in the 12th and 13th century. During the Siege of Weinsberg in 1140, the Hohenstaufens of Swabia (led by Conrad III of Germany) used "Wibellingen" - a version of the town name - as their rallying cry; "Wibellingen" subsequently became Ghibellino in Italian. The town was almost completely destroyed in 1634 during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

, when Imperial and Spanish troops sacked the city after the Battle of Nördlingen. Fires raged for more than a week, and most of Waiblingen's citizens were killed or had to flee. Rebuilding only began four years after this catastrophe; the existing old central part of the town dates back to the years between 1640 and 1700. Its fortifications are now well restored.

Incorporation

The following towns were incorporated into Waiblingen: *1 December 1971: Beinstein *1 January 1975: Bittenfeld, Hegnach, Hohenacker, and Neustadt

Economy

Waiblingen houses the principal office of the world's biggest

chainsaw A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable gasoline-, electric-, or battery-powered saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. It is used in activities such as tree felling, limbing, bucking, pru ...

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 The Deutsche Post AG, operating under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL Group, is a German multinational package delivery and supply chain management company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the world's largest courier companies. ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Waiblingen is twinned with: * Baja, Hungary *

Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between ...

, England, United Kingdom *

Jesi Jesi, also spelled Iesi (), is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Ancona in Marche, Italy. It is an important industrial and artistic center in the floodplain on the left (north) bank of the Esino river before its mouth on the Adriatic ...

, Italy *

Mayenne Mayenne () is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Ill ...

, France *

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

, United States

Notable people

Alessandro Abruscia Alessandro Abruscia (born 12 July 1990) is an Italian-German footballer who plays for VfR Aalen as a midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaki ...

(1990, Waiblingen), an Italian-German footballer * *

Jakob Andreae Jakob Andreae (25 March 1528 – 7 January 1590) was a significant German Lutheran theologian and Protestant Reformer involved in the drafting of major documents. Life He was born in Waiblingen, in the Duchy of Württemberg. He studied at the U ...

* * Anouschka Bernhard * * * * * Giuseppe Catizone (1977, Waiblingen), an Italian and German footballer * * * Luise Duttenhofer *

Eberhard II, Duke of Württemberg Eberhard VI/II (1 February 1447 (?) in Waiblingen – 17 February 1504 at Lindenfels Castle) was a German nobleman. He was Count of Württemberg-Stuttgart from 1480 to 1496 as Eberhard VI, then Duke of Württemberg from 1496 to June 1498 as Eber ...

* * Otto Esswein * Michael Fink * (1970, Waiblingen), a German pianistofficial site
/ref> * * Claus E. Heinrich * * *

Nadine Krause Nadine Krause (born 25 March 1982, in Waiblingen) is a former German handballer who last played for Bayer Leverkusen as a left back. She made her debut on the German A-Team in 1999, at the age of 17. She was top scorer at the 2005 World Champion ...

Leif Lampater Leif Lampater (born 22 December 1982 in Waiblingen) is a German former professional racing cyclist. He competed in the men's team pursuit at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He mainly focused on track cycling and excelled in the madison, individual pu ...

* Ludwig II, Count of Württemberg-Urach * Giorgos Machlelis (1991, Waiblingen), a Greek-German footballer *

Bernd Mayländer Bernd Mayländer (born 29 May 1971 in Waiblingen) is a German racing driver and current Formula One safety car driver. Racing career Bernd started his career in karting sport at the end of the 1980s. In the following years he made his way to t ...

Christian Mergenthaler Julius Christian Mergenthaler (8 November 1884 – 11 September 1980), was a Nazi German politician, member of the Reichstag and Württemberg Landtag, Ministerpräsident of Württemberg and Culture Minister. Early life Christian Mergentha ...

* * *

Christoph Niemann Christoph Niemann (born 1970) is an illustrator, graphic designer, and children's book author. Since July 2008, Niemann has been writing and illustrating ''The New York Times'' blog Abstract City, renamed Abstract Sunday in 2011, when the blog ...

* Boris Palmer * Achim Pfuderer * * Mathias Richling *

Günther Schäfer Günther Schäfer (born 9 June 1962 in Waiblingen) is a German football coach and a former player. In his sixteen years playing for VfB Stuttgart, the defender gained the status of being one of the most popular players ever to play for the S ...

Patrick Schmollinger Patrick Schmollinger (born 2 September 1973 in Waiblingen, Baden-Württemberg) is a retired male breaststroke swimmer from Austria, who was born in Germany. He represented Austria at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia Austral ...

* Wolfgang Straub * * * * *

Joachim Winkelhock Joachim Winkelhock (born 24 October 1960) is a German motor racing driver. The younger brother of the late Manfred Winkelhock, Winkelhock was born in Waiblingen, near Stuttgart. The youngest brother, Thomas Winkelhock, and Manfred's son Mark ...

Manfred Winkelhock Manfred Winkelhock (6 October 1951 – 12 August 1985) was a German racing driver. He participated in 56 Formula One Grands Prix (with 47 starts) between 1980 and 1985, driving for Arrows, ATS, Brabham and RAM Racing, with a best finish of fi ...

* Thomas Winkelhock

Honorary citizens

* 1883: Dr. med. Gustav Pfeilsticker * 1907: Ferdinand Küderli * 1930: Theodor Kaiser * 1932: Friedrich Schofer * 1934: Albert Roller * 1953: Emil Münz * 1967: Alfred Diebold * 1968: * 1997: Dr. Ulrich Gauß * 1997: (1932, Stuttgart), a German industrialist ( Stihl) * 1997: Albrecht Villinger

References

External links

*
Galerie Stihl Waiblingen in 360°-Panoramapictures
* {{Authority control Towns in Baden-Württemberg Rems-Murr-Kreis Württemberg