Weiblingen

Waiblingen (; Swabian: ''Woeblinge'') is a town in the southwest of Germany, located in the center of the densely populated Stuttgart region, directly neighboring Stuttgart. It is the capital and largest city of the Rems-Murr 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. It received its town charter in 1250.

Waiblingen was the property of the Salian kings, from whom the Hohenstaufen 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, 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 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.

Twin towns – sister cities

Waiblingen is twinned with:
* Baja, Hungary
* Devizes, England, United Kingdom
* Jesi, Italy
* Mayenne, France
* Virginia Beach, United States

Notable people

* Alessandro Abruscia (1990, Waiblingen), an Italian-German footballer
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* Jakob Andreae
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* Anouschka Bernhard
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* Giuseppe Catizone (1977, Waiblingen), an Italian and German footballer
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* Luise Duttenhofer
* Eberhard II, Duke of Württemberg
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* Otto Esswein
* Michael Fink
* (1970, Waiblingen), a German pianistofficial site
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* Claus E. Heinrich
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* Nadine Krause
* Leif Lampater
* Ludwig II, Count of Württemberg-Urach
* Giorgos Machlelis (1991, Waiblingen), a Greek-German footballer
* Bernd Mayländer
* Christian Mergenthaler
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* Christoph Niemann
* Boris Palmer
* Achim Pfuderer
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* Mathias Richling
* Günther Schäfer
* Patrick Schmollinger
* Wolfgang Straub
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* Joachim Winkelhock
* Manfred Winkelhock
* 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

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Galerie Stihl Waiblingen in 360°-Panoramapictures

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{{Authority control

Towns in Baden-Württemberg
Rems-Murr-Kreis
Württemberg