Gechingen is a town in the district of

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

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 ...

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 ...

History

Gechingen was first mentioned in 1110 as a fief of the in a document outlining gifts made by local nobility to

Hirsau Abbey Hirsau Abbey, formerly known as Hirschau Abbey, was once one of the most important Benedictine abbeys of Germany. It is located in the Hirsau borough of Calw on the northern slopes of the Black Forest mountain range, in the present-day state of B ...

. Lordship over Gechingen was inherited by the

County Palatine of Tübingen The County Palatine of Tübingen was a state of the Holy Roman Empire in the medieval period. The dynasty, originally based in Nagold, managed to acquire extensive holdings over the course of their time in power, distinguishing themselves by foun ...

, who sold the town to

Herrenalb Abbey Herrenalb Abbey (german: Kloster Herrenalb; la, Alba dominorum) is a former Cistercian monastery in the present Bad Herrenalb in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History The monastery was founded, probably in 1147 or 1148, by Count Berthold of Eber ...

in 1308 or 1309. As a result of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, Herrenalb Abbey was secularized and its holdings seized by the

Duchy of Württemberg The Duchy of Württemberg (german: Herzogtum Württemberg) was a duchy located in the south-western part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was a member of the Holy Roman Empire from 1495 to 1806. The dukedom's long survival for over three centuries ...

, whose government assigned the town to the at

Merklingen Merklingen is a municipality in the district of Alb-Donau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Geographical location Merklingen is located on the plateau of the Swabian Jura, about 20 kilometers northwest of Ulm, between Geislingen and Blaubeuren ...

. In 1808, Gechingen was made a municipality and assigned to . That district was reformed in 1938 as

Landkreis Calw Calw is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Karlsruhe, Enz, the district-free city Pforzheim, Böblingen, Freudenstadt and Rastatt. History The district wa ...

, and Gechingen remained in its jurisdiction. Gechingen grew slowly in the years after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and not see significant

urban growth Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

until the 1960s.

Geography

The municipality (''

Gemeinde Gemeinde (; plural: Gemeinden) is a German word translating to "community", "town", "parish", or "municipality". Gemeinde may refer to: * An administrative division encompassing a single village, town, or city: ** Gemeinde (Austria) ** Gemeinde (G ...

'') of Gechingen is located at the western edge of

the district ''The District'' is an American crime drama and police procedural television series which aired on CBS from October 7, 2000, to May 1, 2004. The show followed the work and personal life of the chief of Washington, D.C.'s police department. Pre ...

, along its border with

Böblingen Böblingen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Beblenga'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, seat of Böblingen (district), Böblingen District. Sindelfingen and Böblingen are Geographic contiguity, contiguous. History Böblingen was found ...

. Gechingen is physically located in the

Heckengäu The Heckengäu is a part of the Gäu, a region in the counties of Böblingen, Calw, Ludwigsburg and Enzkreis in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Part of the landscape in the county of Calw is called Schlehengäu. Hence it is also called th ...

and Schlehengäu regions of the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

, within the greater region of the . Elevation above sea level in the municipal area ranges from a high of

Normalnull ("standard zero") or (short N. N. or NN ) is an outdated official vertical datum used in Germany. Elevations using this reference system were to be marked (“meters above standard zero”). has been replaced by (NHN). History In 187 ...

(NN) to a low of NN. A portion of the Federally protected

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

is located in Gechingen's municipal area.

Politics

Gechingen has one borough (''Ortsteil''), Gechingen, and four villages: Berghöfe, Bergwald, Dachtgrubenhöfe, and Waldhof. Gechingen is a member of the Althengstett

Municipal Association Municipal associations (german: Verwaltungsgemeinschaften) are statutory corporations or public bodies created by statute in the German federal states of Bavaria, Saxony, Thuringia, and Schleswig-Holstein. In Baden-Württemberg the term ''stipul ...

with the municipalities of

Althengstett Althengstett is a municipality in the district of Calw in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. History Althengstett was first mentioned in a document from around 1120 regarding a donation to Hirsau Abbey as "Hingesteten". The village was purchased in ...

Ostelsheim Ostelsheim is a municipality in the district of Calw (district), Calw in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Geography Geographical location Ostelsheim is located at the extreme limit of the Black Forest. Protected from bad weather, it is surrounded ...

, and

Simmozheim Simmozheim is a town in the district of Calw (district), Calw in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. History From 1341 to 1442, Herrenalb Abbey slowly acquired title over Simmozheim. The Kingdom of Württemberg annexed the abbey in 1808 and Simmozhei ...

Coat of arms

Gechingen's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

displays a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

, in

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

, standing on a

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

, three-pointed hill and facing to the left with a blue

crosier A crosier or crozier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholi ...

in its forepaws, upon a

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the R ...

. This coat of arms was created with advice from the , as Gechingen did not have one and instead used the

coat of arms of Württemberg The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Württemberg shows an impalement of the three black antlers that represent Württemberg on the dexter (viewer's left) side, and the three black lions passant of medieval Swabia on the sinister (viewer's right) ...

in its

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

. The lion upon the hill is taken from the arms of the Counts of Calw, while the crosier references Herrenalb Abbey. The

Federal Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

awarded this coat of arms to Gechingen alongside a municipal flag on 18 July 1955.

Transportation

Gechingen is connected to Germany's network of roadways by its local ''

Kreisstraße A Kreisstraße (literally: "district road" or "county road") is a class of road in Germany. It carries traffic between the towns and villages within a '' Kreis'' or district or between two neighbouring districts. In importance, the ''Kreisstraße ...

n'', which connect to the

Bundesautobahn 81 is a motorway in Germany. It branches off the A 3 at the Würzburg-West triangle and ends near the border with Switzerland. The oldest part of the A 81 between the Weinsberg intersection ( A 6) near Heilbronn and Dreieck Leonberg ...

near Gärtringen, about outside of Gechingen's municipal area. Local public transportation is provided by the .

References

{{Authority control Calw (district) Württemberg