Backnang – Schwäbisch Gmünd is an electoral constituency (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Wahlkreis'') represented in the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

if it elects one member via

first-past-the-post voting First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...

, which is not automatic anymore since 2023. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 269. It is located in northeastern

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, 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 i ...

, comprising the western part of the

Ostalbkreis The Ostalbkreis is a Districts of Germany, ''Landkreis'' (district) in the east of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on the border to Bavaria. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Schwäbisch Hall (district), Schwäbisch Hall, Ansbach ( ...

district and the northern part of the

Rems-Murr-Kreis Rems-Murr is a (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 district Ludwigs ...

district. Backnang – Schwäbisch Gmünd was created for the 1965 federal election. Since

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, it has been represented by Ingeborg Gräßle of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). In addition, 5th place

Ricarda Lang Ricarda Lang (born 17 January 1994) is a German politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag since 2021. Lang served as her party's co-leader from 2022 to 2024, alongside Omid Nouripour. Previously ...

was elected via her high rank on the state-wide party list of Alliance 90/The Greens, and in

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, also

Ruben Rupp Ruben Rupp (born 28 May 1990 in Mutlangen) is a German politician serving as a member of the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg since 2021. In the 2025 federal election, he was elected as a member of the Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Die ...

(AfD).

Geography

Backnang – Schwäbisch Gmünd is located in northeastern

. As of the 2021 federal election, it comprises the municipalities of

Abtsgmünd Abtsgmünd is a municipality in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, in Ostalbkreis district. Abtsgmünd is located at the confluence of two streams, the Lein and the Kocher. The large area municipality consists of the main town of Abtsgmünd ...

Bartholomä Bartholomä is a municipality in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, in Ostalbkreis district. Bartholomä is mainly a commuter town in the historical region of Swabia, that straddles the border between Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria B ...

Böbingen an der Rems Böbingen an der Rems is a municipality in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, in Ostalbkreis district. It lies on the river Rems. History Roman history The Roman limes passes through Böbingen, and the historical name of the locality ' ...

, Durlangen, Eschach,

Göggingen Göggingen is a municipality in the district of Ostalbkreis in Baden-Württemberg in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the no ...

, Gschwend,

Heubach Heubach is a town in the Ostalbkreis district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located 10 km east of Schwäbisch Gmünd, and 13 km southwest of Aalen. The town finds itself at the edge of the Rems (river), Rems River Valley and a ...

, Heuchlingen, Iggingen, Leinzell, Lorch,

Mögglingen Mögglingen is a municipality in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, in Ostalbkreis district. Geography Mögglingen is positioned at between 398 and 475 meters above sea level, along the upper Rems valley in the north-eastern foothills of ...

Mutlangen Mutlangen is a municipality in the Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg in the Ostalbkreis district and belongs to the Stuttgart Metropolitan Region. As of 31 December 2022, it has 6,886 inhabitants. Geography Mutlangen is located between t ...

, Obergröningen, Ruppertshofen, Schechingen,

Schwäbisch Gmünd Schwäbisch Gmünd (, until 1934: Gmünd; Swabian: ''Gmẽẽd'' or ''Gmend'') is a city in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 60,000, the city is the second largest in the Ostalb district ...

Spraitbach Spraitbach is a municipality in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, in Ostalbkreis The Ostalbkreis is a Districts of Germany, ''Landkreis'' (district) in the east of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on the border to Bavaria. Neighboring distri ...

, Täferrot, and Waldstetten from the Ostalbkreis district and the municipalities of Allmersbach im Tal,

Althütte Althütte is a municipality of the Rems-Murr-Kreis, Rems-Murr district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History The modern municipality of Althütte was formed by the merging of the villages of Althütte and Sechselberg in 1971. Geography The mu ...

, Aspach,

Auenwald Auenwald is a municipality in the district of Rems-Murr in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Twin town The twin town of Auenwald is: * Beaurepaire, Isère, France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in W ...

Backnang Backnang (; ) is a town in Germany in the Bundesland (Germany), Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, roughly northeast of Stuttgart. Its population has increased greatly over the past century, from 7,650 in 1900 to 37,957 in 2022. Backnang was ce ...

Burgstetten Burgstetten is a municipality in the district of Rems-Murr in Baden-Württemberg in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north ...

Großerlach Großerlach is a municipality in the district of Rems-Murr in Baden-Württemberg in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north ...

, Kirchberg an der Murr,

Murrhardt Murrhardt () is a town in the Rems-Murr district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located 12 km east of Backnang, and 18 km southwest of Schwäbisch Hall. The source of the Murr is situated in Murrhardt. Local council (Gemeinder ...

Oppenweiler Oppenweiler is a town in the Rems-Murr district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Oppenweiler merged with Reichenberg on 1 April 1938. Geography The municipality ('' Gemeinde'') of Oppenweiler is located in the Rems-Murr district of Bad ...

Spiegelberg Spiegelberg is a municipality in the Rems-Murr district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Spiegelberg's name originates from a glassworking manufactory built in 1699-1700 that produced mirrors from 1705 to 1794. The municipality started w ...

, Sulzbach an der Murr, and Weissach im Tal from the Rems-Murr-Kreis district.

History

Backnang – Schwäbisch Gmünd was created in 1965, then known as ''Schwäbisch Gmünd – Backnang''. It acquired its current name in the 1980 election. In the 1965 through 1976 elections, it was constituency 175 in the numbering system. In the 1980 through 1998 elections, it was number 173. In the 2002 and 2005 elections, it was number 270. Since the 2009 election, it has been number 269. Originally, the constituency comprised the districts of Schwäbisch Gmünd, Backnang, and parts of Schwäbisch Hall. It acquired its current borders in the 1980 election.

Members

The constituency has been held continuously by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since its creation. It was first represented by

Eugen Gerstenmaier Eugen Karl Albrecht Gerstenmaier (25 August 1906 – 13 March 1986) was a German Protestant theologian, resistance fighter in the Third Reich, and a CDU politician. From 1954 to 1969, he served as the third president of the Bundestag. With a t ...

from 1965 to 1969, followed by Dieter Schulte from 1969 to 1998, a total of eight consecutive terms. Norbert Barthle was representative from 1998 to 2021. He was succeeded by Ingeborg Gräßle in 2021 and 2025. Other members of parliament, elected via party list: Robert Antretter (SPD, 1980-1994), Christian Lange (SPD, 1998-2021),

(Greens, 2021, 2025) and

(AfD, 2025).

Election results

2025 election

2021 election

2017 election

2013 election

2009 election

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Backnang - Schwabisch Gmund Federal electoral districts in Baden-Württemberg 1965 establishments in West Germany Constituencies established in 1965 Ostalbkreis Rems-Murr-Kreis