Tübingen (; ) is a traditional university city in central

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 ...

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 and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is situated south of the state capital,

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, and developed on both sides of the

Neckar The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar ...

and Ammer rivers. about one in three of the 90,000 people living in Tübingen is a student. As of the 2018/2019 winter semester, 27,665 students attend the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen. The city has the lowest median age in Germany, in part due to its status as a university city. As of December 31, 2015, the average age of a citizen of Tübingen is 39.1 years. Immediately north of the city lies the

Schönbuch Schönbuch (; ) is an almost completely wooded area southwest of Stuttgart and part of the Southern German Escarpment Landscape (German language, German: ''südwestdeutsches Schichtstufenland''). In 1972, the central zone of Schönbuch became the ...

, a densely wooded

nature park A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscapes are pres ...

. The

Swabian Alb The Swabian Jura ( , 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 Swabia. It is part of th ...

mountains rise about (beeline Tübingen City to Roßberg - 869 m) to the southeast of Tübingen. The Ammer and Steinlach rivers are

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...

of the Neckar river, which flows in an easterly direction through the city, just south of the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

old town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

. Large parts of the city are hilly, with the Schlossberg and the Österberg in the city centre and the Schnarrenberg and Herrlesberg, among others, rising immediately adjacent to the inner city. The highest point is at about

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

near Bebenhausen in the Schönbuch forest, while the lowest point is in the city's eastern Neckar valley. The

geographical centre In geography, the centroid of the two-dimensional shape of a region of the Earth's surface (projected radially to sea level or onto a geoid surface) is known as its geographic centre or geographical centre or (less commonly) gravitational centre. In ...

of the state of Baden-Württemberg is in a small forest called Elysium, near the Botanical Gardens of the city's university.

History

The area was probably first settled by ancient humans in the 12th millennium BC. The Romans left some traces here in AD 85, when they built a limes frontier wall at the Neckar River. Tübingen dates from the 6th or 7th century, when the region was populated by the

Alamanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE, the Alemanni c ...

people. Some historians argue that the Battle of Solicinium was fought at Spitzberg, a mountain in Tübingen, in AD 367, although there is no evidence for this. Tübingen first appears in official records in 1191. The local castle, ''Hohentübingen'', has records going back to 1078, when it was besieged by Henry IV,

king of Germany This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (), from Treaty of Verdun, the division of the Francia, Frankish Empire in 843 and Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in ...

. Its name was transcribed in

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...

as and . From 1146, Count Hugo V (1125–52) was promoted to

count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an or ...

as Hugo I. Tübingen was established as the capital of a

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 fou ...

. By 1231, Tübingen was a ''civitas'', indicating recognition by the Crown of civil liberties and a court system. In 1262, an Augustinian monastery was established by

Pope Alexander IV Pope Alexander IV (1199 or 1185 – 25 May 1261) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 December 1254 to his death. Early career He was born as Rinaldo di Jenne in Jenne, Italy, Jenne (now in the Province of Rome ...

in Tübingen; in 1272, a Franciscan monastery was founded. In 1300, a Latin school (today's Uhland-Gymnasium) was founded. During the Protestant Reformation, which Duke

Ulrich Ulrich () is a Germanic given name derived from Old High German ''Uodalrich'', ''Odalric''. It is composed of the elements ''Othala rune, uodal-'' meaning "heritage" and ''-rih'' meaning "king, ruler". Attested from the 8th century as the name of Al ...

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 Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

converted to, he disestablished the Franciscan monastery in 1535. In 1342, the county palatine was sold to

Ulrich III, Count of Württemberg Ulrich III (1286/129111 July 1344) was County of Württemberg, Count of Württemberg from 1325 until his death in 1344. Life Ulrich was born between 1286 and 1291 to Count Eberhard I, Count of Württemberg, Eberhard I and an uncertain mother, e ...

and incorporated into the

County of Württemberg The County of Württemberg was a historical territory with origins in the realm of the House of Württemberg, the heart of the old Duchy of Swabia. Its capital was Stuttgart. From the 12th century until 1495, it was a county within the Holy Roman ...

. Between 1470 and 1483, St. George's Collegiate Church was built. The collegiate church offices provided the opportunity for what soon afterwards became the most significant event in Tübingen's history: the founding of the Eberhard Karls University by Duke Eberhard im Bart of Württemberg in 1477, thus making it one of the oldest universities in Central Europe. It became soon renowned as one of the most influential places of learning in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, especially for

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

faculty, Tübinger Stift, was established in 1535 in the former Augustinian monastery). Today, the university is still the biggest source of income for the residents of the city and one of the biggest universities in

with more than 26,000 students. In the course of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

town was occupied by the Catholic League between 1622 and 1625, by the Swedes in 1638, and by the French from 1647 to 1649. It was also devastated by plague. In 1789, parts of the old town burned down, but were later rebuilt in the original style. In 1798 the '' Allgemeine Zeitung'', a leading newspaper in early 19th-century Germany, was founded in Tübingen by Johann Friedrich Cotta. At his residence, the ''Cottahaus'', a sign commemorates Goethe's stay of a few weeks while visiting his publisher: ''"Hier kotzte Goethe"'' (lit.: "

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

puked here"). From the beginning of the 19th century, the town grew significantly beyond its medieval borders for the first time with the rectangular Wilhelmsvorstadt at the Neue Aula and the Botanical Garden. In 1861, with the opening on the right bank of the Neckar of today's main train station, Tübingen was connected to the

Royal Württemberg State Railways The Royal Württemberg State Railways (''Königlich Württembergische Staats-Eisenbahnen'' or ''K.W.St.E.'') were the state railways of the Kingdom of Württemberg (from 1918 the ''People's State of Württemberg'') between 1843 and 1920. Early ...

network. In 1873, the 10th

Infantry Regiment was quartered in barracks erected behind the station, the later '' Thiepval Kaserne'' so named for the village where the regiment suffered heavy losses during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

in 1916. Another barracks was built in 1913, which had the name Neue Kaserne, but later got the name Loretto-Kaserne. In the 1930's, a further barracks was built in the course of National Socialist rearmament. After the war all three barracks were occupied by French troops until 1991. All three barracks were repurposed and got new destination as homes for students and residents and for small shops and businesses or public services. The Loretto-Kaserne is now the Loretto Quarter. Today, the repurposed Hindenburg Barracks are at the centre of an award-winning mixed business-residential development, the "French Quarter" (''Französische Viertel''). Since then Tübingen is demilitarised and no longer has any military units, military bases or military training areas. Tübingen was already a regional stronghold of National Socialism before Hitler's ascent to power in January 1933. The university became a leading centre for research on the " Jewish question", with faculty in both the sciences and humanities contributing to the notions of "

racial hygiene The term racial hygiene was used to describe an approach to eugenics in the early 20th century, which found its most extensive implementation in Nazi Germany (Nazi eugenics). It was marked by efforts to avoid miscegenation, analogous to an anim ...

" that informed the genocidal policies of the new regime. On

Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...

, November 9, 1938, the Nazi Stormtroopers burned down the Tübingen Synagogue. Of the 23 members of

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

who remained in Tübingen at the outbreak of war, only two survived the

Shoah The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. In 1934, in a rare instance of resistance to the new order, Corps Suevia, one of the university's typically patriotic and conservative student fraternities (''

Burschenschaften A Burschenschaft (; sometimes abbreviated in the German ''Burschenschaft'' jargon; plural: ) is one of the traditional (student associations) of Germany, Austria, and Chile (the latter due to German cultural influence). Burschenschaften were fo ...

''), refused an order to exclude Jewish students and was dissolved. There were three bombing raids on the town during

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, but damage was comparatively slight: the Neckar Bridge and some 85 houses. In April 1945, the town was surrendered to the French who were to remain as occupiers until the creation of the German Federal Republic in 1949, and as an allied garrison until the end of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

in the 1990s (after which, the vacated Thiepval Barracks served as a hostel for

asylum seekers An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country, and makes in that other country a formal application for the right of asylum according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 14. A pers ...

and German immigrants from Eastern Europe). Consistent with the role of the

Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred $13.3 billion (equivalent to $ in ) in economic recovery pr ...

in post-war reconstruction, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

also had a presence in the town. Originally the ''Amerika Haus,'' the German-American Institute ("d.a.i."), at the Neckar Bridge continues to promote English-language classes and "cultural exchange". In 1946, under the French, Tübingen served as the capital of the consolidated state of

Württemberg-Hohenzollern Württemberg-Hohenzollern was a West Germany, West German state created in 1945 as part of the French Allied Occupation Zones in Germany, post-World War II occupation zone. Its capital was Tübingen. In 1952, it was merged into the newly founded ...

, but in 1952, in a further amalgamation, it was absorbed in the federal state of

with its capital in

. In the second half of the 20th century, Tübingen's administrative area was extended beyond what is now called the "core city" to include several outlying small towns and villages. Most notable among these is Bebenhausen, a village clustered around a castle and Bebenhausen Abbey, a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

about north of Tübingen. In the 1960s, Tübingen was one of the centres of the German student movement and of the

protests of 1968 The protests of 1968 comprised a worldwide escalation of social conflicts, which were predominantly characterized by the rise of left-wing politics, Anti-war movement, anti-war sentiment, Civil and political rights, civil rights urgency, youth C ...

, which made an issue of perceived continuities between the Federal Republic and the Hitler regime. Emerging from this scene, in the early 1970s, a graduate of the university,

Gudrun Ensslin Gudrun Ensslin (; 15 August 1940 – 18 October 1977) was a German far-left terrorist and founder of the West German far-left militant group Red Army Faction (, or RAF, also known as the Baader-Meinhof Gang). After becoming involved with co-fou ...

, led her

Red Army Faction The Red Army Faction (, ; RAF ),See the section "Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang ( ), was a West German far-left militant group founded in 1970 and active until 1998, considered a terrorist organisat ...

in a nation-wide campaign of bombing and assassination. In a town in which neither of the major federal parties, the SPD and the CDU, could command majorities, in 1980 a very different successor to the generation of '68 emerged as an electoral force. Since 2004, the Greens have been the largest party in the local council (''Gemeinderat''). In the 2024 local elections (in which there was no mandate for the AfD or other far-right groupings), they commanded over a third of the vote.

Overview

, the city had 90,000 inhabitants. Life in the city is dominated by its roughly 28,000 students. Tübingen is best described as a mixture of old and distinguished academic flair, including liberal and

green politics Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy.#Wal10, Wall 2010. p. 12-13. ...

on one hand and traditional German-style student fraternities on the other, with

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

environs and shaped by typical

Pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life. Although the movement is ali ...

characteristics, such as

austerity In economic policy, austerity is a set of Political economy, political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through Government spending, spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three prim ...

and a

Protestant work ethic The Protestant work ethic, also known as the Calvinist work ethic or the Puritan work ethic, is a work ethic concept in sociology, economics, and history. It emphasizes that a person's subscription to the values espoused by the Protestantism, Pro ...

, and traditional

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

n elements, such as

frugality Frugality is the quality of being frugal, sparing, thrifty, prudent, or economical in the consumption of resources such as food, time or money, and avoiding waste, lavishness or extravagance. In behavioral science, frugality has been defined as ...

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

, and tidiness. The city is home to many picturesque buildings from previous centuries and lies on the River Neckar. , the German weekly magazine ''Focus'' published a national survey, according to which Tübingen had the highest quality of life of all cities in Germany. Factors taken into consideration included the infrastructure, the integration of bicycle lanes into the road system, a bus system connecting surrounding hills and valleys, late-night services, areas of the city that can be reached on foot, the pedestrianised old town, and other amenities and cultural events offered by the university. Tübingen is the city with the youngest average population in Germany.

Main sights

In central Tübingen, the Neckar divides briefly into two streams, forming the elongated '' Neckarinsel'' (Neckar Island), famous for its ''Platanenallee'' with high plane trees, which are around 200 years old, and for the National Socialist-themed memorial to the composer and

Volkslied Volkslied (literally: folk song) is a genre of popular songs in German which are traditionally sung. While many of them were first passed orally, several collections were published from the late 18th century. Later, some popular songs were also i ...

collector,

Friedrich Silcher Philipp Friedrich Silcher (27 June 1789 in Schnait (today part of Weinstadt) – 26 August 1860 in Tübingen), was a German composer, mainly known for his lieder (songs), and an important Volkslied collector.Luise Marretta-Schär, Silcher, (Ph ...

. Pedestrians can reach the island via stairs on the narrow ends leading down from a bridge spanning the Neckar, and by a smaller foot bridge nearer the middle of the island. During the summer, the ''Neckarinsel'' is occasionally the venue for concerts, plays, and literary readings. The row of historical houses across one side of the elongated ''Neckarinsel'' is called the '' Neckarfront'' and includes the house with adjoining tower where poet and philosopher

Friedrich Hölderlin Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a Germans, German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticis ...

spent the last 36 years of his life, as he struggled with mental instability. Tübingen's ''Altstadt'' (old town) survived

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

due to the city's lack of heavy industry. The result is a growing domestic

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

business as visitors come to wander through one of the few completely intact historic ''Altstädte'' in Germany. The highlights of Tübingen include its crooked cobblestone lanes, narrow-stair alleyways picking their way through the hilly terrain, streets lined with canals, and well-maintained traditional

half-timbered Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

houses. Old city landmarks include the city hall on Markt Square and the Hohentübingen Castle, now part of the University of Tübingen. The central landmark is the '' Stiftskirche'' (Collegiate Church). Along with the rest of the city, the Stiftskirche was one of the first to convert to

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

church. As such, it maintains (and carefully defends) several "

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

" features, such as patron saints. Below the ''Rathaus'' is a quiet, residential street called the ''Judengasse'', the former

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

neighborhood of Tübingen until the city's Jews were expelled in 1477. On the street corner is a plaque commemorating the fate of Tübingen's

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. The centre of Tübingen is the site of weekly and seasonal events, including regular market days on the ''Holzmarkt'' by the Stiftskirche and the ''Marktplatz'' by the Rathaus, an outdoor cinema in winter and summer, festive autumn and Christmas markets and (formerly) Europe's largest Afro-Brazilian festival. Students and tourists also come to the Neckar River in the summer to visit beer gardens or go boating in ''Stocherkähne'', the Tübingen equivalent of

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

punts, only slimmer. A ''Stocherkahn'' carries up to 20 people. On the second Thursday of June, all ''Stocherkahn'' punts take part in a major race, the '' Stocherkahnrennen''. Bebenhausen Abbey lies in the village of Bebenhausen, a district of Tübingen. A subdivision of the pilgrimage route known as the Way of St. James starts here and runs through Tübingen.

Government

Tübingen is governed by the mayor, elected by citizens every eight years, and by the municipal council, elected by citizens every five years.

Boris Palmer Boris Erasmus Palmer (born 28 May 1972) is a German politician and former member of the Alliance '90/The Greens, Green Party. He has been mayor of Tübingen since January 2007. From March 2001 to May 2007, he was a member of the Landtag of Bade ...

, a former member of the Greens, has been mayor since 2007, re-elected in 2014 and 2022 and on his third term until 2030. Tübingen's council decided that the city should be climate-neutral by 2030. In 2022, the city was the first in Germany to tax

disposable food packaging Disposable food packaging comprises disposable products often found in fast-food restaurants, take-out restaurants and catering establishments. Typical products are foam food containers, plates, bowls, disposable cup, cups, utensils, doilies an ...

. Restaurants in Tübingen are charged 50 cents per disposable cup and cardboard bowl, and 20 cents per piece of cutlery.

Regional structure

Tübingen is the capital of an eponymous district and an eponymous administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk''), before 1973 called ''Südwürttemberg-Hohenzollern''. Tübingen and

Reutlingen Reutlingen (; ) is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the capital of the eponymous Reutlingen (district), district of Reutlingen. As of June 2018, it had an estimated population of 116,456. Reutlingen has a Reutlingen University, univ ...

with a population of over 100,000 (about east) form a large centre of the Neckar-Alb region. Both cities are based on a different heritage and always belonged to different administrative entities. While they both had a long lasting rivalry they also complement each other. Reutlingen is more business oriented and industrialized and is successful in engineering and trade, while Tübingen excels in education and science, specialized health care and arts. The double centre is surrounded by smaller cities and connected to Albstadt, Balingen, Hechingen, Metzingen, Münsingen, Rottenburg, that each form middle centres and contribute to the high population density of the region. Administratively, it is not part of the

Stuttgart Region Stuttgart Region (Baden-Württemberg, Germany) is an urban agglomeration at the heart of the Stuttgart Metropolitan Region. It consists of the city of Stuttgart and the surrounding Districts of Germany, districts of Ludwigsburg (district), Ludwig ...

, bordering it to the north and west ( Böblingen district). However, the city and northern parts of its district can be regarded as belonging to that region in a wider regional and cultural context.

Districts

Tübingen is divided into 22 districts, the city core of twelve districts (population of about 51,000) and ten outer districts (suburbs) (population of about 31,000): Core city districts: * Französisches Viertel * Österberg * Schönblick/Winkelwiese * Lustnau * Südstadt * Universität * Waldhäuser Ost * Wanne * Weststadt * Zentrum Outer districts: * Bebenhausen * Bühl * Derendingen * Hagelloch * Hirschau * Kilchberg * Pfrondorf * Unterjesingen * Weilheim, Baden-Württemberg

Culture

Tübingen has a notable arts culture as well as nightlife. In addition to the full roster of official and unofficial university events that range from presentations by the university's official poet in residence to parties hosted by the student associations of each faculty, the city can boast of several choirs, theatre companies and nightclubs. Also, Tübingen's ''

Kunsthalle A kunsthalle () is a facility that mounts temporary art exhibitions, similar to an art gallery. It is distinct from an art museum by not having a permanent collection. In the German-speaking regions of Europe, ''Kunsthallen'' are often operated ...

'' (art exhibition hall), on the "Wanne", houses two or three exhibits of international note each year.

Events

There are several festivals, open air markets and other events on a regular basis: * January ** Arab Movie Festival ''Arabisches Filmfestival'' * April ** Latin American Movie Festival ''CineLatino'' (usually in April or May) * May ** ''Internationales Pianisten-Festival'' (international festival of pianists) ** Rock Festival ''Rock im Tunnel'' (usually in May or June) * June Neckar Stocherkahn

** Poled boat race (), second Thursday of June, 2pm, around the Neckar Island ** ''Ract!festival'', an alternative open air festival for free with music performances and workshops ** ''Tübinger Wassermusik'': concerts on ''Stocherkahn'' boats * July ** ''Stadtfest'': gastronomy and performances in the streets of the old town ** ''Tübinger Sommerinsel'' festival: various restaurants serving special meals and associations offering activities on the Neckar Island * August ** ''Tübinger Orgelsommer'': organ concerts in the Stiftskirche ** ''Sommerkonzerte'' in the former monastery of Bebenhausen (July–September) ** ''Kennen Sie Tübingen?'' (Do you know Tübingen?): special guided tours on Mondays July–September * September ** ''Vielklang'': classic music concerts at several locations ** ''Umbrisch-Provenzalischer Markt'', open air market for Italian and French products from Umbria and Provence ** ''Tübinger Stadtlauf'' the city 10 km race ** ''Retromotor'' oldtimer festival (usually second or third September weekend) * October ** ''Jazz- und Klassiktage'': jazz and classic music festival ** Kite festival ''Drachenfest'' on the Österberg hill (usually third Sunday in October) ** French movie festival ''Französische Filmtage'' * November ** Terre de femmes movie festival ''FrauenWelten'' *December ** ''Nikolauslauf'' half marathon outside Tübingen in the forest ** '' Die Feuerzangenbowle'' film and large amount of Feuerzangenbowle drink made in a public square ** Chocolate festival '' chocolART'' ** Christmas market

Population

Population development

Since

, Tübingen's population has almost doubled from about 45,000 to the current 88,000, also due to the incorporation of formerly independent villages into the city in the 1970s. Currently, Lord Mayor Boris Palmer (Green Party) has set the ambitious goal of increasing the population of Tübingen to 100,000 within the next several years. To achieve this, the city is closing gaps between buildings within the city proper by allowing new houses to be built there; this is also to counter the tendency of

urban sprawl 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 ...

and land consumption that has been endangering the preservation of rural landscapes of Southern Germany

Historical population

Climate

Tübingen has an oceanic climate, Cfb in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Tübingen is twinned with: * Monthey, Switzerland (1959) *

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

, France (1960) * Kingersheim, France (1963) *

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

, United States (1965) * Durham, UK (1969) *

Aigle Aigle ( French for "eagle", ; ) is a historic town and a municipality and the capital of the district of Aigle in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The official language of Aigle is Swiss French. Geography Aigle lies at an elevation of a ...

, Switzerland (1973) * Kilchberg, Switzerland (1981) *

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

, Italy (1984) *

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (, ; Karelian language, Karelian, Veps language, Vepsian and ) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population of the city is 280,890 as of 2022. ...

, Russia (1989) *

Villa El Salvador Villa El Salvador is an urban, largely residential coastal district on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. It borders the district of Chorrillos on the east; the Pacific Ocean on the southwest; Lurín on the southeast; Villa María del Triunfo on the ...

, Peru (2006) * Moshi, Tanzania (2014) For their commitment to their international partnership, the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

awarded the Europe Prize to Tübingen and Aix-en-Provence in 1965. The city's dedication to European understanding is also reflected in the naming of several streets and squares, including the large ''Europaplatz'' (Europe Square) outside the railway station.

Infrastructure

By plane: Tübingen is about from the Baden-Württemberg state airport (''Landesflughafen Stuttgart'', also called Stuttgart Airport). By automobile: Tübingen is on the '' Bundesstraße 27'' (a "federal road") that crosses through Baden-Württemberg, connecting the city with

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

Heilbronn Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. From the late Middle Ages on, it developed into an important trading centre. At the begi ...

, Stuttgart and the ''Landesflughafen'' ( Stuttgart Airport) to the north and

Rottweil Rottweil (; Alemannic: ''Rautweil'') is a town in southwest Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Rottweil was a free imperial city for nearly 600 years. Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alps, Rottweil has over 25,000 ...

and Donaueschingen to the south. By rail:

Tübingen Hauptbahnhof Tübingen Hauptbahnhof is the largest station in the university town of Tübingen and the Tübingen (district), district of Tübingen, and a transport hub in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Location The station is located south of the c ...

is the terminus of several train lines and a major railway hub. There is the

regional train Regional rail is a public rail transport service that operates between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops than inter-city rail, and unlike commuter rail, operate beyond the limits of urban areas, connecting smaller cities a ...

line Neckar-Alb Railway-Bahn (''Neckar-Alb-Bahn'') from Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof via Esslingen and Reutlingen to Tübingen. The average time of travel to Stuttgart is 1:01 hrs., with some trains taking only 45 mins. Other regional lines are the '' Hohenzollerische Landesbahn'', connecting the city with

Hechingen Hechingen (; Swabian: ''Hächenga'') is a town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated about south of the state capital of Stuttgart and north of Lake Constance and the Swiss border. Geography The town lies at the foot of th ...

and Sigmaringen (so-called Zollernalb Railway), '' Zollernalbbahn'' and connections to

Herrenberg Herrenberg (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Härrabärg'' or ''Haerebärg'') is a town in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 30 km south of Stuttgart and 20 km from Tübingen. After Sindelfingen, Böblingen, and Leonberg, it ...

( Ammer Valley Railway, ''Ammertalbahn'') and Horb ( Upper Neckar Railway, ''Obere Neckarbahn''). Since 2009, there is also a daily direct

Intercity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...

link to

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

and

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

as well as to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Local public transport: The city, due to its high student population, features an extensive public bus network with more than 20 lines connecting the city districts and places outside of Tübingen such as Ammerbuch, Gomaringen and

Nagold Nagold () is a town in southwestern Germany, bordering the Northern Black Forest. It is located in the '' Landkreis'' (district) of Calw (Germany/Baden-Württemberg). Nagold is recorded for the first time in a historical document dating back to ...

. There are also several night bus lines in the early hours every day. A direct bus is available to Stuttgart Airport (via Leinfelden-Echterdingen) as well as to

Böblingen Böblingen (; ) is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, seat of Böblingen (district), Böblingen District. Sindelfingen and Böblingen are Geographic contiguity, contiguous. History Böblingen was founded by Count Wilhelm von Tübingen-Bö ...

and

Sport

Tigers Tübingen are the city's only professional sports team, playing

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. They play in the Paul Horn-Arena.

Education

Higher education and research

The Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen dates from 1477, making it one of the oldest in Germany. Including the university hospitals, it is also the city's largest employer. The town is also host to several research institutes including the

Max Planck Institutes The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. Founded in 1911 as the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, it was renamed to the M ...

for

Biological Cybernetics Biocybernetics is the application of cybernetics to biological science disciplines such as neurology and multicellular systems. Biocybernetics plays a major role in systems biology, seeking to integrate different levels of information to understan ...

Developmental Biology Developmental biology is the study of the process by which animals and plants grow and develop. Developmental biology also encompasses the biology of Regeneration (biology), regeneration, asexual reproduction, metamorphosis, and the growth and di ...

Intelligent Systems is a Japanese video game developer best known for developing games published by Nintendo with the ''Fire Emblem'', ''Paper Mario'', ''Wario_(series)#WarioWare_series, WarioWare'', and ''Wars (series), Wars'' video game series. The company was ...

, The Friedrich Miescher Laboratory of the MPG, and the Max Planck Institute for Biology, the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, the Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and many others. A modern technology park is growing in the northern part of the city, where science, industrial companies and start-ups are conducting joint research, primarily on biotechnology and artificial intelligence. The university also maintains a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

, the Botanischer Garten der Universität Tübingen. Furthermore, there is a Protestant College of Church Music.

Schools

More than 10,000 children and young adults in Tübingen regularly attend school. There are 30 schools in the city, some of which consist of more than one type of school. Of these, 17 are

primary schools A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

while the others are for

secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

: four schools are of the lowest rank, ''

Hauptschule A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...

'', three of the middle rank, ''

Realschule Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...

'', and six are '' Gymnasien'' (grammar schools). There also are four

vocational school A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary education#List of tech ed skills, secondary or post-secondar ...

s ('' Berufsschule'') and three special needs schools. Primary schools * Freie Aktive Schule Tübingen * Grundschule Innenstadt / Silcherschule * Grundschule Weilheim * Ludwig-Krapf-Schule * Grundschule Hügelstraße * Französische Schule * Dorfackerschule Lustnau * Grundschule Hirschau * Grundschule Hechinger Eck * Grundschule auf der Wanne * Grundschule Aischbach
Grundschule Winkelwiese / Waldhäuser Ost
* Grundschule Bühl * Grundschule Bühl * Grundschule Kilchberg * Grundschule Hagelloch * Grundschule Pfrondorf * Grundschule Unterjesingen ''Hauptschulen'' * Dorfackerschule Lustnau * Mörikeschule * Geschwister-Scholl-Schule * Hauptschule Innenstadt ''Realschulen'' * Walter-Erbe-Realschule * Albert-Schweitzer-Realschule * Geschwister-Scholl-Schule ''Gymnasien'' * Carlo-Schmid-Gymnasium * Geschwister-Scholl-Schule * Kepler-Gymnasium * Uhland-Gymnasium * Wildermuth-Gymnasium * Freie Waldorfschule Vocational schools (''Berufsschulen'') * Gewerbliche Schule * Wilhelm-Schickard-Schule * Mathilde-Weber-Schule * Bildungs- und Technologiezentrum

People

* Rudolph II, Count Palatine of Tübingen (died 1247) * Pier Paolo Vergerio the Younger (1498–1565), ecclesiastical diplomat, Catholic bishop and later Protestant reformer, lived and died here *

Primož Trubar Primož Trubar or Primus Truber () (1508 – 28 June 1586) was a Slovene Protestant Reformer of the Lutheran tradition, mostly known as the author of the first Slovene language printed book, the founder and the first superintendent of the Prot ...

(1508–1586), Protestant reformer of the Lutheran tradition, lived and died here * Johann Ludwig Brassicanus (1509–1549), an advisor to the Habsburg monarchy. * Christopher Besoldus (1577–1638), lawyer and publicist. * Rudolf Jakob Camerarius (1665–1721), botanist and physician. * Johann Georg Gmelin (1709–1755), naturalist, botanist and explorer of Siberia *

Philipp Friedrich Gmelin Philipp Friedrich Gmelin (19 August 1721 – 9 May 1768) was a professor of botany and chemistry. He studied the chemistry of antimony and wrote texts on the pancreatic ducts, mineral waters, and botany. He was a brother of the famous traveler ...

(1721–1768), botanist and chemist *

Jeremiah Meyer Jeremiah Meyer (born Jeremias Majer; 18 January 1735 – 19 January 1789) was an 18th-century English miniature painter. He was Painter in Miniatures to Queen Charlotte, Painter in Enamels to King George III and was one of the founder membe ...

RA (1735–1789), English miniature painter. * Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin (1744–1774), physician and botanist *

Johann Friedrich Gmelin Johann Friedrich Gmelin (8 August 1748 – 1 November 1804) was a German natural history, naturalist, chemist, botanist, entomologist, herpetologist, and malacologist. Education Johann Friedrich Gmelin was born as the eldest son of Philipp F ...

(1748–1804), chemist and botanist * Johann Friedrich Cotta (1764–1832), publisher of many important writers of his time, industrial pioneer and politician; took over the local family publishing business. * Ferdinand Gottlieb von Gmelin (1782–1848), physician * Ludwig Uhland (1787–1862), poet and philologist, lawyer and politician, a leading figure of the

German revolutions of 1848–1849 The German revolutions of 1848–1849 (), the opening phase of which was also called the March Revolution (), were initially part of the Revolutions of 1848 that broke out in many European countries. They were a series of loosely coordinated p ...

as a member of national parliament, lived and died here. *

(1789–1860), composer, lived and died here * Christian Gottlob Gmelin (1792–1860), chemist, re.

lithium salts Lithium (from , , ) is a chemical element; it has symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, ...

* Johann Ludwig Krapf (1810–1881), missionary in East Africa. * Friedrich von Huene (1875–1969),

paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

re.

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

s *

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss poet and novelist, and the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His interest in Eastern philosophy, Eastern religious, spiritual, and philosophic ...

(1877–1962), poet, novelist and painter, local bookseller trainee in 1895–1899,

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

in 1946 * Ernst Fritz Schmid (1904–1960), musicologist and Mozart scholar * Sir Geoffrey Elton (1921–1994), political historian * Felicia Langer (1930–2018), attorney and human rights activist, lived and died here * Werner Spies (born 1937), art historian and journalist *

Helmut Haussmann Helmut Haussmann (born 18 May 1943) is a German academic and politician. He served as minister of economy from 1988 to 1991. Early life and education Haussmann was born in Tübingen on 18 May 1943. He holds a degree in economics and social scien ...

(born 1943), academic and politician * Hans-Peter Uhl (1944–2019), politician (CSU) * Hartmut Zinser (born 1944), scholar in

religious studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...

* Eva Haule (born 1954), former RAF terrorist * Vera Wülfing-Leckie (1954–2021),

homeopath Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance that ...

and translator * Matthias Untermann (born 1956),

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

and

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

* Viola Vogel (born 1959), biophysicist and bioengineer * Michael Theurer (born 1967), politician (FDP) and MEP * Despina Vandi (born 1969), a Greek singer * Clemens Schick (born 1972), actor *

(born 1972), current Lord Mayor *

Max Hofmann Maximilian Hofmann (born 1974) is a German broadcast journalist who has been Head of News & Current Affairs department at the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle since 2020. Early life Hofmann was born in 1974 in Tübingen, West Germany, and gre ...

(born 1974), Head of News at

Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...

* Benjamin Heisenberg (born 1974), film director and screenwriter * Sung Yu-ri (born 1981), a South Korean actress and singer.

Sport

Sigi Schmid Siegfried "Sigi" Schmid (; March 20, 1953 – December 25, 2018) was a German soccer coach. Born in Tübingen, West Germany, he moved to the United States with his family when he was a child. He played college soccer from 1972 to 1975 at the U ...

(1953–2018), football coach * Uwe Dreher (1960–2016), former footballer (300 games) * Dieter Baumann (born 1965), track and field athlete, Olympic gold and silver medallist, lives here * Marvin Compper (born 1985), football manager and a former player * Kim Bui (born 1989), a retired Olympic artistic gymnast. *

Thilo Kehrer Jan Thilo Kehrer (; born 21 September 1996) is a German professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for Ligue 1 club AS Monaco FC, Monaco and the Germany national football team, Germany n ...

(born 1996), football player (27 x national team) * Amelie Berger (born 1999), handball player (61 x national team)

Alumni from the university

Johann Reuchlin Johann Reuchlin (; 29 January 1455 – 30 June 1522), sometimes called Johannes, was a German Catholic humanist and a scholar of Greek and Hebrew, whose work also took him to modern-day Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and France. Most of Reuchlin's c ...

(1455–1522), Catholic humanist and scholar of Greek and Hebrew. *

Philip Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, an intellectual leader of the L ...

(1497–1560), Lutheran reformer. *

Johannes Kepler Johannes Kepler (27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best know ...

(1571–1630), astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer. * Wilhelm Schickard (1592–1635), professor of Hebrew and astronomy, inventor of the world's first mechanical calculator, lived and died here *

Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim (29 May 1594 – 17 November 1632) was a German field marshal of the Holy Roman Empire in the Thirty Years' War. A supporter of the Catholic League, he was mortally wounded during the Battle of Lützen ...

(1594–1632), a

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

of the

, studied here. * Rudolf Jakob Camerarius (1655–1721), botanist and professor, proved for the first time the sexual reproduction of plants. *

Christoph Martin Wieland Christoph Martin Wieland (; ; 5 September 1733 – 20 January 1813) was a German poet and writer, representative of literary Rococo. He is best-remembered for having written the first ''Bildungsroman'' (''Geschichte des Agathon''), as well as the ...

(1733–1813), classical writer of the Enlightenment. * Sir James Steuart Denham, 8th Baronet (1744–1839), a Scottish soldier of the British Army, Uni attendance, 1757 to 1761. * J. G. Friedrich von Bohnenberger (1765–1835), pioneer of a modern geodesy, inventor of the gyroscope *

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political philosophy and t ...

(1770–1831), philosopher of Idealism, studied here. *

(1770–1843), poet and philosopher, studied, lived and died here. *

Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling (; 27 January 1775 – 20 August 1854), later (after 1812) von Schelling, was a German philosopher. Standard histories of philosophy make him the midpoint in the development of German idealism, situating him be ...

(1775–1854), philosopher of Idealism, studied here. *

Friedrich List Daniel Friedrich List (6 August 1789 – 30 November 1846) was a German entrepreneur, diplomat, economist and political theory, political theorist who developed the Economic nationalism, nationalist theory of political economy in both Europe and t ...

(1789–1846), economist, university professor. *

Ferdinand Christian Baur Ferdinand Christian Baur (; 21 June 1792 – 2 December 1860) was a German Protestant theologian and founder and leader of the (new) Tübingen School of theology (named for the University of Tübingen where Baur studied and taught). Following Hege ...

(1792–1860), Protestant theologian, lived and died here. * Immanuel Hermann Fichte (1796–1879), philosopher, held a chair of philosophy at the university. * Wilhelm Hauff (1802–1827), writer of the early Romantic period. * Eduard Mörike (1804–1875), Lutheran pastor, poet and writer of the Romantic period. *

David Strauss David Friedrich Strauss (; ; 27 January 1808 – 8 February 1874) was a German liberal Protestant theologian and writer, who influenced Christian Europe with his portrayal of the "historical Jesus", whose divine nature he explored via myth. St ...

(1808–1874), Protestant theologian and writer. * Adelbert von Keller (1812–1883), a German philologist, studied locally. * Georg Herwegh (1817–1875), poet, revolutionist. *

Felix Hoppe-Seyler Ernst Felix Immanuel Hoppe-Seyler (''né'' Felix Hoppe; 26 December 1825 – 10 August 1895) was a German physiologist and chemist, and the principal founder of the disciplines of biochemistry and molecular biology. He had discovered Yeast nuclei ...

(1825–1895), founded the disciplines of biochemistry and molecular biology, discovered the blood pigment

hemoglobin Hemoglobin (haemoglobin, Hb or Hgb) is a protein containing iron that facilitates the transportation of oxygen in red blood cells. Almost all vertebrates contain hemoglobin, with the sole exception of the fish family Channichthyidae. Hemoglobin ...

* Lothar Meyer (1830–1895), chemist, one of the founders of the periodic table of chemical elements alongside Dmitri Mendeleev. * Gustav Tschermak von Seysenegg (1836–1927), an Austrian mineralogist, local

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

. * Franz Xaver von Funk (1840–1907), a Catholic theologian and historian, educated locally. *

Friedrich Miescher Johannes Friedrich Miescher (13 August 1844 – 26 August 1895) was a Swiss physician and biologist. He was the first scientist to isolate nucleic acid in 1869. Miescher also identified protamine and made several other discoveries. Miescher had ...

(1844–1895), physician and biologist, discoverer of the nucleic acid as a precondition for the identification of DNA * Ferdinand Braun (1850–1918), inventor, professor,

Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...

, 1909 *

Carl Correns Carl Erich Correns (19 September 1864 – 14 February 1933) was a German botanist and geneticist notable primarily for his independent discovery of the principles of heredity, which he achieved simultaneously but independently of the botanist ...

(1864–1933), botanist and geneticist *

Alois Alzheimer Alois Alzheimer ( , , ; 14 June 1864 – 19 December 1915) was a German psychiatrist, neuropathologist and colleague of Emil Kraepelin. He is credited with identifying the first published case of "presenile dementia", which Kraepelin later ide ...

(1864–1915), psychiatrist and neuropathologist * Gerhard Anschütz (1867–1948), jurisprudent *

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was a German and French polymath from Alsace. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. As a Lutheran minister, ...

(1875–1965), theologian, writer, humanitarian, philosopher and physician,

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

, 1952 *

Ernst Bloch Ernst Simon Bloch (; ; July 8, 1885 – August 4, 1977; pseudonyms: Karl Jahraus, Jakob Knerz) was a German Marxist philosopher. Bloch was influenced by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Karl Marx, as well as by apocalyptic and religious thinker ...

(1885–1977), philosopher, lived and died here *

Gerhard Rohlfs Gerhard Rohlfs (July 14, 1892 – September 12, 1986) was a German linguist. He taught Romance languages and literature at the universities in Tübingen and Munich. He was described as an "archeologist of words". Biography Rohlfs was born i ...

(1892–1986), Romance

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

, lived and died here * Kurt Georg Kiesinger (1904–1988), politician, Chancellor of Germany 1966–69, lived and died here *

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, neo-orthodox theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the s ...

(1906–1945), Lutheran theologian and pastor, anti-Nazi-dissident, studied here * Hans Mayer (1907–2001), literary scholar and critic, lived and died here *

Walter Jens Walter Jens (8 March 1923 – 9 June 2013) was a German philologist, literature historian, critic, university professor and writer. He was born in Hamburg, and attended the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums from 1933 to 1941, when he gained his ...

(1923–2013), philologist, writer and university professor of rhetoric, lived and died here * Martin Walser (1927–2023), writer, studied here *

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

(1927–2022), held a chair of dogmatic theology at the university 1966–69 * Hans Küng (1928–2021), Roman-Catholic theologian and author, professor of theology, critic of the official church, creator of Foundation for a Global Ethic (Stiftung Weltethos), lived and died here * Ralf Dahrendorf (1929–2009), held a chair of sociology *

Manfred Korfmann Manfred Osman Korfmann (April 26, 1942 – August 11, 2005) was a German archeologist. He excavated Hisarlik, the present site of Troy situated in modern-day Turkey. He continued his research in Turkey, excavating from 1982 to 1987 at Besik ...

(1942–2005), archeologist and professor, excavator of ancient Troy *

Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard Christiane (Janni) Nüsslein-Volhard (; born 20 October 1942) is a German developmental biologist and a 1995 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate. She is the only woman from Germany to have received a Nobel Prize in the sciences. N� ...

(born 1942), developmental biologist and

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, acco ...

, 1995, lives here *

Horst Köhler Horst Köhler (; 22 February 1943 – 1 February 2025) was a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister parties, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, CDU ...

(born 1943), politician, President of Germany 2004–2010

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*
Eberhard Karls University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tubingen Former states and territories of Baden-Württemberg Tübingen (district) Populated places on the Neckar basin Populated riverside places in Germany Towns in Baden-Württemberg

History

Overview

Main sights

Government

Regional structure

Districts

Culture

Events

Population

Population development

Historical population

Climate

Twin towns – sister cities

Infrastructure

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Education

Higher education and research

Schools

People

Sport

Alumni from the university

See also

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