Waiblingen
Waiblingen 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.
, the area of the town 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 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
Climate
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
- Ludwig II, Count of Württemberg-Urach, a nobleman, Count of Württemberg-Stuttgart from 1480 to 1496.
- Jakob Andreae, a significant German Lutheran theologian and Protestant Reformer
- Adam Gottlieb Weigen, a German pietist, theologian and early animal rights writer.
- Luise Duttenhofer, a German papercutting artist.
- Karl Daiber, architect and politician in Ulm
- Carl Paul Pfleiderer, mechanical engineer and university lecturer, developed the centrifugal pump
- Christian Mergenthaler, a Nazi politician, Ministerpräsident of Württemberg, 1933–1945
- Gottlob Kopp, , a German painter, president of the Stuttgart Chamber of Crafts
- Lenore Volz, a Protestant theologian, one of the first local women to be a church minister.
- Manfred Wundram, , a German art historian, died locally
- Ulrich Gauß, , politician, Lord Mayor of Waiblingen, 1970-1994.
- Alfred Biolek, a German entertainer and TV producer, grew up locally
- Norbert F. Pötzl, , journalist, author and editor of Der Spiegel
- Mathias Richling, actor, author, comedian and Kabarett artist.
- Claus E. Heinrich, a German manager and entrepreneur
- Christoph Niemann , an illustrator, graphic designer and children's book author.
- Boris Palmer, politician and former member of the Green Party; mayor of Tübingen since 2007.
Sport
- Manfred Winkelhock, a German racing driver
- Joachim Winkelhock, a German motor racing driver
- Günther Schäfer, a German football coach and a former player who played 373 games
- Thomas Winkelhock, a German racing driver
- Anouschka Bernhard, a German footballer who played 47 games for Germany women
- Achim Pfuderer, a German former footballer who played over 240 games
- Michael Fink, a German football manager and player who played 414 games
- Nadine Krause, a German former handballer who played 188 games for Germany women
- Matthias Morys, a Polish-German former footballer who played over 400 games
- Alessandro Abruscia, an Italian-German footballer who has played over 380 games
- Simon Skarlatidis, a German footballer who has played over 330 games
- Bernd Mayländer F1 Safety Car driver since 2000