Waiblingen
Town
Coordinates48°49′49″N 09°19′01″E
StateBaden-Württemberg
RegionStuttgart
DistrictRems-Murr-Kreis
Elevation230
Area42.75
Postal code71331–71336
Area code07151, 07146
LicenceWN, BK
Gemeindeschlüssel08 1 19 079
Websitewww.waiblingen.de
MayorSebastian Wolf[1]
Leader term2022–30
BürgermeistertitelLord Mayor
PartyCDU

Waiblingen (ˈvaɪblɪŋən; Swabian: Woeblinge) is a town in the southwest of Germany, located in the center of the densely populated Stuttgart region, directly neighbouring Stuttgart. It is the capital and largest city of the Rems-Murr district. As of 31 December 2024, Waiblingen had 57,313 inhabitants.[2]

Etymology

Waiblingen is of Alemannic origin, designating a place (as indicated by the suffix -ingen) ruled by, or settled by the descendents of, someone probably named Wabilo or Wahilo.[3] In Old High German, the name was rendered as Uueibelingen.

Geography

Waiblingen is bisected by the river Rems, which enters the district from the southeast near Beinstein, and then flows through the city center, including the eastern part of the old town. It subsequently cuts deep into the area's Muschelkalk limestone,[4] and runs northwest in several meandering bends between the outlying districts of Neustadt, Hohenacker, and Hegnach, on its way to its confluence with the Neckar in Remseck.

The city of Waiblingen consists of the inner city of Waiblingen proper, and the outlying districts of Beinstein, Bittenfeld, Hegnach, Hohenacker, and Neustadt, which were incorporated during municipal reforms in 1971 and 1975. Each of these five districts has its own local council as defined by the Baden-Württemberg municipal code.[5]

Due to urban expansion, modern Waiblingen is almost contiguous with its neighbouring towns of Fellbach in the west, Kernen in the south, and Korb in the east.

History

Pre-history to early Middle Ages

The earliest archaeological finds in the area date from the Neolithic, as early as 5,000 BCE.[6] In Hegnach, excavations found a Celtic burial site from the Hallstatt culture, dated between 650–450 BCE (Hallstatt C).[6] Between 155 and 260, Waiblingen lay just inside the borders of the Roman Empire in the province of Germania Superior; the nearest border defenses of the Limes in Welzheim were only about 25 kilometers away.[7] Near Beinstein, the remains of a Roman artisan's village were found, producing earthenware and ceramics which were traded in a range of up to 100 kilometers.[8][9]

Little evidence exists for Waiblingen's history during and after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, a period known as the Migration Period (German: Völkerwanderung). Writing in 1666, local chronicler Wolfgang Zacher relates that older sources spoke of the town being destroyed in around 450 by Huns which were part of Attila's forces.[3]: 17 The town was part of the tribal confederation of the Alemanni between the 5th and 8th century, who were gradually christianized and subjugated by the Franks, until Carloman summarily executed all Alemannic nobility at the blood court at Cannstatt in 746.[3] Waiblingen's mother church dates from this time; the fact that it was dedicated to the archangel Michael – one of the main holy figures venerated by the Franks – is taken by some scholars to be an indication of the town's importance at the time.[10][3] Remains of the original church were found underneath the 15th-century Michael's Church (Michaelskirche), which occupies its place today.[10]

High and late Middle Ages

By the 9th century, Waiblingen had become an important religious, economic, and administrative center in the region. This is evidenced by the erection of a Kaiserpfalz ("imperial palace") in the town by Carolingian rulers.[11] While no archaeological evidence for this palace has been found, it is theorized to have been located in the area of the central town square (Rathausplatz).[12] Chronicler Wolfgang Zacher asserts that emperor Charlemagne visited Waiblingen in 801, although there is no contemporary evidence for such a visit.[3] The first documentary evidence both for Waiblingen's existence, and its Kaiserpfalz, comes from the reign of Charlemagne's great-grandson Charles the Fat. In 885, Charles and his itinerant court stayed in Waiblingen for several days: on 23 August 885, the emperor signed a royal charter as "Actum ad Uueibelingan curta imperiali" – "Done at Waiblingen, imperial estate".[13][a] The last East Frankish ruler of the Carolingian dynasty, Louis the Child, also signed an act in Waiblingen in December 908, after which there is no further documentary evidence for roughly 140 years.[3]

After the Carolingian period, Waiblingen passed by inheritance through the dukes of Swabia to Gisela of Swabia, whose marriage to Conrad II brought the estate into the Salian dynasty when Conrad was elected King of Germany in 1024; he would be crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1027. The Salian emperors of the following century – Conrad's son Henry III, grandson Henry IV, and great-grandson Henry V – were recorded by 12th-century chronicler Otto of Freising as having been called the "Henrys of Waiblingen".[3][14] The town reached the height of its importance under Henry IV during the Investiture Controversy, when it served as an imperial fortress.[3] in 1080 Henry donated Waiblingen, together with neighbouring Winterbach, to Speyer Cathedral, burial church of the Salian dynasty.[3] The Hohenstaufen acquired the town through Agnes of Waiblingen, daughter of Henry IV, who married Duke Frederick I of Swabia, and they inherited the Salian lands after the male line died out with Henry V in 1125.[3]

The rivalry between the house of Waiblingen and the rival house of Welf gave its name to the conflict between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, one of the defining political divisions of medieval Europe. According to later chronicles, both houses' names were first used as opposing battle cries at the siege of Weinsberg in 1140, in which the Welf shouts of "Hie Welf!" were answered by Hohenstaufen troops with "Hie Waibling!", the name of their nearby fortress.[3] While this origin is considered plausible, it rests on relatively late sources.[15][3] As the conflict between the Hohenstaufen (the heirs of the Waiblingen name) and the Welfs spread into imperial Italy, the two party names were carried south and reshaped in Italian as Ghibellini and Guelfi, with Ghibellino deriving from "Waiblingen" itself. The factions reached their height during the struggle between Emperor Frederick II and the papacy in the 13th century[15] and persisted long after the original dynastic quarrel – and its connection to the small Swabian town – had been forgotten.[3]

Through the 13th century Waiblingen gradually developed from a village into a town under the Counts of Württemberg. The first secure evidence of a Württemberg presence dates from 1253, and grants of land in and around Waiblingen multiply through the 1260s and 1270s. By 1265 at the latest, Waiblingen had been elevated to a city,[16] and indicators of an emerging town appear in the same period, including "urban" trades such as butchers and, by 1273, a community of citizens (universitas civium) headed by a Schultheiß (bailiff).[17] Waiblingen's earliest town seal survives on a charter of 1291 and bears the three stag's antlers of the Counts of Württemberg, which survive in the city's coat of arms today.[17] Around 1300, Waiblingen was drawn into the wars between Count Eberhard I and the Habsburg and Roman kings, who valued its position at the Rems crossing on a long-distance route between Franconia and Lake Constance. The crown established a rival settlement, Neu-Waiblingen (the modern district of Neustadt), on a nearby hilltop as a deliberate check on Württemberg ambitions, first documented in 1298.[17]

Early modern era

Waiblingen was a favoured residence of the Counts of Württemberg through the first half of the 15th century. The family lived periodically at a castle on the site of today's city hall square; several counts were born in the town, among them the future Duke Eberhard II (born 1447), and Waiblingen twice served as the dower (Wittum) of a count's wife.[18] After Count Ulrich V was captured and held for a large ransom in his war against the Electoral Palatinate, the town was pledged to the Palatinate from 1463 until 1491. The recently founded University of Tübingen took refuge in Waiblingen during an outbreak of plague in 1482/83.[18] The town's oldest surviving buildings date from the 15th century, such as the Michaelskirche (Michael's Church, ~1445), Nikolauskirche (Saint Nicholas' Church, after 1480), and the Beinsteiner Torturm (Beinstein Gate Tower, 1491); the latter was adorned with the arms of Count Eberhard V, who was elevated to Duke of Württemberg in 1495.[18] In 1514, Waiblingen saw unrest during a regional revolt against Duke Ulrich, known collectively as Poor Conrad. A confrontation between Imperial Knights and rebelling Waiblingen citizens is relayed by participant Götz von Berlichingen in his autobiography.[19]

In 1634, Waiblingen was almost completely destroyed during the Thirty Years' War. After their victory over the Swedes at the Battle of Nördlingen, Imperial and Spanish troops of Ferdinand II stormed and burned Waiblingen on 19 September 1634; the town, its two suburbs, and the parish church were reduced almost entirely to ashes.[20] Local chronicler Wolfgang Zacher relates that the town's population fell from about 1,300 in 1634 to roughly 100 by 1639. The devastation was so complete that when Matthäus Merian published the Swabian volume of his atlas Topographia Germaniae in 1643, he was unable to provide a view of Waiblingen, noting that all but five houses had been destroyed.[20] Rebuilding began in 1640, but advanced slowly due to lack of funds; even 75 years after its sacking, the town had only regained about 60 percent of its former buildings and half its population. The core of the present-day old town dates from this reconstruction between roughly 1640 and 1700; among the resettling citizens was baker Caspar Schiller (1623–1695), great-great-grandfather of poet Friedrich Schiller, one of Germany's most important playwrights.[20]

Modern era

Waiblingen did not regain its pre-Thirty Years' War size until the end of the 18th century, with about 2,269 inhabitants in 1800.[21] In 1820, visiting poet Achim von Arnim found the town disappointing, as it had lost the medieval charm von Arnim had expected.[22] Waiblingen remained part of the Duchy of Württemberg, whose status changed dramatically during the Napoleonic era. Allied with France, its ruler Frederick I was elevated to King in 1806; in the administrative reorganization of the new kingdom, Waiblingen became the seat of an Oberamt (district), formed in 1808 from the older Württemberg districts of Waiblingen and Winnenden and assigned to the Neckarkreis (Neckar district). In 1861, the Remsbahn (Rems valley railway) from Cannstatt up the Rems towards Aalen was opened, giving Waiblingen a station,[23] and the branch line towards Backnang and Schwäbisch Hall followed in 1876, making the town a railway junction and emerging industrial center.[9] Factories producing such varied good as bricks, silk fabrics, fly-catchers, throat lozenges, and noodles settled in the town.[24][25]

During World War I, 238 soldiers from Waiblingen died, out of a total population of about 7,000.[26] As early as 1915, the town had to implement a system of food rationing, and in 1917, two bells of Michael's Church were melted down to support the war effort.[27] While the town was not a stronghold of Nazism in the 1920s – the Nazi Party had logged relatively modest vote tallies in national and local elections[27] – by 1933, Waiblingen had been brought in line, and jews, political opponents, and minority groups were subsequently marginalized, imprisoned, and deported.[28] The Postplatz, a main square south of the old town, was renamed Adolf-Hitler-Platz in March 1933, and two schools were renamed after Hitler and Horst Wessel in 1936.[27] Out of a population of about 11,000, 552 soldiers died during World War II, but the city itself remained largely undamaged. Waiblingen was given up without a fight to advancing American troops on 21 April 1945.[27]

By 1960, Waiblingen had reached a population of 20,000, leading to its elevation to a Große Kreisstadt (major district town) by 1962. Further municipal reforms incorporated neighbouring towns such as Beinstein and Neustadt. Waiblingen became the administrative center of the newly-created Rems-Murr-Kreis district in 1973.[9]

Landmarks

Waiblingen historic center lies on the west bank of the Rems river, encompassed by the remains of the 13th-century city wall. Due to the city's destruction during the Thirty Years' War, most historic residential buildings date from the Baroque (1650–1750). The old town contains many colourful timber-framed houses, especially around the Marktplatz (market square) which marks the center of old town. Buildings of note include:

  • Altes Rathaus (old city hall) on the Marktplatz. Foundations of the current structure date from 1597; destroyed in 1634 and not rebuilt until 1730. Used as the city hall until 1875, after which it became a boy's school. Today an event space. The building has an elaborate clock with moving figures set into its front.[24][29]
  • Beinsteiner Torturm (Beinstein gate tower). The only remaining gate of the medieval battlements, the other gate towers having been demolished in the 1830s. The 22-meter tower is topped with a timber-frame structure, and housed a small prison until the mid-19th century. It features the arms of Count Eberhard V from 1491, and a Nazi-era sgraffito of idealized Hohenstaufen knights and a heroic standard-bearer from 1938.[30][31]
  • Hochwachtturm (high watch tower). Erected at the highest point of old town, a first tower may have been built as early as the 11th century, which was heightened several times in subsequent centuries.[32][22] The structure was used as a watchtower until the 176th century, with the watchmen and their families living at the top of the tower.[22] The building can be visited today and provides a panoramic view of the town.[33]

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

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Waiblingen is twinned with:[34]

Notable people

See also: People from Waiblingen

Sport

References

  1. ^ Oberbürgermeisterwahl Waiblingen 2022, Staatsanzeiger.
  2. ^ "Zahlen, Daten, Fakten | Stadt Waiblingen". www.waiblingen.de. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  3. ^ Glässner, Wilhelm (1977-03-29). "Das Königsgut Waiblingen und die mittelalterlichen Kaisergeschlechter der Karolinger, Salier und Staufer". Waiblingen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart Band 5 (in German). Glässner, Wilhelm (ed.). Waiblingen: Heimatverein Waiblingen.
  4. ^ "Lebensader Rems | Remstal Tourismus". remstal.de. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  5. ^ Hauptsatzung der Stadt Waiblingen in vom 25. Januar 2007, zuletzt geändert am 13. März 2016
  6. ^ Okonnek, Andreas (2014-04-05). "Kelten im Rems-Murr-Kreis". Waiblingen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart Band 18. Peterke, Joachim & Wiedenhöfer, Wolfgang (eds.). Waiblingen: Heimatverein Waiblingen. pp. 39–48.
  7. ^ Sonnabend, Holger (2015-04-30). "Unter der Herrschaft der Caesaren". Waiblingen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart, Band 20. Wiedenhöfer, Wolfgang (ed.). Waiblingen: Heimatverein Waiblingen. pp. 10–14.
  8. ^ Peterke, Joachim (2014-04-05). "Wiederentdeckung eines römischen Grabmals bei Beinstein". Waiblingen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart Band 18. Peterke, Joachim & Wiedenhöfer, Wolfgang (eds.). Waiblingen: Heimatverein Waiblingen.
  9. ^ "Stadtgeschichte | Stadt Waiblingen". www.waiblingen.de. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  10. ^ Schahl, Adolf (1962-05-27). "Die Baugeschichte der Michaelskirche in Waiblingen". Waiblingen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart Band 1 (in German). Glässner, Wilhelm (ed.). Waibligen: Heimatverein Waiblingen. pp. 7–31.
  11. ^ Stenzel, Karl (1971-09-01 [1936]). "Waiblingen in der deutschen Geschichte. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des deutschen Kaisers- und Reichsgedankens im Mittelalter". Waiblingen in Verganheit und Geschichte Band 3 (in German). Glässner, Wilhelm (ed.). Waiblingen: Heimatverein Waiblingen. pp. 7–76.
  12. ^ Wild, Helmut (1974-05-01). "Zur Lage der Kaiserpfalz in Waiblingen". Waiblingen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart Band 4 (in German). Glässner, Wilhelm (ed.). Waiblingen: Heimatverein Waiblingen. pp. 7–15.
  13. ^ Glässner, Wilhelm (1986-03-01). "Waiblingens älteste erhaltene urkundliche Erwähnung am 23. August 885 und die drei Aufenthalte Kaiser Karls III. in Waiblingen vor 1100 Jahren". Waiblingen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart Band 8 (in German). Glässner, Wilhelm (ed.). Waiblingen: Heimatverein Waiblingen. pp. 53–58.
  14. ^ Peterke, Joachim (2000). "Otto von Freising". Waiblingen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart Band 14 (in German). Peterke, Joachim (ed.). Waiblingen: Heimatverein Waiblingen. pp. 45–56.
  15. ^ Vol. 12. pp. 668–669.
  16. ^ Fritz, Gerhard (1990-03-10). "Waiblingen und Umgebung im 12. und 13. Jahrhundert: Studien zur Waiblinger Stadtgeschichte". Waiblingen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart Band 11. Heimatverein Waiblingen.
  17. ^ Widder, Ellen (2005-08-01). Waiblingen - eine Stadt im Spätmittelalter. Schriftenreihe des Heimatvereins Waiblingen e.V. Band 16. Waiblingen: Heimatverein Waiblingen. ISBN 3-927981-14-1.
  18. ^ Glässner, Wilhelm (1984-03-01). "Die wirtembergische Grafenstadt Waiblingen im 15 Jahrhundert". Waiblingen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart Band 7 (in German). Glässner, Wilhelm (ed.). Waiblingen: Heimatverein Waiblingen. pp. 109–192.
  19. ^ Peterke, Joachim (1971-09-01). "Waiblingen und der Bauernaufstand des "Armen Konrad" (1514)". Waiblingen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart Band 3 (in German). Glässner, Wilhelm (ed.). Waiblingen: Heimatverein Waiblingen. pp. 77–93.
  20. ^ Glässner, Wilhelm (1974-05-01). "Zerstörung und Wiederaufbau von Stadt und Amt Waiblingen im 17. Jahrhundert". Waiblingen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart Band 4 (in German). Glässner, Wilhelm (ed.). Waiblingen: Heimatverein Waiblingen. pp. 30–59.
  21. ^ Königlich topographisches Bureau (1850-03-01). "Beschreibung des Oberamts Waiblingen" (in German). de.wikisource.org. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  22. ^ Glässner, Wilhelm (1990-03-10). "Die Waiblinger mittelalterlichen Türme, Tore und Mauern. Eine Dokumentation zur Baugeschichte der ehemaligen Stadtbefestigung und ihre Erhaltung bis zur Gegenwart". Waiblingen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart Band 11. Heimatverein Waiblingen. pp. 161–216.
  23. ^ Scheiderer, Eckard (2011-02-21). "Epochal: Als die Eisenbahn auf die Ostalb kam" (in German). www.schwaebische.de. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  24. ^ Scheible, Erich (1987-05-27). "Waiblinger Bau- und Kunstwerke des Historismus und des Jugendstils vor und nach der Jahrhundertwende. Zeugen der Stadterweiterung im Zuge der Industrialisierung". Waiblingen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart Band 9 (in German). Waiblingen: Heimatverein Waiblingen. pp. 15–76.
  25. ^ "Die Geschichte der Remstäler Nudelproduktion" (in German). Gesellschaft für Stadt- und Kunstgeschichte e.V.. Archived 2025-10-28 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  26. ^ "Countdown in die Katastrophe". Gesellschaft für Stadt- und Kunstgeschichte e.V.
  27. ^ Okonnek, Andreas (2025-11-01). "Waiblinger Alltag in den Kriegsjahren". Den Toten der Weltkriege - Gedenken und Erinnern in Waiblingen. Theiner, Matthias (ed.). Waiblingen: Heimatverein Waiblingen. pp. 17–38.
  28. ^ Herschmann, Eva (2023-10-27). "Nationalsozialisten in Waiblingen: Von überzeugten Nazis und Mitläufern" (in German). Stuttgarter Zeitung. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  29. ^ "Sehenswürdigkeiten: Altes Rathaus". Stadt Waiblingen. Retrieved 2026-06-01.
  30. ^ "Sehenswürdigkeiten: Beinsteiner Tor". Stadt Waiblingen. Retrieved 2026-06-01.
  31. ^ Herschmann, Eva (2023-09-10). "Tag des offenen Denkmals in Waiblingen: Auch die Nazis haben ihre Spuren hinterlassen" (in German). Stuttgarter Zeitung. Retrieved 2026-06-01.
  32. ^ Scheible, Erich (1980-03-01). "Der Hochwachtturm älter als die Stadtmauer? Bergfried der Feste Waiblingen aus frühstaufischer Zeit?". Waiblingen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart Band 6 (in German). Waiblingen: Heimatverein Waiblingen. pp. 80–93.
  33. ^ "Sehenswürdigkeiten: Hochwachtturm". Stadt Waiblingen. Retrieved 2026-06-01.
  34. ^ "Städtepartnerschaften" (in German). waiblingen.de. Waiblingen. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  1. ^ Local historian Joachim Peterke argues that the documents from 885 do not constitute incontrovertible evidence, since they could conceivably have referred to other towns also named Waiblingen (such as Waiblingen near Aalen, and Waibling near Straubing). Peterke notes that the charters involve parties and issues several hundred miles distant from Waiblingen, and that there is no archaeological evidence survives for a supposed Kaiserpfalz.[35]