Engstingen is a municipality in the

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

administrative region (''

Regierungsbezirk A ' (, 'governmental district') is a type of administrative division in Germany. Currently, four of sixteen ' (states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts ' (plural, ) serve as regional mid-level local gov ...

'') in

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 lies in the

Swabian Jura 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 ...

(plateau), about south of

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 ...

. It was formed on January 1, 1975 from the former independent municipalities of ''Großengstingen'', ''Kleinengstingen'' and ''Kohlstetten''. Engstingen is located on the northern edge of the Swabian Jura, at altitude on the Alb plateau near the Alb edge in the valley of Ur-Lauter, about 15 km south of the town Reutlingen.

Municipality

According to the municipal reform on January 1, 1975, the three previously independent municipalities Großengstingen, Kleinengstingen and Kohlstetten and the industrial park ''Gewerbepark Haid'' were combined into Engstingen. The village of Großengstingen and the houses at Großengstingen railway station and Haid belonged previously to the former municipality Großengstingen. The former municipalities Kleinengstingen and Kohlstetten each included only these villages respectively. Großengstingen and Kleinengstingen are lying together, surrounded by a ring of wooded hilltops. The municipality Kohlstetten is about northeast and Haid about south. The deepest point of denunciation, with , is located on the railway line at the border to the municipality of Offenhausen; the highest point of on the Judenstein is on the border to the municipality of Meidelstetten. The following towns and municipalities, which all belong to the district of Reutlingen, share borders with the municipality Engstingen: Lichtenstein, St. Johann,

Sonnenbühl Sonnenbühl is a municipality in the district of Reutlingen, state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Sonnenbühl is a municipality on the plateau of the Swabian Alb, just south of Reutlingen. The seat of the municipality is in the district Undinge ...

Gomadingen Gomadingen is a town in the district of Reutlingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. About 85% of its territory is located on the Swabian Alps. It's the district where the Grafeneck Castlis situated. During the II World War, the castle was home ...

Trochtelfingen Trochtelfingen () is a town in the district of Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 20 km south of Reutlingen Reutlingen (; ) is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the capital of the eponymous Reutlingen (d ...

and Hohenstein. The municipality Engstingen teamed-up with the municipality Hohenstein to a Joint Management Community (''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'').

Geology

The Alb plateau was created when the disk of the White

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

was raised before about 50 million years ago. There were many cracks and fissures in the limestone rock, so that rainwater seeps very quickly, and so the Alb is quite low in water. Thus, it is surprising that a mineral spring exists in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of Kleinengstingen.

History

Common

The earliest permanent settlement traces are from the

Hallstatt culture The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western Europe, Western and Central European archaeological culture of the Late Bronze Age Europe, Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallst ...

(

Tumulus A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...

in the area of Haid). The area belonged from the first to the third century to the Roman Empire (

Agri Decumates The ''Agri Decumates'' or ''Decumates Agri'' ("Decumatian Fields") were a region of the Roman Empire's provinces of Germania Superior and Raetia, covering the Black Forest, Swabian Jura, and Franconian Jura areas between the Rhine, Main, and D ...

). During 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 ...

, all three subsites suffered from great population losses, and subsequently Swiss and other foreign families migrated into this area.

Großengstingen

The earliest document of the name of the place names "Anegistingin" was dated 24 January 783 in a deed of

Lorsch Abbey Lorsch Abbey, otherwise the Imperial Abbey of Lorsch (; or ''Laurissa''), is a former Imperial abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about east of Worms, Germany, Worms. It was one of the most important monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ru ...

. The

Roman Catholic Diocese of Chur The Diocese of Chur () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Switzerland. It extends over the Swiss Cantons of Graubünden (Grisons), Schwyz, Glarus, Zurich, Nidwalden, Obwalden, and Uri. The modern C ...

acquired some properties at the beginning of the 10th century. In 1439 the name "Großengstingen" appeared for the first time. A rarely used name was "Churengstingen". The right for free hunting was abolished in 1709 and partially re-introduced from 1713 to 1806 out of courtesy of the duke. On October 31, 1717 Chur sold Engstingen to the

Zwiefalten Abbey The Abbey of Our Lady of Zwiefalten, more commonly known as Zwiefalten Abbey ( or, after 1750, ) is a former Benedictine monastery situated at Zwiefalten, near Reutlingen, in the German State of Baden-Württemberg. Zwiefalten lies on the tourist ...

. From there it was transferred to the Protestant Württemberg on 30 April 1750. Großengstingen became part of Oberamt Reutlingen in 1806 and became a district (''

Landkreis In 13 German states, the primary administrative subdivision higher than a '' Gemeinde'' (municipality) is the () or (). Most major cities in Germany are not part of any ''Kreis'', but instead combine the functions of a municipality and a ''K ...

'') from 1938. From 1963 to 1993, the

Rocket artillery Rocket artillery is artillery that uses rockets as the projectile. The use of rocket artillery dates back to medieval China where devices such as fire arrows were used (albeit mostly as a psychological weapon). Fire arrows were also used in mult ...

battalion 250 of the

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

was stationed in the Eberhard Finck barracks in Großengstingen.

Kleinengstingen

Northwest of Kleinengstingen is an Alemannic row grave field. The oldest known mention of "Clain Engstingen" dates from 1482. The place was sometimes called "Freiengstingen" in the 13th century during the reign of the barons of Engstingen (''liber de Anegestingen''). However, it was probably already then under the reign of Württemberg. The local reign was finally transferred in 1454 to Württemberg, annexing it to the Amt Pfullingen. From then, it was sometimes mentioned as "Unterengstingen". In 1806 Kleinengstingen came to Oberamt Reutlingen, and in 1938 it became a district.

Kohlstetten

The oldest known mention of the name "Cholsteten" (from the German words for

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of '' Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.& ...

or more likely for

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...

) can be found in a document of the Weißenau Abbey of 1161. The place came in 1230 from the Earl of Achalm to the

House of Urach The House of Urach is a morganatic cadet branch of the formerly royal House of Württemberg. Although the Württemberg dynasty was one of many reigning over small realms in Germany into the 20th century, and despite the fact that marital ''mésal ...

and from there in 1265 to Württemberg. The place was very badly damaged in the Thirty Years' War; only the church survived the era relatively unscathed. Kohlstetten was part of the Oberamt Urach (Unteramt or parish Gächingen) within Württemberg. In 1808, it came to the Oberamt Münsingen and became in 1938 a district. In 1973, it became part of the district of

Haid

The German Empire under the dictatorship of the Nazis established the ammunition factory ''Muna Haid'' in a wooded area about four kilometers south of Großengstingen. During

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 ...

, a small forced-labor and POW camp was connected to the ammunition factory, into which 200 to 300 men and women were mainly deported from France, Russia and Poland. They were either used directly in the ammunition factory or used for agricultural work in the surrounding villages. Between February and April 1945, ''Muna Haid'' was repeatedly bombed by Allied air forces and severely damaged. The Wehrmacht itself blasted the intact remains of the ammunition bunkers shortly before the end of the war and the Nazi dictatorship, so that it would not fall into the hands of the advancing Allied troops. After the war, the site was rehabilitated, after the Federal Republic of Germany was founded in 1949. Initially a sanatorium, then in 1953 a camp for refugees was established, mainly German expellees from the former eastern territories of the German Reich. The Bundeswehr built some barracks 1957 in the area, which were initially called Haid Barracks and in 1965 renamed to Eberhard Finckh Barracks. Until their closure at the end of 1993, there was also an American unit (84th Field Artillery Detachment) stationed next to the Rocket Artillery 250. They had the oversight and control over the nuclear warheads that were stored in the special ammunition depot ''Golf'' in the Eberhard Finck barracks at the road to Meidelstetten. The area around the barracks and the nuclear weapons base was in the 1980s the location of various

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

demonstrations Demonstration may refer to: * Demonstration (acting), part of the Brechtian approach to acting * Demonstration (military), an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought * Protest, a public act of objection, disapproval or d ...

of the

peace movement A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world pe ...

, which demonstrated with regional Easter marches with up to 5,000 participants and some multi-week sit-ins against the military presence on the ground. Since the mid 1990s, the now civilian land is jointly used as a business park by the surrounding communities Engstingen, Hohenstein and Trochtelfingen.

Population Development

Census result, other numbers for each year

Mayors

The mayor is elected for a term of eight years. The previous tenure of Klaus-Peter Kleiner ended by resignation 2013; Small died in the night of 5 to 6 October 2013. Current mayor is Mario Storz since 2013.

Previous mayors of districts

Großengstingen * around 1557: Mich(a)el GersteneckerBestand A 44 U 7137
on Landesarchiv-BW.de *1885-1919: Claudius Wälder *1919-1945: Oskar Gauch *1946-1949: Theodor Leippert *1949-1963: Martin Staneker *1963-1975: Kurt Stemmer Kleinengstingen *1864-1894: Johann Georg Stooß *1895-1904: Christian Stooß *1904-1920: Christian Baisch *1920-1937: Ernst Stooß *1937-1946: Ernst Glück *1946-1954: Wilhelm Mohl *1955-1975: Adam Baisch Kohlstetten *1892-1894: Andreas Failenschmid *1894-1915: August Glück *1915-1917: Johann Martin Vöhringer *1917-1927: Jakob Reitter *1927-1945: John Glück *1946-1960: Gottlob Nau *1960-1975: Christian Spohn Engstingen (after the municipal reform) *1975-1983: Kurt Stemmer *1983-2013: Klaus-Peter Kleiner *from 2013: Mario Storz

Coat of arms

Current coat of arms

Since 19 January 1978, the coat of arms show a white, ascending Capricorn on a black background, the symbol of the Prince Bishop of Chur in (Switzerland), who possessed the dominion Großengstingen until 1717. At the top is a deer antler on a gold background, which documented the ownership by the

house of Württemberg The House of Württemberg is an uradel, ancient German nobility, German dynasty and former royal family of the Kingdom of Württemberg. History County The House probably originated in the vicinity of the Salian dynasty. Around 1080 the ancestors ...

in earlier times.

Previous coats of arms

Twinning

Engstingen is twinned with the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

town of Chur in the canton of

Grisons The Grisons (; ) or Graubünden (),Names include: * ; *Romansh language, Romansh: ** ** ** ** ** **; * ; * ; * . See also list of European regions with alternative names#G, other names. more formally the Canton of the Grisons or the Canton ...

, not least because of the common historical past.

Religions

Großengstingen (Diocese of Chur) remained Catholic, while Kleinengstingen and Kohlstetten (both Württemberg) have been reformed to become Protestant (Evangelical Pietist) due to their different relations during the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. Kleinengstingen belonged initially to the parish of St. Martin in Großengstingen, which was first mentioned in 1275. The Martin Church was built in the Rococo style by Zwiefalten Abbey 1717-1719. The parish includes today also the Catholics of Kleinengstingen and Kohlstetten. The parish church in Kohlstetten was incorporated in 1496 by the convent Offenhausen and has changed since the Reformation to a Protestant parish. Due to the Reformation came Kleinengstingen of the still Catholic parish to parish Großengstingen Kohlstetten. The present church was built in 1760 and in 1787 expanded. A Protestant church was built in Kleinengstingen in 1770. Now the municipality of Engstingen belongs both to the Catholic Church Administration deanery Reutlingen-Zwiefalten of the diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart and to church district

Bad Urach Bad Urach () is a town in the district of Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 14 km east of Reutlingen, at the foot of the Swabian Jura (or Swabian Alps), and is known for its spa and therapeutic bath. Neighbouring comm ...

-Münsingen of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Württemberg.

Music

Engstingen forms a musical focus point on the Alb with the ''Sängerbund'' founded in 1854 Kohlstetten, the ''Liederkranz'' Großengstingen of 1858, the Swabian Alb musicians first mentioned on 6 October 1867, the ''Köhlermusikanten'' established on 6 March 1953 and the brass band, the mixed choir Kleinengstingen and the church choir St. Martin Großengstingen.

Museums

The Automobile Museum Engstingen displays historic cars and motorcycles from the postwar period. The scooter and small car meeting Here takes place here every year on 3 October 3.

Buildings

Around 1580 the only mineral spring on the Alb plateau was discovered in the center of Kleinengstingen and feeds the ''Sauerbrunnen'' (acidic well). 1275 a Catholic parish church of St. Martin was first mentioned. The year 1606 is carved into the baptismal font of the baroque church which was finished in 1719 by the builder Franz Beer of Bleichten. The Wendelin chapel in Großengstingen was built in 1750. The church was built in 1770/71 partially above a smaller previous church. Its name comes from Blasius, who was bishop in Sebaste (Armenia) in 316 and died a martyr. For a village church, the Rococo style plant ornaments on

dais A dais or daïs ( or , American English also but sometimes considered nonstandard)dais
in the Random House Dictionary< ...

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

and the ceiling are unusually elaborate and valuable. The organ in the Romantic style from 1862 is listed as

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by socie ...

. The Protestant ''Marienkirche'' in Kohlstetten in its present form of 1787 has frescoes dating back to 1500. They show an incompletely preserved Marie cycle and various depictions of saints and

Old Württemberg Old Württemberg () was the princely territory of Württemberg prior to the imperial treaty or ''Reichsdeputationshauptschluss'' of 1803, as opposed to the New Württemberg which followed and which acquired a large number of additional territor ...

coats of arms. The frescoes were rediscovered in 1956/57 and restored during a church renovation. The Lichtenstein Castle is in the neighboring community Lichtenstein.

Regular events

*January: New Year shooting of the Reservistenkameradschaft Engstingen e.V. *Carnival Saturday: carnival parade *Easter Monday: Egg shooting in Großengstingen *April / May:

Charcoal Burner A charcoal burner is someone whose occupation is to manufacture charcoal. Traditionally this is achieved by carbonising wood in a charcoal pile or kiln. Charcoal burning is one of the oldest human crafts. History and technique Medieval charc ...

Festival in Kohlstetten *July: Schlosshof-Hockete, a sit-down party in the castle yard of Großengstingen *1st Saturday in August: Kohltalfest of the construction trailer association in Kleinengstingen *August: Sauerbrunnen-Hockete, a sit-down party at the acidic well of Kleinengstingen *September Engstingen autumn *3 October: Scooter and small car meeting in the district Großengstingen

Associations

*Fischer Club Kohlstetten e.V. *Kleintierzuchtverein Engstingen-Augstberg e.V. *Köhler musicians Kohlstetten *Liederkranz Großengstingen *Musikverein Großengstingen *Narrenzunft Großengstingen e.V. *Horticultural Association Großengstingen *Horticultural Association Kleinengstingen *Archers 1905 Engstingen e.V. *Tennis Club Engstingen *TSV Kleinengstingen *Reservistenkameradschaft Engstingen e.V.

Economy and infrastructure

On the grounds of the former Eberhard Finck barracks municipalities Engstingen, Hohenstein and Trochtelfingen who founded in 1994 the industrial park Haid.

Transport

Roads

The federal Highways, which runs in the north/south direction B 312 and B 313 forks in Engstingen. The B 312 starts at the

Bundesautobahn 8 is an autobahn in southern Germany that runs 497 km (309 mi) from the Luxembourg A13 motorway at Schengen via Neunkirchen, Pirmasens, Karlsruhe, Pforzheim, Stuttgart, Ulm, Augsburg and Munich to the Austrian West Autobahn near S ...

Stuttgart Airport Stuttgart Airport () formerly is an international airport serving Stuttgart, the capital of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is christened in honor of Stuttgart's former mayor, Manfred Rommel, son of Erwin Rommel, and is the sixth ...

and runs via Kleinengstingen,

Riedlingen Riedlingen () is a town in the district (''Kreis'') of Biberach, Baden-Württemberg, in the south-west of Germany. It is one of the destinations of the Upper Swabian Baroque Route. Riedlingen has approximately 11,000 inhabitants. Geography ...

and Biberach to

Memmingen Memmingen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Memmenge'') is a town in Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is the economic, educational and administrative centre of the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the ...

. The B 313 branches at Plochingen off the B 10 and runs via Großengstingen and

Sigmaringen Sigmaringen ( Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district. Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, Schloss Sigmaringen, ...

Stockach Stockach () is a town in the district of Konstanz, in southern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Location It is situated in the Hegau region, about 5 km northwest of Lake Constance, 13 km north of Radolfzell and 25 km northwest of K ...

. In east/west direction the national road L 230 branches off from the B 27 in Gomaringen and runs via Kohlstetten to Münsingen near the

Autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...

A 8 at Merklingen.

Railways

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 ...

built the

Reutlingen–Schelklingen railway The Reutlingen–Schelklingen railway or Swabian Jura Railway (German: ''Schwäbische Albbahn'') is a 58.25 kilometre long branch line from Reutlingen to Schelklingen, which crosses the Swabian Jura in southern Germany. Its route no. is 4620. The ...

by extending the route form

to Honau in 1893 by the cog railway Honau-Lichtenstein and then with a conventional railway track from Kleinengstingen via Kohlstetten to Münsingen and in 1901 further to

Schelklingen Schelklingen () is a town in the district of Alb-Donau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is situated 10 km north of Ehingen, and 20 km west of Ulm. Schelklingen and 82% of its territory form part of the Swabian Jura Biosphere Reserv ...

. Two Standardized railway stations of Type IIa were built at Kleinengstingen and Kohlstetten. With the opening of the route Gammertingen–Kleinengstingen line by the

Hohenzollerische Landesbahn The Hohenzollerische Landesbahn (HzL) was the largest non-federally owned railway company in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft and Südwestdeutsche Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft. It operated passenger an ...

, Kleinengstingen became a node in 1901 until the Echaz Valley line was decommissioned in 1969. The commune is in the comb 224 of the Verkehrsverbund Neckar-Alb-Donau (NALDO).

Education

Großengstingen has as a community center, the primary, secondary and high school Freibühlschule, Kleinengstingen has a primary school with the Steinbühlschule and Großengstingen hosts a Waldorf School.

Honorary citizens

*Claudius Wälder (1885-1968), dean *1967: Albert Schwarz, pastor in Großengstingen

Attractions

* Automobile Museum Engstingen * St. Martin Church in Großengstingen from 1719 with a baptismal font from 1606 * St. Blasius Church in Kleinengstingen from 1771 * Marias Church in Kohlstetten with frescos from 15th/16th century * Nearby Lichtenstein Castle, belongs to Honau

Literature

* ''Engstinger Heimatbuch: anlässlich des 1225-jährigen Jubiläums 2008''. Herausgeber: Gemeinde Engstingen, 2008 * Friedrichs, Jan Rolf: ''Die Muna Haid in Engstingen - die Entwicklung einer ehemaligen Militäreinrichtung zu einem Gewerbepark''. Oertel & Spörer, Reutlingen 2004 . * Lenk, Joachim: ''Soldaten, Sprengköpfe und scharfe Munition''. Wiedemann, Münsingen 2006, . *

External links

www.engstingen.de
— official website (in German)
rvat.cycaos.com
— additional information (in German)
www.eberhard-finckh-kaserne.de
American soldiers in Engstingen(in German)

References

{{Authority control Reutlingen (district)