Ebingen is a town in the large district of

Albstadt Albstadt () is the largest city in the district of Zollernalbkreis in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the Swabian Jura mountains, about halfway between Stuttgart and Lake Constance. Geography Albstadt is spread across a variety of ...

, district

Zollernalbkreis The Zollernalbkreis () is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The district is located in the Swabian Alb, and contains the second highest elevation of this range, the high '' Oberhohenberg''. In the south-e ...

, in the German state of

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 ...

. It is located on the river

Schmiecha Schmiecha (in its lower course: ''Schmeie'') is a river of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It runs from the Raichberg through the town of Albstadt and through a valley of the Swabian Jura. It flows into the Danube near Inzigkofen. See also * List ...

, a left-hand tributary of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

, south of

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 ...

and west of

Ulm Ulm () is the sixth-largest city of the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with around 129,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 60th-largest city. Ulm is located on the eastern edges of the Swabian Jura mountain range, on the up ...

History

Ebingen received city rights around 1250 from the Hohenberg ducal family. In 1367 it became a part of the kingdom of

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 ...

. In the early 20th century, it was known for manufacturing

velvet Velvet is a type of woven fabric with a dense, even pile (textile), pile that gives it a distinctive soft feel. Historically, velvet was typically made from silk. Modern velvet can be made from silk, linen, cotton, wool, synthetic fibers, silk ...

and

velveteen Velveteen (or velveret) is a type of woven textile, fabric with a dense, even, short Pile (textile), pile. It has less sheen than velvet because the pile in velveteen is cut from weft threads, while that of velvet is cut from warp threads. Velvet ...

(cotton-velvet), "Manchester" goods, stockings, stays, hats, needles, tools and tanneries. 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 ...

, the war itself only came on July 11, 1944, with a bombing raid on Ebingen, which killed 65 people and destroyed 37 houses in the city center. On April 18, 1945, the train station became the target of another bombing raid. When an ammunition train was fired upon, the ammunition exploded and devastated the area around the train station. In 1975 Ebingen joined 8 other towns in the area to form the city of

. Current population is at 18,700, with all of

having around 45,000 inhabitants.

Economy

Most of the textiles industry is gone today, leaving some monuments, like

Villa Haux Villa Haux is a villa in the Art Nouveau style built in 1908 by architects Richard Böklen and Carl Feil in the southern German town of Ebingen. It was built for Kommerzienrat Friedrich Haux (1860–1929), entrepreneur in the local textile indust ...

. However, one of the world's biggest makers of industrial needles,

Groz-Beckert The Groz-Beckert is a German manufacturing company that makes industrial needles and precision components for joining textiles. The company is part of the ''Groz-Beckert Group'' based in Albstadt-Ebingen in Baden-Württemberg. Groz-Beckert is the ...

still resides there. Other prominent local companies include Mey (knitwear),

Mettler Toledo Mettler Toledo, stylized in all caps, is a multinational corporation, multinational supplier of precision instruments and services. The company focuses on laboratory, industrial, product inspection, and food retailing applications. Its products ...

(weighing systems) and a major part of

Assa Abloy Assa Abloy AB is a Swedish Group whose offerings include products and services related to locks, doors, gates, and entrance automation. Related products and services include controlling access and confirming identities with keys, cards, tags, ...

security systems (Eff-Eff Brand). Ebingen also hosts the technical and computer science faculties of Albstadt-Sigmaringen University with about 3,000 students (2014).

Architecture

Bürgerturm.jpg, Citizens' tower, ~1500 Albstadt Ebingen Zehntscheuer Kornspeicher 2011.jpg, old warehouses Ebingen Samtfabrik.jpg, Former velvet factory Ebingen HauxVillen.jpg, Haux houses Ebingen Schweinweiher.jpg, Central square: Schweinweiher, Kurt-Georg-Kiesinger-Platz, Marktstraße Ebingen Rathaus Turm.jpg, Art nouveau Town hall by

Martin Elsaesser Martin Elsaesser (28 May 1884 – 5 August 1957) was a German architect and professor of architecture. He is especially well known for the many churches he built. Life From 1901 to 1906, Elsaesser studied architecture at the Technical University ...

Churches

* The main church of Ebingen is St.Martin's church. The choir is late gothic (1473), the tower from 1670. They are integrated in the art nouveau building from 1906. * Next to the church is the former hermitage, inhabited from 1344 until 1608 by

third order The term third order signifies, in general, lay members of Christian religious orders, who do not necessarily live in a religious community such as a monastery or a nunnery, and yet can claim to wear the religious habit and participate in the goo ...

nuns. * The smaller ''Kapellkirche'' was founded in 1382 „in honor of Our Lady and of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem“. The existing building is from 1490, renewed in 1833. * Since the reformation, Ebingen was Protestant. A new Catholic church was not built before 1892 for workers of the then growing industry. St. Joseph church needed to be enlarged in 1912. * The evangelic ''Friedenskirche'' (peace church) was built in 1931 in

New Objectivity The New Objectivity (in ) was a movement in German art that arose during the 1920s as a reaction against German Expressionism, expressionism. The term was coined by Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub, the director of the ''Kunsthalle Mannheim, Kunsthalle' ...

style at the outskirt of the town. Urban development let it end up in a commercial area. * After World War II, four modern churches were built, for both denominations in new residential areas in the west and east. * The Taize Prayer is spoken in the Thomaskirche Taize Prayer
/ref> Ebingen Martinskirche.jpg, Martinskirche, main façade Ebingen Klause.jpg, hermitage Ebingen StJosef.jpg, St. Joseph Ebingen Friedenskirche.jpg, Friedenskirche Ebingen HlKreuz.jpg, Heilig-Kreuz (holy cross) Ebingen Thomaskirche.jpg, Thomas church Ebingen Friedhof Kapellen.jpg, new and old cemetery chapel Ebingen Lighthouse.jpg, BGG Lighthouse (Pentecostal)

Notable people

Maximilian F. Bonzano Maximilian Ferdinand Bonzano (March 22, 1821May 23, 1894), was a German-born American government official, politician, and physician in Louisiana. He chaired the committee on emancipation in Louisiana during the American Civil War. Bonzano was ele ...

(1821–1894), German-born American government official, politician, and physician *

Kurt Georg Kiesinger Kurt Georg Kiesinger (; 6 April 1904 – 9 March 1988) was a German politician who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1 December 1966 to 21 October 1969. Before he became Chancellor he served as Minister-President of Baden-Württembe ...

(1904–1988), German politician, former German chancellor

References

{{Authority control Towns in Baden-Württemberg Albstadt