Heubach is a town in the

Ostalbkreis The Ostalbkreis is a Districts of Germany, ''Landkreis'' (district) in the east of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on the border to Bavaria. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Schwäbisch Hall (district), Schwäbisch Hall, Ansbach ( ...

district, 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 is located 10 km east of

Schwäbisch Gmünd Schwäbisch Gmünd (, until 1934: Gmünd; Swabian: ''Gmẽẽd'' or ''Gmend'') is a city in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 60,000, the city is the second largest in the Ostalb district ...

, and 13 km southwest of

Aalen Aalen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Oole'') is a town located in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, about east of Stuttgart and north of Ulm. It is the seat of the Ostalbkreis district and is its largest town. It is ...

. The town finds itself at the edge of the Rems River Valley and at the base of the

Swabian Alps 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 ...

. Heubach is located in the

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 region of Germany. Residents speak the

Swabian German Swabian ( ) is one of the dialect groups of Upper German, sometimes one of the dialect groups of Alemannic German (in the broad sense), that belong to the High German dialect continuum. It is mainly spoken in Swabia, which is located in central ...

dialect. The town is bordered to the north by

Böbingen an der Rems Böbingen an der Rems is a municipality in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, in Ostalbkreis district. It lies on the river Rems. History Roman history The Roman limes passes through Böbingen, and the historical name of the locality ' ...

and Mögglingen, to the east Essingen, the south by

Bartholomä Bartholomä is a municipality in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, in Ostalbkreis district. Bartholomä is mainly a commuter town in the historical region of Swabia, that straddles the border between Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria B ...

and the west by the city of Schwäbisch Gmünd.

History

Heubach was first mentioned in 1234 in association with knight Hainricus de Hôbach. Rosenstein Castle, which is located on Rosenstein mountain, was first mentioned in 1282. At the end of the 13th century, Heubach and Rosenstein came into the possession of the Counts of Oettingen, before falling to the

Counts of Württemberg Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

in 1358. Subsequent to the victory of

Emperor Charles IV Charles IV (; ; ; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charles of Luxembourg, born Wenceslaus (, ), was H ...

over Eberhard II, Count of Würtemberg, in 1360 Heubach and Rosenstein fell to the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

. However it was transferred back to

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 1377. In 1413 Heubach was enfeoffed to the Barons of Woellwarth fiefdom. Georg von Woellwarth left the

spur castle A spur castle is a type of medieval fortification that is sited on a spur (mountain), spur of a hill or mountain for defensive purposes. Ideally, it would be protected on three sides by steep hillsides; the only vulnerable side being that where t ...

on Rosenstein mountain in 1524 and built a castle in Heubach. In 1579 Duke Ludwig von Wuerttemberg purchased Heubach and Rosenstein and chartered Heubach by granting

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

. The town hall was built in 1581. 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 ...

between 1618 and 1648, Heubach was nearly wiped out and the population fell to around 10 people, but due to efforts of Württemberg's government it was rapidly rebuilt and resettled. On April 25, 1807 Oberamt Heubach was merged with Oberamt Gmünd. With the municipal reform of 1938 Oberamt Gmünd was transformed into Landkreis (district)

. In the course of the district reform of 1973, Heubach now belongs to the Ostalbkreis district. Above the town of Heubach, the remains of Rosenstein Castle are still visible. The castle ruin on top of the Rosenstein mountain can be considered Heubach's landmark and is a popular tourist spot due to its impressive views over the region. On Glasenberg there is a

telecommunication tower Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the tallest human-m ...

of reinforced concrete with an observation deck that also gives nice views over the area. Schloss Heubach

Arts and Culture

Heubach is located on the north edge of the Swabian Alb scenic drive, Schwäbische-Alb-Nordrand-Weg that provides many sights of the German countryside.

Museums

Since 1974 there is an undergarment museum that was set up in cooperation with the companies Triumph and Susa-Werke GmbH, which is the only museum of its kind in Germany. At Heubach's police station there is a "Police Museum", which originated from a private collection of a police officer. There, items from the local police are displayed that date back to 1853. The museum opens by appointment only.

Religion

In addition to a

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 ...

and a

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 ...

church there is also a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

and

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

congregation.

Mayors

In 2011 the jurist Frederick Brütting was elected to be the successor of Klaus Maier (* 1956). Maier was in office from 1986 to 2011. Brütting started his office time on January 1, 2012 and was elected as mayor of

in 2021. Joy A. Alemazung was elected in 2021 and is mayor since 2022. * 1986–2011: Klaus Maier (

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together wi ...

) * 2012–2021: Frederick Brütting (SPD) * since 2022: Joy A. Alemazung ( CDU)

Politics

Heubach is the seat of the Rosenstein municipal association. The municipalities of

, Heuchlingen, and

Mögglingen Mögglingen is a municipality in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, in Ostalbkreis district. Geography Mögglingen is positioned at between 398 and 475 meters above sea level, along the upper Rems valley in the north-eastern foothills of ...

are members.

Twin towns – sister cities

Heubach is twinned with: *

Laxou Laxou () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. It is a suburb, adjacent to the west of Nancy. 2002 125cc motorcycle world champion Arnaud Vincent was born here. Population See also * Communes of the Meu ...

, France, since 1964 *

Waidhofen an der Thaya Waidhofen an der Thaya (; Czech language, Czech: ''Český Bejdov'') is an Austrian town located on the German Thaya river in the Waidhofen an der Thaya (district), district of the same name in Lower Austria. It is the northernmost of the capitals ...

, Austria, since 1982 *

Lauscha Lauscha is a town in the district of Sonneberg, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 13 km north of Sonneberg, and 24 km southwest of Saalfeld. Lauscha is known for its glassblowing, especially for Christmas tree decorations like ba ...

, Germany, since 1990

Business

The intimate apparel business

Triumph International Triumph International is a Swiss underwear manufacturer founded in 1886 in Heubach, Germany. The company's headquarters has been located in Bad Zurzach, Switzerland, since 1977, and it has branches in 45 countries. In addition to the Triumph br ...

was started by

corsetier A corsetmaker is a specialist tailor who makes corsets. Corsetmakers are frequently known by the French equivalent terms corsetier (male) and corsetière (female). Staymaker is an obsolete name for a corsetmaker. Design and distribution The bes ...

Johann Gottfried Spiesshofer Johann Gottfried Spiesshofer (February 9, 1854 – March 31, 1917) was a German industrialist and pioneer of the undergarment industry. The son of a weaver, he was known for his outstanding expertise in weaving techniques. Together with merchant ...

and merchant Michael Braun as Spießhofer & Braun in Heubach in 1886. Still family owned, by now the multinational manufacturing and marketing organization operates in 120 countries around the world. It is one of the leading underwear manufacturers in the world and had annual sales of 1.7 billion Euros in 2009, and 37,515 employees. Still being resident in Heubach, meanwhile the company's global headquarters are in

Bad Zurzach Bad Zurzach is a village and former municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Zurzach (district), Zurzach in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district. On 1 January 2022 the former municipalities of Ba ...

, Switzerland, where the first foreign subsidiary had been established in 1933. Closely linked to the history of Heubach is the evolvement of Hirschbrauerei Heubach, the long-established local brewery. Still family owned the brewery's history goes back to the 17th century, first documented proofs go back to 1725. Heubach is the home of Fritz Reu GmbH & Co. Metallwarenfabrik, maker of metal souvenirs,

souvenir spoon A souvenir spoon is a decorative spoon used as a memento of a place or to display as a 'trophy' of having been there. The spoons may be made from a number of different materials such as sterling silver, nickel, steel, and in some cases wood. Th ...

s, keychains, trinkets, coins, and also automobile medallions and hood ornaments for German car manufacturers.Fritz Reu GmbH & Co. Metallwarenfabrik
/ref>

Famous People

* Michael Braun (1866–1954), Honorary citizen for his achievements as entrepreneur and co-founder of Spießhofer & Braun, now Triumph International * Fritz Spießhofer (1886–1968), Honorary citizen for his achievements as entrepreneur * Johann Gottfried Spießhofer (1854–1917), German industrialist and co-founder of Spießhofer & Braun, now Triumph International Heubach st ulrich 2019

Other

A nickname for the citizens of Heubach is "Mondstupfler". This goes back to an ancient legend which says that long time ago residents of Heubach used to go up to the top of Rosenstein mountain to take down the moon from the sky using long poles. Mondstupfler man catching the moon heubach

Mondstupfler man catching the moon heubach

References

Beerme.com Heubacher Brewery
{{Authority control Ostalbkreis