Renningen () is a town in the
district of Böblingen,
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 situated 18 km west of
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
.
Geography
Renningen is located in the west of
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
, between
Leonberg and
Weil der Stadt on the fringes of the fertile plains of the Neckarland. The Rankbach valley extends here to the Renningen Basin.
Neighbouring municipalities
Magstadt,
Weil der Stadt,
Leonberg,
Rutesheim,
Heimsheim
History
Renningen lies in an area which even in the Early Stone Age was thickly populated. Proof of this are the many remains found of settlements from the linear pottery culture.
Remains of settlements found to originate with the
Urnenfelderkultur (c. 1000 BC) as well the Hallstatt- and
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture (; ) was a Iron Age Europe, European Iron Age culture. It developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from about 450 BC to the Roman Republic, Roman conquest in the 1st century BC), succeeding the early Iron Age ...
(Early to Late Iron Age), provide evidence of settlement during various prehistoric eras.
The evaluation of archeological digs and finds show expansion of two early Alemannic settlements within the Renningen Basin north and south of the Rankbach. Excavations by the then State Office for Historical Monuments in Baden-Württemberg in the Raite Industrial Park (1991) unearthed a number of farmsteads comprising three-naved longhouses, storehouses and pit houses (4th and 5th century).
A second settlement in the Neuwiesenäckern developed into a large settlement, which can now be identified as Altheim, first mentioned in the 12th century.
During the Middle Ages, numerous other areas of settlement sprang up alongside this settlement. In the 12th and 13th century the population began to gravitate towards the two present-day centres of the town, since around 1200 the expansion of the outlying areas of the town seems to have stopped. Several earlier finds in the centre of Renningen show, that an older core settlement exists on the site of the later village. A few finds belong to the late
Merovingian
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...
period or the
Carolingian period, but most of the finds date to the 11th or 12th century and are contemporary with the settlements on the Neuwiesenäckern. It is however uncertain if the site had been occupied during the centuries between.
Near the church there is a graveyard from the early
Merovingian
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...
era excavated in 1989/90 by the State Office for Historical Monuments, which was abandoned c. 500 though it is questionable as to whether it served an actual settlement, since the only evidence for this is a single fragment of pottery found in the vicinity. Later burial sites have been found on only the south side of Malmsheim, on the site of a suspected early Merovingian graveyard.
Written tradition says that Renningen was subject to the
Villikation system of the Weißenburg monastery during the Carolingian period. farmsteads are mentioned, whereby the historical observations on the fate of this property raise the question as to whether these farmsteads were located within the later boundaries of the town. In the 11th and 12th centuries there was a nobility, which owned property in both towns, according to written records. In Malmsheim and the abandoned Altheim, Staufian style properties have been found. By the 14th century the community was organised to some extent, with the existence of a Schultheiß (Early form of Mayor) as well as a collective three-field system.
At the dawn of the modern era, Renningen was a large village, characterised by its craftsmen, its town boundaries marked by a wall, which exists to this day.
In 1982 Renningen was granted town rights. New development has expanded the former village well to the north.
Religion
Since 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 ...
Renningen has been predominantly
Evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
. Only in recent time has 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 ...
community emerged once more. Alongside these, there is a
New Apostolic community and the
Liebenzeller Gemeinschaft.
Areas of town
Malmsheim
Malmsheim was first mentioned in documents from 1075 as the property of the Weissenberg monastery under the name of Mahalbodesheim. During the municipal re-organisation of 1972, the town lost its independence and was incorporated into Renningen. By absorbing the new development area of Schnallenäcker (from 1996), Malmsheim had 6054 inhabitants as of 31 December 2004.
Population development
*1871: 2.849
*1925: 3.389
*1950: 6.311
*1985: 13.268
*2000: 17.142
*2015: 17.107
International relations
Renningen is
twinned with:
*
Mennecy (
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
), since 1982
[Partnerschaften](_blank)
*
Saalburg-Ebersdorf (
Thuringia
Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area.
Er ...
)
*
Occhiobello (
Rovigo )(
Veneto
Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...
) (
Italia
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
)
Economy and Infrastructure

Renningen is economically dependent on the wider community, a large percentage of the workforce work outside the district, for example at
DaimlerChrysler
Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacturers. Daimler-B ...
in
Sindelfingen or in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
. Nevertheless, there are employment opportunities, for example through Pininfarina, who are involved in Formula 1 and in manufacture of sports cars.
Kromberg & Schubert, the major cable harness supplier to the German car industry also have a presence in the town.
The DaimlerChrysler subsidiary
MCC Smart previously had their main office in Renningen, as did Rinol AG, a manufacturer of
floor coverings for industrial use, before their insolvency. Rinol, managed by former „Entrepreneur of the Year“, Kurt-Jörg Gaiser, were floated on the stock exchange on the same day as Deutsche Telekom and were seen as an „Over Performer“ on the
CDAX.
Eberspächer subsidiary, Eberspächer SÜTRAK GmbH & Co. KG, former subsidiary of the American air conditioning group
Carrier, has its head office in Renningen
Huron Frassmachinen Gmbh, the German subsidiary of Huron Graffenstaden SAS, Feance, has opened Technology Zentrum and their German Headquarters here. Huron is world-renowned CNC machine tool builder manufacturing 3 axes and 5 axes CNC machining centers and also offers CNC turning and milling machines.
Since 2015
Robert Bosch GmbH
Robert Bosch GmbH (; ), commonly known as Bosch (styled BOSCH), is a German multinational engineering and technology company headquartered in Gerlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company was founded by Robert Bosch in Stuttgart in 188 ...
has a research campus in Renningen which is used as the hub of Bosch’s global research and development network. In 2016 around 1700 researchers and engineers worked on the campus.
Transport
Malmsheim Airfield is a military airfield with an adjacent glider airfield. The nearest major airport is
Stuttgart Airport.
The
Black Forest Railway (
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
-
Weil der Stadt) is currently used as Line S6 of the
S-Bahn Stuttgart and has stops in Renningen and Malmsheim. For 2010, it is planned that the
Rankbachbahn (via
Magstadt and
Sindelfingen to
Böblingen
Böblingen (; ) is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, seat of Böblingen (district), Böblingen District. Sindelfingen and Böblingen are Geographic contiguity, contiguous.
History
Böblingen was founded by Count Wilhelm von Tübingen-Bö ...
) will be re-commissioned as Line S60. The line is currently used for freight traffic.
Renningen is connected to the national road network via the
Bundesstraße
''Bundesstraße'' (, ), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.
Germany
Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km.
German ''Bundesstraßen'' are labelled with re ...
B 295 (
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
-
Calw
Calw (; previously pronounced and sometimes spelled Kalb accordingly; ) is a Landstadt, town in the middle of Baden-Württemberg in the south of Germany, capital and largest town of the Calw (district), district Calw. It is located in the North ...
). The B464 Sindelfingen–Renningen is currently under construction, this will link up with the B295 at Renningen.
Education
Renningen has a
gymnasium and a
realschule
Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...
. With the
Friedrich-Schiller-Schule in the main town and the
Friedrich-Silcher-Schule in Malmsheim there are, in addition, two
Grundschule
Education in Germany is primarily the responsibility of individual German States of Germany, states (), with the federal government only playing a minor role.
While kindergarten (nursery school) is optional, formal education is compulsory for a ...
n and
Hauptschule
A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...
n.
Culture and places of interest
Theatre
* http://www.naturtheater-renningen.de Naturtheater Renningen
Against the natural backdrop of a former quarry, "Am Längenbühl", stands the vast open-air stage of the Naturtheater. It is a "true open-air theatre", which has neither a stage roof, nor spectator seating.
For adults, yarns and comedies are performed in
Swabian dialect. Since 1984 classical children's fairy tales like "Rapunzel", "Tischlein deck Dich", "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp" or "Puss in Boots" have been rehearsed here. The English language theater group, Outcast International Theater has also performed "Robin Hood" in 1999, 2000 and 2002.
Museums
*Archaeological Museum (in the School buildings)
*Local museum (Malmsheim)
Building
*Town walls
Literature
* S. Arnold/U. Gross/I. Stork, ''... mehr als 1 Jahrtausend... Leben im Renninger Becken vom 4. bis 12. Jahrhundert. Archäologische Informationen Baden-Württemberg Heft 19'', Stuttgart 1991.
* R. Schreg, ''Ländliche Siedlungen in Schwaben. - Strukturwandel zum Jahr 1000?'', in: B. Scholkmann/S. Lorenz (Hrsg.), ''Schwaben vor 1000 Jahren'', Filderstadt 2002, Seiten 216-238.
* I. Stork, ''Vor- und Frühgeschichte im Renninger Becken'', in: I. Stork/H.-M. Maurer/V. Trugenberger/R. Müller/F. Kühbauch/ H. Müller/B. Maier, ''Renningen und Malmsheim. Eine Stadt und ihre Geschichte'', Stuttgart 1991, Seiten 10-31.
Associated with Renningen
*
Rainer Widmayer (born 1967), footballer and coach, played in his youth at the SpVgg Renningen.
*
Nina Eisenhardt (born 1990), politician.
References
External links
*
''Much of the information contained in this article is a translation of the article in the German Wikipedia.''
{{Authority control
Böblingen (district)