Riedlingen () is a town in the district (''Kreis'') of Biberach,

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 ...

, in the south-west of

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 one of the destinations of the Upper Swabian Baroque Route. Riedlingen has approximately 11,000 inhabitants.

Geography

The town is situated on the river

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 ...

. Furthermore, there it lies in a dale which is created by the extensions of the Swabian Alps. Around Riedlingen there are seven villages which are part of the urban district. These are called Neufra, Daugendorf, Grüningen, Pflummern, Zwiefaltendorf, Zell and Bechingen.

History

Riedlingen is probably an

Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...

c foundation. The first written reference dates back to 835. The medieval city was built 1247–1255, situated east of the hamlet of the Earl of Veringen. It was a typical town with its foundations kept in rectangular and square roads with the marketplace as the centre. Even in the late 13th century the city was in possession of the Habsburgs, but which they pledged later. In 1314 the city belonged to the Counts of Hohenberg, later to the lords of 1384 and finally to the Steward of Waldburg 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 ...

in the 16th century initially found strong support by the urban population. However, it could not prevail against the Catholic Church's Counter Reformation. From 1654 to 1658 Riedlingen a Capuchin monastery was built. In 1680 the city was claimed by

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Culture

Riedlingen is part of the Uperswabian Barockstraße, the Deutsche Fachwerkstraße and station at the EV6 River Road (Donauradweg). The town hall dates back to 1447 and was first build as Shoping centre. In Riedlingen there are many sports clubs, such as the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club TSV Riedlingen which plays in the German "Kreisliga A". The carnival group called "Gole" has many followers. In the town centre there are several bakeries, cafes, and a cinema which acts as a theatre, stage and cafe within the same building. Riedlingen has several churches:

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 ...

Christ Church and Protestant Church Pflumern,

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 Sankt Georg, Kuba Mosque,

New Apostolic Church The New Apostolic Church (NAC) is a Christian denomination, Christian church of the Catholic Apostolic Church, Irvingian tradition. Its origins are in 1863, in the split from the Catholic Apostolic Church during a schism in Hamburg, Ger ...

and Free Evangelic Church Riedlingen (Evangelische Freikirche Riedlingen). The “Evangelische Freikirche Riedlingen” and its preacher Jakob Tscharntke get nationwide known, because he is spreading extremist conspiracy ideologies, ridiculed politicians and demonized them. The Baden-Württemberg Office for the Protection of the Constitution has been monitoring the congregation since 2022. The writer

Ernst Jünger Ernst Jünger (; 29 March 1895 – 17 February 1998) was a German author, highly decorated soldier, philosopher, and entomology, entomologist who became publicly known for his World War I memoir ''Storm of Steel''. The son of a successful busin ...

used to live close to Riedlingen in the Jünger-Haus Wilflingen.

Economy

The main employers in Riedlingen are the metalworking companies "Silit" and " Feinguss Blank".

Transportation

Train transportation is served by the Ulm–Sigmaringen railway.

Notable people

* Andreas von Jerin, (DE Wiki) (1541–1596), Bishop of Breslau * Johann Joseph Christian (1706–1777), a German Baroque sculptor and woodcarver of choir stalls * Conrad Graf (1782–1851), piano maker * Johann Adam Möhler (1796–1838), Roman Catholic theologian and priest, curate at Riedlingen, 1819. * Frederick Miller (1824–1888), founder of the American brewery '' Miller Brewing Company '' in Milwaukee * Adolf Gröber, (DE Wiki) (1854–1919), politician, leader of the Centre Party in the Reichstag * Gustav Merk, (DE Wiki) (1874–1954), Catholic priest and archivist * Maria Caspar-Filser (1878–1968), painter, painted flowers, gardens and landscapes * Willy Mißmahl, (DE Wiki) (1885–1964), surgeon * Wilhelm Bröckel, (DE Wiki) (1887–1957), bank and association director * Josef Keller, (DE Wiki) (1887–1981), confectioner, claimed to be one of the inventors of the Black Forest gateau * Emil Münch, (DE Wiki) (1891–1961), local politician, District Chief Executive in Tettnang (1947–1957) *

(1895–1998), writer, philosopher, officer and entomologist; died in the district hospital Riedlingen * Richard Lohrmann, (DE Wiki) (1896–1970), forester and conservationists, led the Forestry Office Riedlingen, 1946 to 1961 * Albert Burkart, (DE Wiki) (1898–1982), artist * Ludwig Walz, (DE Wiki) (1898–1989), mayor and Righteous Among the Nations, died locally * Franz Freiherr von Bodman (1908–1945),

Obersturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Ostuf'') was a Nazi Germany paramilitary ranks, Nazi Germany paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organisations, such as the Sturmabteilung, SA, Schutzstaffel, SS, National Socialist Motor Corps, NSKK and the ...

and camp doctor in several

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

s * Hans-Peter Mißmahl, (DE Wiki) (1920–2008), internist * Helmut Schlegel OFM (born 1943),

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

, meditation teacher,

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

and

lyricist A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income derives ...

of new sacred songs * Hans-Peter Mayer (1944), politician (CDU), European delegate for Niedersachsen * Eugen Münch, (DE Wiki) (born 1945), entrepreneur, founder of the Rhön-Klinikum * Franz Schmidberger (born 1946), Catholic priest and Superior of the Society of Saint Pius X * Wolfgang Schneiderhan (born 1946), officer, former Inspector General of the Bundeswehr * Peter Schneider, (DE Wiki) (born 1958), politician (CDU), Member of Parliament * Wolfgang Amann, (DE Wiki) (born 1959), politician (later CDU) mayor of Geislingen (1998–2014) * Thomas Treß, (DE Wiki) (born 1966), CEO of

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

, finance and organization * Uwe Spies (born 1967), former footballer who played 330 games * Mario Gómez (born 1985), footballer with

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

, played 456 games and 78 for

* Mathias Jänisch (born 1990), a Luxembourger footballer, played over 330 games and 59 for

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

Honorary citizens

In the history of the city of Riedlingen, eleven people have been honoured. Wilfried Steuer and Winfried Aßfalg are living honorary citizens., retrieved on 4 December 2010 * 1914: Adolf Gröber (1854–1919), member of the Reichstag and Landtag (Centre Party) * 1917: Carl Buz (1853–1919), professor * 1926: Franz Xaver Maier (1859–1931), mayor * 1953: Theodor Selig (1874–1967), priest * 1959: Josef Kohler (1879–1967), tax official * 1964: Kilian Fischer (1886–1975), mayor * 1967: Franz Zeller (1879–1953), teacher * 1967: Odilo Burkart (1899–1979), general director * 1981: Albert Burkart (1898–1982), painter * 1992: Wilfried Steuer (born 1933), former district councillor, politician (CDU) and former manager in the energy industry * 2010: Winfried Aßfalg (born 1940), museum director, author, photographer, local historian

References

{{Authority control Biberach (district)