Schwaigern () is a town in the
district of Heilbronn,
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 12 km west of
Heilbronn
Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District.
From the late Middle Ages on, it developed into an important trading centre. At the begi ...
.
Geography
Neighbouring municipalities
The neighbouring towns and municipalities of Schwaigern (clockwise) are:
Leingarten
Leingarten () is a town in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 7 km west of Heilbronn. It was formed 1 January 1970, when the municipalities of Großgartach and Schluchtern merged.
Geography
Location
Lein ...
,
Nordheim (Württemberg),
Brackenheim,
Eppingen
Eppingen () is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The town has the second-largest population in the district.
Eppingen lies in the Kraichgau, a hilly region in southwestern Germany, close to the conf ...
,
Gemmingen and
Massenbachhausen
Massenbachhausen is a municipality in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in 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 ...
(all in the district of Heilbronn).
Town structure
Schwaigern consists of Schwaigern itself and its districts Massenbach, Stetten am Heuchelberg and Niederhofen. Schwaigern has approximately 11,000 inhabitants.
History

Finds of the
Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
era and during the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
period show an early settlement of this area. The town was first mentioned in writing in the
Lorsch codex
The Lorsch Codex (Chronicon Laureshamense, Lorscher Codex, Codex Laureshamensis) is an important historical document created between about 1175 to 1195 AD in the Lorsch Abbey, Monastery of Saint Nazarius in Lorsch, Germany. The codex is handwrit ...
of 766. Bertilo, Lord of Schwaigern, is first mentioned in 1120. The construction of a church is proved in the 13th century. Bertilo's descendants took on the name "Lords of Neipperg" in 1241, after their castle of Neipperg near
Brackenheim. In 1407 they also acquired the Lordship of Klingenberg near
Heilbronn
Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District.
From the late Middle Ages on, it developed into an important trading centre. At the begi ...
. In 1702, Schwaigern became the residence of the Lords of Neipperg, who were elevated to the rank of counts in 1726. In 1766, the
County of Neipperg became an
Imperial State
An Imperial Estate (; , plural: ') was an entity or an individual of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire), Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise signi ...
of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
, mediatised to the
Kingdom of Württemberg
The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806.
Geogr ...
in 1806. The last ruling count,
Adam Albert von Neipperg
Adam Albert, Count von Neipperg (8 April 1775 – 22 February 1829) was an Austrian general and statesman. He was the son of a diplomat famous for inventing a letter-copying machine, and the grandson of Count Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg. H ...
, married
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
's widow
Marie Louise
Marie Louise or Marie-Louise is a French feminine given name, compound given name. In other languages, it may take one of several alternate forms:
* Maria Luiza (Bulgarian, Portuguese)
* Maria Luisa (Italian, Spanish)
* Maria Luise (German)
* Mari ...
.
The village received the right to hold a market in 1486. After 1630 the
Black Death
The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...
killed a large proportion of the inhabitants. In 1690, during the
War of the Grand Alliance
The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...
, the then ''Schwaigern Castle'' was burned down. In 1806, the town came 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 ...
by
mediatization and
Reichsdeputationshauptschluss
The ' (formally the ', or "Principal Conclusion of the Extraordinary Imperial Delegation"), sometimes referred to in English as the Final Recess or the Imperial Recess of 1803, was a resolution passed by the ' (Imperial Diet) of the Holy Roman Em ...
. The castle was rebuilt until 1839 and is still today owned by the comital family of Neipperg. Several fires destroyed large areas of the medieval town centre in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1971/1972 Massenbach, Stetten am Heuchelberg and Niederhofen were incorporated.
Religions
The Lords of Neipperg became Protestants around 1530. Therefore, each of Schwaigern, Stetten am Heuchelberg and Niederhofen is a Protestant parish. Massenbach and Massenbachhausen have a common Protestant parish. In 1717,
Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg, the first count and an Imperial field marshal in the Habsburg service, returned to the Catholic Church. The Catholic parish ''St. Martinus'' Schwaigern is responsible for Schwaigern, Stetten, Niederhofen and Neipperg (part of Brackenheim). The Catholic parish ''St. Kilian'' Massenbachhausen is responsible for Massenbachhausen and Massenbach. Also the
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 ...
has a parish in Schwaigern.
The
Young People's Society of Christian Endeavour has local groups in Schwaigern, Stetten and Niederhofen. In Massenbach there is a local group of the
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
.
Districts
* Massenbach:
Massenbach was first mentioned in writing in 773. In 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 ...
the castle was destroyed and rebuilt in 1760.
* Stetten am Heuchelberg:
Stetten was mentioned in 1140 and came to Württemberg in 1571.
* Niederhofen:
Niederhofen is the youngest district, since it was first mentioned in 1332. But it already came to Württemberg in 1360.
Politics
District council

Schwaigern council has 22 members. The municipal election on 25 May 2014 resulted in the following official results. The council consists of the elected honorary councilors and the mayor as chairman. The mayor is entitled to vote in the municipal council.
Mayors of Schwaigern
* Hans Michael Dieter (1724-?)
* Friedrich Benzlen (1826–1868)
* August Liomin (1868–1893)
* Karl Essich (1893–1918)
* Max Neunhoeffer (1919–1933)
* Karl Spingler (1933–1939)
* Fritz Siegele (1941–1945)
* Friedrich Vogt (1945–1954)
* Hellmut Zundel (1954–1963)
* Horst Haug (1963–1999)
* Johannes Hauser (1999–2015)
* Sabine Rotermund (since 2015)
Source:
Arms
Blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...
: In red three (2:1) silver rings. Above the sign growing
John the Baptist
John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
with halo and put on fur, raising the rights, holding a lamb and a cross rod with a flag on his left hand. These arms are provable since 1512. The town colours are red-white.
Twin towns – sister cities
Schwaigern is
twinned with:
*
Pöndorf, Austria (1988)
*
La Teste-de-Buch
La Teste-de-Buch (; , ; "La Teste-of-Buch") is a coastal commune in the Gironde department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in Southwestern France.[Nottwil
Nottwil is a municipality in the district of Sursee in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland.
History
Nottwil is first mentioned around 1217-22 as ''Nottewile''. In 1275 it was mentioned as ''Otewile''.
Nottwil is also the location where the ...]
, Switzerland (2009)
Culture and sights
Museum
The ''Karl-Wagenplast-Museum'' in the old graveyard chapel shows archaeological exhibitions from the
Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
to the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
of the Leintal. It is named after the honorary citizen and archaeologist Karl Wagenplast.
Buildings

The town church consecrated to John the Baptist goes back to a building of the 13th century and was enlarged by Bernhard Sporer in the early 16th century. Inside there is the Barbara Altar of
Jerg Ratgeb. The
witch tower on the south-east border of the medieval town was built in 1461. The previous wine-press is a timber framing of 1659. The rococo castle next to the town church was built in 1702, but was rebuilt and enlarged during the 19th century. The town hall was built in 1905/1906 by Ludwig Knortz.
Stetten impresses by its parish church of the 15th century as well as its baroque vicarage of 1775. Besides it contains a town hall of the 16th century.
Sport and leisure
The TSV Schwaigern was founded in 1898 as a gymnastics club. Apart from the traditional gymnastics there are the disciplines of badminton, basketball, chess and the rare discipline wheel gymnastics. In 1992 and 1993, the departments of tennis (TC Schwaigern) and football (FSV Schwaigern) became independent.
In addition, Schwaigern has a heated swimming pool.
In Stetten there are also some clubs. The TSV Stetten founded in 1909 runs football, table tennis, badminton, women gymnastics and child gymnastics. The tennis club of Stetten founded in 1981 as a department of the TSV became independent in 1999. The marksman club Heuchelberg is located next to the Mühlwald, and there is also a golf course in Stetten.
With the ''Leintalzoo'' Schwaigern has the biggest connected chimpanzee group in Germany.
Economy and infrastructure
The biggest company in Schwaigern is the ''Walter Söhner GmbH & Co. KG'' which produces synthetics and has more than 500 employees. Also in Schwaigern and its districts there are some other smaller companies. However, in Stetten and Massenbach the provision of public utility has a downward tendency. For several years up to 2000, Massenbach had no stores.
Traffic
Schwaigern is situated at the
Kraichgau Railway running from
Heilbronn
Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District.
From the late Middle Ages on, it developed into an important trading centre. At the begi ...
to
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...
. Besides the B293 (Heilbronn-Karlsruhe) passes the town. The
A6 runs 10 kilometres north of Schwaigern.
Education
Schwaigern, Massenbach and Stetten each have an elementary school. Also in Schwaigern there is a modern school and a junior high school. The next grammar school is located in Heilbronn.
Wine-growing
Wine-growing in Schwaigern was first mentioned in 799. The primary sorts of wine are
Trollinger
Trollinger, Schiava, or Vernatsch, is a red German/Italian wine grape variety that was likely first originally cultivated in the wine regions of South Tyrol and Trentino, but today is almost exclusively cultivated on steep, sunny locations in t ...
,
Riesling
Riesling ( , ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling ...
,
Lemberger and
Pinot Meunier
Pinot Meunier (), also known as Meunier or Schwarzriesling (), is a variety of red wine grape most noted for being one of the three main varieties used in the production of Champagne (the other two are the red variety Pinot noir and the white ...
. The fourth biggest winepress of Baden-Württemberg is located there.
The positions of Schwaigern's wine-growing is part of the wine-growing area Württemberg.
Notable people
* Eberhard von Neipperg (1655–1725),
Field Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire
*
Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg (1684-1774), Austrian general
* Günther Heinrich Baron von Berg (1765–1843), German jurist and politician
*
Erwin von Neipperg (1813–1897), Austrian general
Honorary citizens
* Karl Wagenplast, native scientist
* Horst Haug, mayor of Schwaigern in 1962–1999
Gallery
Schwaigern-Peters-1851.jpg, View from the park to its castle and the town church, Pieter Francis Peters, 1851
Stadtkirche Schwaigern Innen.jpg, Interior of Protestant parish church
Schwaigern-schloss.jpg, Castle with its chapel
Schwaigern-SchlossKapellel060916.JPG, Castle chapel
Schwaigern-StadtKelter060916.JPG, Old wine-press, 1659
Schwaigern-Pfarrhaus060916.JPG, Vicarage, 1776
Schwaigern-FachwerkHäuser-2-060916.JPG, Old timber framing
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Heilbronn (district)