Herrenberg

Herrenberg (Swabian: Härrabärg or Haerebärg) is a town in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 30 km south of Stuttgart and 20 km from Tübingen. After Sindelfingen, Böblingen, and Leonberg, it is the fourth largest town in the district of Böblingen.

Herrenberg
Town
Coat of arms
Location of Herrenberg within Böblingen district
Herrenberg Herrenberg
Coordinates: 48°35′48″N 8°52′15″E
Country	Germany
State	Baden-Württemberg
Admin. region	Stuttgart
District	Böblingen
Subdivisions	8
Government
• Lord mayor (2023–31)	Nico Reith (Ind.)
Area
• Total	65.71 km2 (25.37 sq mi)
Elevation	460 m (1,510 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31)
• Total	32,649
• Density	500/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	71070–71083
Dialling codes	07032
Vehicle registration	BB
Website	herrenberg.de

Location

Herrenberg is situated on the western edge of the Schönbuch forest and is a central town within the Gäu region. The Stiftskirche, which houses the Glockenmuseum (bell museum), is a tourist attraction in the main square.

The following towns and municipalities border Herrenberg. They are listed in clockwise direction beginning in the north:

Deckenpfronn, Gärtringen, Nufringen, Hildrizhausen and Altdorf (all Böblingen district), Ammerbuch (Tübingen district), Gäufelden and Jettingen (both Böblingen district) as well as Wildberg (Calw district).

History

The once small community Herrenberg was formed out of the hamlets "Mühlhausen" and "Raistingen", who were combinated in the 13th century, when Herrenberg was founded. In 1278, Herrenberg was first documented, although Pfalzgraf Rudolf von Tübingen already wrote in 1228 "castrum nostrum herrenberc" into a certificate. From 1276, the church building was started, which at the time, had two towers.

In the year 1276, Herrenberg was described as a fortified town with a market. Two years later, the town used its first official seal. Herrenberg then became the main town for the counts Palatine of Tübingen, known as "die Scherer". In 1382, the town was sold to Count Eberhard II (the Greiner) of Württemberg by the last Count Konrad II (the Scherer). Following this, Herrenberg became the main center for the nearby villages and was recognized as an official Württemberg town.

On the 5th of January in the year 1293, the church of Herrenberg was consecrated by Brother Boniface, the Bishop of Constance.

On February 6, 1347, Herrenberg underwent a division of the lordship, resulting in the establishment of Oberherrenberg and Unterherrenberg by the brothers Count Palatine Rudolf III and Conrad I. This division led to the creation of separate courts and town seals for each part.

In 1382, the lordship and the town of Herrenberg, along with all its associated assets and rights in Schönbuch, were transferred to the Counts of Württemberg.

After Herrenberg suffered a devastating fire in 1466 and was affected by the Peasants' War in 1525, the Thirty Years' War marked the conclusion of the town's medieval era. The extensive town fire of 1635 resulted in the destruction of almost all buildings. Furthermore, the population decreased to approximately 40% of its pre-war level due to plague and epidemics.

The supposed founder of the Rosicrucian movement in Europe, Johann Valentin Andreae, who also wrote The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz, was born in Herrenberg on 17 August 1586.

Town arrangement

Herrenberg consists of the town centre and the 7 additional towns which were merged in the regional reorganization of the 1960s and 1970s. The number of inhabitants of Herrenberg exceeded 20,000 in 1972 due to the incorporation of the following formerly independent municipalities:

• 1965: Affstätt
• 1971: Haslach, Kayh, Kuppingen, and Mönchberg
• 1972: Oberjesingen
• 1975: Gültstein

In each different area of Herrenberg there is an office for the district and a town clerk.

Population

Year Population 1622 ca. 1,800 1652 1,006 1771 1,570 1803 1,796 1825 1,985 1843 2,140 1861 2,015 1 December 1871 2,127 1 December 1880¹ 2,646 1 December 1890¹ 2,614 1 December 1900¹ 2,557 1 December 1910¹ 2,705 16 June 1925¹ 3,021

Year Population 16 June 1933¹ 3,395 17 May 1939¹ 3,689 1946 5,605 13 September 1950¹ 6,292 6 June 1961¹ 9,539 27 May 1970¹ 12,573 31 December 1975 24,389 31 December 1980 25,422 27 May 1987¹ 26,001 31 December 1990 27,344 31 December 1995 28,839 31 December 2000 30,377 30 September 2004 31,195 23 November 2006² 31,235 31 December 2010 31,292

• ¹ Census results
• ² Herrenberg Amtsblatt 23 November 2006

The S-Bahn train

Politics

A total of 32 Seats make up the local council, with the latest election having been held in 2019. The distribution of the different parties and groups are as follows:

Party		Votes	%	+/-	Seats	+/-
	Free Voters (FW)	113,548	25.3	5.9	8	4
	Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)	107,224	23.9	7.3	8	3
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	77,319	17.2	6.3	5	3
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	65,099	14.5	2.5	5	±0
	Frauenliste (FL)	41,232	9.2	0.7	3	±0
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	?	5.8	2.6	2	1
	Alternative for Germany (AfD)	?	3.8	New	1	New
	Liste Perspektive	?	0.3	New	0	New
Electorate/voter turnout		?	65.3	11+
Source: herrenberg.de

Business

Internationally known businesses located in Herrenberg include:

• Frog Design (industrial design)
• IBM (IT training and sales)
• Omega Pharma (pharmaceuticals)
• Walter Knoll (furniture)

Transport

Herrenberg train station

Herrenberg station is on the Stuttgart–Horb railway and is at the start of the Ammer Valley Railway (Ammertalbahn) It is the southern end of services on line S1 of the Stuttgart S-Bahn. It also has connections, via the A81, to Stuttgart and northern Germany. To the south the A81 provides access to Switzerland, Austria and Italy. Herrenberg is also close to Strasbourg, which is only about 110 km [1] to the west.

Tourism

Town hall in front of the historical collegial church

Herrenberg has several hotels as well as accommodations in smaller guest houses in the Old Town. The Old Town has many restaurants including; Italian, Chinese, Indian, Greek, Mexican and German cuisine. There are also ice cream shops and cafes. The Stadtfest (town festival) is held annually in July. 25,000 people turn up for the town festival to celebrate, drink, and listen to the live music in the squares. [2]

Sights

The symbol of the town, the traditional church "Stiftskirche", with its Glockenmuseum (bell museum) the tower, as well as the "Herrenberger Rathaus" (town hall) and the historical ruins of the castle "Schlossberg", are an attractive destination for tourists of all over the world. There are guided tours (some in English) as well through the historical buildings of the town. Large sections of the old city wall are still standing (or have been rebuilt) and numerous timber-framed houses fill the "Old Town" surrounding the "Marktplatz" (market place).

Sport

The Baseball & Softball Club Herrenberg Wanderers' men's team played in the Baseball Bundesliga in 2002 and 2004, and since 2007 the women have been represented in the 1st Softball Bundesliga. In 1999, the youth team became German champions.

The first men's handball team, SG H2Ku Herrenberg (SGH2Ku), secured the championship title in the Southern Regional League on the last matchday of the 2009–2010 season and thus promotion to the 2nd Handball Bundesliga, the second handball league. The SG finished the 2010–2011 season in 14th place, which was not enough to stay in the 2nd Handball League due to the league restructuring. The SG played in the 3rd league in the 2011–2012 season. In June 2011, the team was renamed SG H2Ku Herrenberg. The female A-youth team became German runner-up in the 2002–2003 season.

Currently, there is one major football club in Herrenberg called VfL Herrenberg, which plays in the Bezirksliga, the eighth step of the German football league system.

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Herrenberg is twinned with:

• Fidenza, Italy
• Tarare, France