Böblingen

Böblingen

View of the town

Coat of arms
Böblingen

Coordinates: 48°41′08″N 09°00′55″E / 48.68556°N 9.01528°E / 48.68556; 9.01528Coordinates: 48°41′08″N 09°00′55″E / 48.68556°N 9.01528°E / 48.68556; 9.01528
Country Germany
State Baden-Württemberg
Admin. region Stuttgart
District Böblingen
Government
  Lord Mayor Wolfgang Lützner
Area
  Total 39.04 km2 (15.07 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)[1]
  Total 46,714
  Density 1,200/km2 (3,100/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 71032, 71034
Dialling codes 07031
Vehicle registration BB, LEO
Website www.boeblingen.eu

Böblingen (German pronunciation: [ˈbøːblɪŋən]) is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, seat of Böblingen District. Sindelfingen and Böblingen are contiguous.

History

Böblingen was founded by Count Wilhelm von Tübingen-Böblingen in 1253. Württemberg acquired the town in 1357, and on 12 May 1525 one of the bloodiest battles of the German Peasants' War took place in Böblingen. Jörg Truchsess von Waldburg attacked a force of 15,000 armed peasants; 3,000 were killed. By the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648, the population of Böblingen had been reduced to 600.

After the establishment of the Kingdom of Württemberg, Böblingen became the seat of an Oberamt (administrative unit) in 1818. The town was connected to the railroad network in 1879, allowing industrialization to take place. In the context of administrative reform in 1938, Böblingen Oberamt became Böblingen Landkreis (district).

Böblingen before Second World War

During the First World War an airbase was established. It went into service on 16 August 1915. It had a significant impact on the further development of the city. In 1925 the airbase became the Landesflughafen (state airport) of Baden-Württemberg called Böblingen Airport. The aircraft pioneer Hanns Klemm (1885–1961) established his company "Klemm Leichtflugzeugbau GmbH" ("Klemm Light Aircraft Company") next to it. Until the Second World War it was the major employer in Böblingen.

During the Second World War the town had a Luftwaffe airbase and military barracks. On 1 September 1939 (the day the war began) the airbase was the home station for the I/JG 52 (1st Group of the Jagdgeschwader 52) flying the Bf109 E-1 fighter aircraft.

On the night of 7 October 1943 during World War II, Allied air forces dropped 408 incendiary bombs and 35 high explosive bombs killing 20 men, 12 women, 12 children and wounding 200 people. 1,735 people lost their homes and 70 percent of the old town was destroyed. In July 1944 another attack followed, killing 36 more civilians.

Town center after Allied bombing of civilian homes on 7 October 1943

In 1962, Böblingen was designated a Große Kreisstadt (major district town). Its current boundaries were established in 1971 when it was merged with the municipality of Dagersheim.

Population history

Year Number of inhabitants
1598 ca. 800
1654 628
1803 2,125
1823 2,549
1843 3,504
1861 3,287
1 December 1871 3,826
1 December 1880 ¹ 4,365
1 December 1890 ¹ 4,659
1 December 1900 ¹ 5,303
1 December 1910 ¹ 6,019
16 June 1925 ¹ 7,227
16 June 1933 ¹ 7,998
Year Number of inhabitants
17 May 1939 ¹ 12,560
1946 10,809
13 September 1950 ¹ 12,601
6 June 1961 ¹ 25,366
27 May 1970 ¹ 35,925
31 December 1975 40,547
31 December 1980 41,505
27 May 1987 ¹ 42,589
31 December 1990 44,903
31 December 1995 46,516
31 December 2000 45,637
30 September 2004 46,064
31 December 2013 46,714

Transport

Böblingen is easily reached by multiple forms of transport.

Air

Böblingen is about 20 minutes via S-Bahn from Stuttgart Airport.

Automobile

The interchange between the federal freeways (Autobahn) A 8 and A 81 lies northeast from Böblingen. A 81 leads past the north of the city. Use exits Böblingen Ost (East), Böblingen/Sindelfingen, Böblingen Hulb and Ehningen. Federal highways B 464 (Renningen - Reutlingen) and B 14 run by the city.

Rail

Böblingen station lies on the Gäu Railway (Gäubahn) from Stuttgart to Singen. Regional trains serve the city every hour.

Local bus and rail

Local public transport within Böblingen operates under the uniform prices and coordination of the Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund Stuttgart ("Stuttgart Transit and Fare Association", or VVS). The S1 (Kirchheim unter TeckStuttgartHerrenberg) S-Bahn (suburban rail) line connects Böblingen with Stuttgart and its S-Bahn network. Travel time to Stuttgart is about 25 minutes.

In 1996 the Schönbuchbahn line to Dettenhausen was re-activated. In 2004 the reactivation of the Rankbachbahn line to Renningen began and since 2010 it has been served by line S60 of the S-Bahn.

In addition to the main rail station, the following stations also serve the city: on S-Bahn line S1: Goldberg and Hulb; on the Schönbuchbahn line: Danziger Street, Böblingen Süd (South), Heusteig Street, and Zimmerschlag. Numerous bus routes operate in the city, and are also under the VVS.

U.S. military

Panzer Kaserne (translated as Tank Barracks) is a US base which serves as headquarters for Marine Corps Forces, Europe (MARFOREUR), 'Marine Corps Forces, Africa (MARFORAF) and the 1st Battalion of the US Army's 10th Special Forces Group (United States).[2] This former German military installation was the home of the US Army's 7th Army Support Command (7th Army SUPCOM) until mid-1969 and its VII Corps successor VII Corps COSCOM (Corps Support Command). Later, units of the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division (Forward) were stationed here as part of VII Corps.[3]

Education

Education in Germany has two lower levels of school, Kindergarten and elementary school (Grundschule - grades 1–4), and three upper levels of school, Werkrealschule (grades 5–9/10), Realschule (5–10) and Gymnasium (5–12/13). Parents decide at the end of the fourth grade, which level of school the child should attend based on academic performance and aptitude.

In Boeblingen there are:

Museums

Buildings

Events

"Böblinger Jahrmarkt" in July, wine festival in September and Christmas Market in December).

Business

The Böblingen/Sindelfingen area is the location of several large enterprises:

Böblingen/Sindelfingen can be called a center of both automobile and computer industries. Daimler develops and manufactures its Mercedes brand of luxury cars here.

Hewlett-Packard (and its offsprings) and IBM develop computer systems, software and electronic products in the area. Böblingen was once also a major center of European computer manufacturing, with an IBM semiconductor and printed circuit board lab and an HP computer systems manufacturing operation. Most of those electronics-production sites have either been closed or moved to other locations (such as nearby Herrenberg).

International relations

Böblingen is twinned with:

All twin cities compete in a twin town Olympiad every 3 years, excluding Sömmerda.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Böblingen.
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