Backnang

Backnang

Coat of arms
Backnang
Coordinates: 48°56′47″N 09°25′50″E / 48.94639°N 9.43056°E / 48.94639; 9.43056Coordinates: 48°56′47″N 09°25′50″E / 48.94639°N 9.43056°E / 48.94639; 9.43056
Country Germany
State Baden-Württemberg
Admin. region Stuttgart
District Rems-Murr-Kreis
Government
 • Lord Mayor Frank Nopper (CDU)
Area
 • Total 39.37 km2 (15.20 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)[1]
 • Total 34,990
 • Density 890/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 71501–71522
Dialling codes 07191
Vehicle registration WN, BK
Website www.backnang.de

Backnang ( pronunciation ) is a town in Germany in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, roughly 30 kilometres (19 miles) northeast of Stuttgart. Its population has increased greatly over the past century, from 7,650 in 1900 to 35,761 in 2005.

Backnang was ceded to Württemberg by the Baden (Zähringer family) in 1325.[2] Backnang has been known as Gerberstadt due to several tanneries and leather factories, and wool and cloth mills that dominated Backnang's industries. Today, all of these have vanished and, instead, telecommunication companies like Ericsson (formerly AEG, Telefunken, ANT Nachrichtentechnik, Bosch and Marconi) and Tesat-Spacecom dominate the town's industries. The Stiftskirche, formerly the church of Backnang Abbey, dates back to the 12th century.

Backnang's cultural highlight is the annual Strassenfest during the last weekend in June. It has been founded as a street festival where local sports and cultural clubs offered drinks and foods. The traditional opening of the Strassenfest is marked with cannon shots from the picturesque city tower at 6 p.m. on Friday and ends with the Zapfenstreich on the following Monday at 11 p.m. The Strassenfest tends to attract more than 100,000 spectators.

Another cultural highlight in Backnang is the annual Murr-Regatta organized by the Jugendzentrum (youth center). It is generally held two weeks after the street festival. The Regatta is a race down the river Murr in self-made boats. Besides the prize for the fastest boat, an environmental prize is awarded to the crew that collects the most rubbish along the way, an originality prize is given to the most creative crew, and a drunkenness prize to the most inebriated crew.

The local Jugendzentrum (youth center) is remarkable as it has been independently self-administered by Backnang's youth and young adults for more than 30 years. It hosts numerous concerts and contributes events to the cultural life of Backnang.

International relations

Backnang's twin towns include:

People from Backnang

External links

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Backnang.
  1. ↑ "Gemeinden in Deutschland mit Bevölkerung am 31. Dezember 2013 (Einwohnerzahlen auf Grundlage des Zensus 2011)". Statistisches Bundesamt (in German). 2014.
  2. ↑  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Backnang". Encyclopædia Britannica 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  3. ↑ "Chelmsford Town Twinning Association". Retrieved 2013-07-14.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, September 20, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.