After standing the test of the past eras, Waiblingen, the town of Medieval
charm and bustling south-west German activity, long ago started to look
to the future. The busy district centre in the middle of the German land
of Baden-Württemberg is characterized right into the town center by
the natural landscape of the Rems Valley. With its more than 52 000 inhabitants,
it is a pleasant place to live in much demand for its access to nearby
centres of employment.
Shopping
Waiblingen is also known as an excellent shopping town. Its residents
find all their needs are catered to, and additionally it attracts
many customers from surrounding communities. The centre of the town is
mainly reserved für pedestrians.
Thanks to its pedestrians-only and traffic-calmed areas, relaxed strolling
as well as up-market shopping are possible. Also in the five communities
coadministered by Waiblingen, a wide range of goods can be purchased.
Waiblingen extends the hand of friendship
Since 1962 Waiblingen has been twinned with the French town of Mayenne
(250 km west of Paris), since 1966 with the English town of Devizes
(140 km west of London) and since 1988 with the Hungarian town of Baja
(190 km south of Budapest) and last but not least with Jesi in Italy.
Places of interest
In the Waiblingen core town there are many sites of touristic interest:
the battlements of the roofed Medieval town fortifications open to the
public, the groups of half-timbered houses renovated in a historic or modern
style.
One particular feature: the painted square-stone house (former fruit-tax-house
of the ecclesiastical administration, rebuilt in 1654); more than 30 fountains,
about 50 bridges, some of which designed by Prof. Dr. Ing. Fritz Leonhardt,
the designer of the Stuttgart television tower (the first of its type in
the world); houses with unusual "fright heads"; the Beinstein gateway tower
from the 13th century with sgrafitto; the Hochwachtturm (watch tower) with
foundation walls dating from about 1100, probably founded during the period
of the Hohenstaufen dynasty; the internationally renowned museum of the
town of Waiblingen in Weingärtner Vorstadt 20, the oldest house in
town; St. Nikolaus church (1269); the Late Gothic St. Michaels Church (15th
century); the little two-story Nun´s Church (1496/1510); the remnants
of a Roman cellar (villa rustica); the modern business and service centre
"Marktgasse" with a glass-roofed passage and convenient underground car
parks; the milling works near Hahnsche Mill, today used to generate electricity
without harming the environment. Its operation can be observed from behind
a glass screen.