Ettlingen is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, south of the city of Karlsruhe.
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Ettlingen sits just on the northern edge of Germany’s famed Black Forest (Schwarzwald) region. It is nestled in the fields of the Upper Rhine Valley by the Alb River.
The Romans were among the first to be charmed by the simple beauty of Ettlingen. They had a crossroads village located here and left behind many artifacts. One of these finds is the Neptunstein, a stone Latin inscription recollecting an early flood of the Rhine. A Roman fountain can also be found here.
The Alb River in Ettlingen
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The town was first mentioned in 788 as "Ediningom" in a deed of donation belonging to Weissenburg Abbey in Alsace (now in France). In 965, the village of Ettlingen ("Ediningom") received market rights (Marktrecht) from Emperor Otto the Great. In 1192, Emperor Henry VI, one of Frederick Barbarossa's sons. Margrave Herman V of Baden-Baden became Ettlingen's feudal lord in 1219. In the following centuries, Ettlingen developed into an important administrative centre within the Margraviate of Baden-Baden.
St. Martin's Church (Martinskirche) in Ettlingen
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The Romans were among the first to be charmed by the simple beauty of Ettlingen. They had a crossroads village located here and left behind many artifacts. One of these finds is the Neptunstein, a stone Latin inscription recollecting an early flood of the Rhine. A Roman fountain can also be found here.
The Alb River in Ettlingen
The town was first mentioned in 788 as "Ediningom" in a deed of donation belonging to Weissenburg Abbey in Alsace (now in France). In 965, the village of Ettlingen ("Ediningom") received market rights (Marktrecht) from Emperor Otto the Great. In 1192, Emperor Henry VI, one of Frederick Barbarossa's sons. Margrave Herman V of Baden-Baden became Ettlingen's feudal lord in 1219. In the following centuries, Ettlingen developed into an important administrative centre within the Margraviate of Baden-Baden.
St. Martin's Church (Martinskirche) in Ettlingen
Ettlingen gave its name to a line of defensive earthworks known as the Ettlingen Line built to deter French aggression. During the Nine Years' War the town was nearly completely burned to the ground by the troops of Louis XIV, but was nevertheless rebuilt in the following decades under Margravine Sibylle Auguste. After the Catholic line of Baden-Baden died out in 1771, ![]()
Ettlingen passed to the Protestant Margraviate of Baden-Durlach, which would become the reunited Margraviate of Baden. During the French Revolutionary Wars, Ettlingen was the site of a battle between elements of the French Army of the Rhine and Moselle and the Habsburg Army of the Upper Rhine on 9 July 1796. In the period of Napoleon's activities in Germany, Margrave Karl Friedrich of Baden was made Elector in 1806 and Grand Duke in 1806.
The 15th century Watch Tower - Lauerturm is known as the symbol of Ettlingen.
Ettlingen remained an independent town until 1937, when it was incorporated into the administrative unit that would become the district of Karlsruhe in 1939. Ettlingen and its surrounding villages and land continue to be part of this district.
Ettingen promenade
In 1966, Ettlingen passed the 20,000 population mark and raised to the status of Große Kreisstadt by the state government of Baden-Württemberg. Ettlingen's renowned open-air theater series, the Schlossfestspiele first took the stage in the Baroque inner courtyard of Ettlingen Palace in 1979.
Musician's fountain in Ettingen
Source text:Wiki.
Photos: Elisabeth Fazel.