Tuttlingen

Geschichte

Tuttlingen is a town in Baden-Württemberg, capital of the district Tuttlingen. Nendingen, Möhringen and Eßlingen are three former municipalities that belong to Tuttlingen. The district (Kreis) includes several surrounding towns including Trossingen, Spaichingen, and Mühlheim an der Donau. Tuttlingen is located in Swabia east of the Black Forest region in the Swabian Alps.GeographyThe town lies in the valley of the Upper Danube on both sides of the stream, the source of which is located 30 km nearby in Donaueschingen. The early river flowed around the Hornberg mountain, where ruins of a fortress built in the Middle Ages remain.HistoryThe name indicates Tuttlingen likely was a Celtic settlement long before the Romans erected a border castellum at the limes. Spurious archeological findings in 1874 support the theory, but due to its probable location under the foundations of houses in the city center expansive excavations will not be done. During the Middle Ages Tuttlingen was first mentioned in 797, and belonged to the monastery of Reichenau shortly thereafter. The town received its town privileges before 1338 and belonged to Württemberg since 1376/77. Since that time the town was ruled by the "Twelve", consisting of the Mayor, the Sheriff (Schultheiss), and 10 other members of the judiciary/court. Eberhard im Bart upgraded the citadel of Honberg around 1460 to a first-class border fortress. During the Thirty Year War Tuttlingen as the southern outpost of Württemberg, was constantly embattled. A key event was the "Battle of Tuttlingen" on 24 November 1643 in which the entire French army was defeated by the United Imperial-Bavarian troupes under Melchior Graf von Hatzfeldt, Franz von Mercy and Johann von Werth.