In theMiddle Ages, Villingen was a town underAustrian lordship. During theProtestant Reformation it remainedCatholic. Villingen came to international attention when it was besieged by Marshal of FranceCamille d'Hostun, duc de Tallard on 17 July 1704. Colonel Von Wilstorff put up a stout defence of the outdated fortifications, and after six days the siege failed.
Schwenningen remained a village until the 19th century. In 1858, the first watch factory was established, and watchmaking and precision mechanics have been important industries ever since. The town styled itself "the greatest watch city in the world"[4] at one time, and theKienzle Uhren watchmaking company was founded there in 1822 and remained until moving toHamburg in 2002. TheMuseum of Clockmaking celebrates the town's clock and watchmaking history.
DuringWorld War II, in March 1940, the Stalag V-Bprisoner-of-war camp was established, in which Polish,French, British, Serbian, Soviet, Belgian, American andItalian POWs were held.[5]: p.423 Additionally, in November 1942, the Stalag 315prisoner-of-war camp was relocated fromPrzemyśl inGerman-occupied Poland to Villingen, and was later further relocated to the German-occupied Netherlands in 1943.[5]: p.302–303
As part of the Baden-Württemberg territorial reform of 1972, Villingen and Schwenningen were merged with a number of surrounding villages to form the city of Villingen-Schwenningen. Nevertheless, the two halves of the city are separated by a plateau and remain distinct. Villingen is a former part ofBaden, while Schwenningen is a former part ofWürttemberg.
Villingen is a major center of German carnival celebrations. The traditional Narros represent the old citizens of Villingen:Alt Villingere,Morbili,Narro,Suribbel.
Villingen-Schwenningen lies on the eastern edge of theBlack Forest about 700 m (2,300 ft) above sea level. The source of the riverNeckar, a main tributary of theRhine, is in Schwenningen (Schwenninger Moos) whereas Villingen is traversed by the riverBrigach which is the shorter one of the two headstreams of theDanube.
Precision Motors Deutsche Minebea GmbH is a subsidiary ofMinebea corporation and developing electric DC motors in Villingen-Schwenningen. Villingen-Schwenningen is the European HQ for the Japanese corporation.[9]
Villingen-Schwenningen is the home of State University for Applied Science forpolicing (Hochschule für Polizei Baden-Württemberg) ofBaden-Württemberg Police. The university was established in 1979 and has a capacity of 1.300 students.[10]
In 2004 the former Bosnian boxer Armin„Boki“ Ćulum founded the motorcycle-like gangUnited Tribuns in Villingen-Schwenningen. The gang owned twobordellos and had a great influence on the prostitution scene in Villingen-Schwenningen. The gang called itself a group of bodybuilders, martial art athletes and bouncers. The United Tribuns grew fast and led to rivalry with theHells Angels andBandidos. United Tribuns had chapters in München, Augsburg, Nürnberg and Ingolstadt, and from 2014 also in the north in Hannover and later in Osnabrück. In Austria there was a chapter in Linz, Klagenfurt and Vienna. In September 2022 theFederal Minister for the Interior (BMI) prohibited the gang; and their money was confiscated.[14]
^abMegargee, Geoffrey P.; Overmans, Rüdiger; Vogt, Wolfgang (2022).The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV. Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.ISBN978-0-253-06089-1.
