It is located on the riverNeckar, about 14 kilometres (9 miles) southeast ofStuttgart city center. The regions surrounding the city of Esslingen are also mostly developed.
Esslingen was afree imperial city for several centuries until it was annexed by Württemberg in 1802.
There is archaeological evidence that what is now the city of Esslingen was settled since theNeolithic period. Traces of human settlement found at the site of the city church date back to around 1000 B.C.
In the 1st century AD the Esslingen region became part of the Roman Empire. During this period a Roman warehouse was located in the area of Oberesslingen. The nearest major Roman settlements and garrisons were atCannstatt andKöngen.
There are so far no findings from the early period ofAlemannic rule in the area, which do exist on the Filder (uplands) nearby. There are findings in Rüdern which suggest a rich grave with eastern influence, including, for example, a set of three-winged spear heads. The ending "-ingen" indicates a group of people wherein a man named Azzilo, Hezzilo or Hetsilo was landlord and family patriarch played an influential role. This means the city's name originally meant: "the peoples of Azzilo". This name, for the first time documented in 856 asEzlinga and 866 asHetsilinga ended up becoming today's Esslingen.
In the 6th century, the Alemanni were subjugated by theMerovingians under king Clovis I. But they still took over administrative tasks and formed a Duchy in Francia. In the 8th century they tried to become sovereign again. But the attempt failed near Cannstatt. The end of the Alemannian duchy was marked with theCouncil of Cannstatt.
In an excavation by Günter Fehring, the remains of the Vitalis-Cella under the church St. Dionysius were uncovered. Proof of settlement dates back to the late Merovingian period. Even older are the single row graves in Oberesslingen and Sirnau.
Esslingen was first mentioned in 777 in the last will ofAbbot Fulrad fromSaint-Denis (near Paris), the chaplain ofPippin andCharlemagne. He bequeathed thesixth cell upon the river Neckar that he had received from an Alemannic nobleman by the name of "Hafti" to his monastery, Saint-Denis. He also brought the bones ofSaint Vitalis to Esslingen, which made it a destination for pilgrims and led to its growth.
Territory of the Free Imperial City of Esslingen
Around 800 Esslingen became amarket town, its market rights being certified in 866. In 949–953 it was a possession ofLiudolf, Duke of Swabia. Esslingen receivedcity rights in 1229 underEmperor Frederick II. During the same period the still-extant Neckar bridge was built, making Esslingen a major center for trade on the route between Italy, Switzerland, and northern Germany. Taxes provided by the bridge and market led to further growth of the town, as did the export of the highly regarded wines from the region.
View of Esslingen ca. 1640, showing the bridge over the Neckar River.
The period between the 13th century and 16th century saw many conflicts between the Free Imperial City and the Counts ofWürttemberg (later Duchy of Württemberg). About half the population died in theThirty Years' War between 1618 and 1648 through famine or epidemics. Esslingen lost itsindependence as an Imperial city during the Napoleonic era in 1802–1803,becoming part of theDuchy of Württemberg.
"The Fat Tower", part of the remaining defensive bastion of the city.
The city had a defensive wall, part of which remains, including a landmark "fat tower" (Der Dicke Turm) set on the hill and vineyards above the city. A marketplace plaza at the center of the city is ringed by characteristic half-timbered buildings. A landmark "old city hall" (Altes Rathaus) stands nearby.
Esslingen marketplace. Front facade of the old city hall.
The beginning of the 19th century was characterized by industrialization. Glove manufacturing, food processing, textiles, and metal working were early industries in Esslingen. On 20 November 1845 the first train ran fromCannstatt toEsslingen station.
Esslingen was occupied byU.S. troops starting in April 1945, at the very end ofWorld War II. During the war the city suffered very little damage, and it was peaceably surrendered to the approaching allied forces, thus the medieval character of its city center has been mostly preserved.
After the Second World War about 47,000 people moved to Esslingen, mostly refugees and displaced persons from East Germany. Housing developments in Oberesslingen and Zollberg were created to overcome the shortage of housing.
In 1973Nürtingen district was merged with Esslingen am Neckar, making Esslingen the seat of a much enlargeddistrict.
Esslingen is directly on the B10 State Highway which runs as a dual carriageway fromStuttgart toSüßen, and continues onward toUlm. The exit for Esslingen, just after the B10 passes under the ancient Pliensau Bridge, is particularly unusual, because in the direction of Ulm there are two entry and exit points to the dual carriageway. This makes it is possible to reach the center of Esslingen directly from Stuttgart, and to drive from central Esslingen directly onto the Dual Carriageway in the direction of Ulm without having to pass traffic lights.
Despite the six to eight lanes on the new Pliensau Bridge and the surrounding roads, the infrastructure around Pliensauvorstadt and the route to Zollberg still suffers from frequent congestion.
TheStuttgart S-Bahn line S1 which operates betweenKirchheim-unter-Teck andHerrenberg viaStuttgart centre, serves the stations of Mettingen, Esslingen (Neckar),Oberesslingen and Esslingen (Zell). Under the planned rebuilding of the railways in central Stuttgart under theStuttgart 21 scheme, the S1 will be shortened to operate from Kirchheim unter Teck as far as Stuttgart Schwabstraße station.
To avoid the long S-Bahn route to the airport via Stuttgart, the Bus 122, operated by the END Company, now runs directly from the central bus and rail interchange to the airport viaOstfildern Scharnhausen.
The Esslingen Urban Tram system was opened in May 1912 and closed on 7 July 1944 after 32 years of operation. It was replaced by trolley buses. The operating company, the Esslinger Städtische Straßenbahn (ESS, translated Esslingen Town Tramway) changed its name in 1944 to the Städtischer Verkehrsbetrieb Esslingen (SVE, or "Esslingen Transport Company").
On 18 December 1926 the Esslingen-Nellingen-Denkendorf (END) interurban tram began operating. This was the last tram system to be built in Germany before the wave of closures later in the century: after this date permission from the authorities was only given for extensions to existing systems. The tram had to negotiate a five kilometer gradient out of the Neckar Valley to reach the towns and villages of the Eastern Filder region. In total, the system transported 153 million passengers from Denkendorf and later from Neuhausen to Esslingen, and took delivery of two new open trams in 1958. The line was discontinued in February 1978.
Esslingen, along with Solingen and Eberswalde, is one of the last three German towns which still usetrolleybuses. The SVE currently operates two lines using electric power:
An ambitious redevelopment project has been in progress since 2004 in the area near the railway station. The current phase of this project is a large redevelopment of the station forecourt costing about 7.4 million euros. TheBaden-Württemberg State Environment and Transport ministry helped fund this with a grant of 4.9 million euros. During 2009 the Neckarstraße was diverted along unused land on the railway station and lengthened to the west of the site. The next phase, completed in November 2014, was a large-scale redevelopment of the station forecourt to create a bus and rail interchange.
The city is home to theEsslingen University of Applied Sciences (German:Hochschule Esslingen). It is known for itsmechanical engineering and automotive engineering courses, and also for its three international master's programs (MBA in International Industrial Management,[6] MEng in Automotive Systems,[7] MEng in Design and Development in Automotive and Mechanical Engineering),[8] which are organised by the Esslingen Graduate School[9] and taught completely in English.
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