Located between theBlack Forest and theSwabian Alps, Rottweil has over 25,000 inhabitants as of 2022. The town is famous for itsmedieval center and for its traditionalcarnival (called "Fasnet" in the localSwabian dialect). It is the oldest town in Baden-Württemberg,[3] and its appearance has changed very little since the 16th century.
The town gives its name to theRottweiler dog breed.
Tourist sign reading „Älteste Stadt Baden-Württembergs“ ("Oldest town of Baden-Württemberg")
Rottweil was founded by theRomans in AD 73 asArae Flaviae and became amunicipium, but there are traces of human settlement going back to 2000 BC.Roman baths and anOrpheus mosaic of c. AD 180 date from the time of Roman settlement. The present town became a ducal and a royal court before 771 and in 1268 it became afree imperial city.
In 1463 Rottweil joined theSwiss Confederacy under the pretence of a temporary alliance. In 1476 the Rottweilers fought on the Swiss side againstCharles the Bold in theBattle of Morat. In 1512, Pope Julius II gave the city a valuable"Julius banner" for its services in the 1508–1510 "Great Pavier Campaign" to expel the French.[4] In 1519, the Rottweilers left the old Swiss alliance. They joined a new one in which their membership was extended indefinitely – the so-called "Eternal Covenant".
Rottweil thus became a centre of the Swiss Confederation. The relations between the Swiss Confederation and Rottweil cooled rapidly during the Protestant Reformation. When Rottweil was troubled by wars, however, it still asked the Confederates for help.[5]
In theRottweil Witch Hunts from 1546 to 1661, 266 so-called witches, wizards and magicians were executed in the imperial city of Rottweil. On April 15, 2015, they were given a posthumous pardon. An official apology was given by the City Council about 400 years after their violent deaths.[6]
Rottweil lost both its status as free city and its alliance with the Swiss Confederacy with the conquest of the region byNapoleon in 1803.
During theMiddle Ages, Rottweil used to be a flourishingimperial city with great economic and cultural influence.[13] In 1868, Rottweil was connected toStuttgart by rail, which boosted the economy of the region.[13]
Today, most companies in Rottweil are eithersmall or medium-sized.[14] A trading and shopping town with a high level ofinnovation that benefits from its well developed educational and transport infrastructure, Rottweil has many industrial companies and a steadily growing proportion of knowledge-intensiveservice jobs.[14]
At 7.9%, Rottweil has one of the highestacademic rates in the region.[14]
Rottweil station has regular (at least hourly) regional services toStuttgart,Villingen,Singen, as well as many nearby towns. The hourly Stuttgart-Zurich intercity train also stops at Rottweil. In 2003, theRingzug concept was established, providing rail service to many previously abandoned stations in the region between Villingen, Rottweil,Tuttlingen andDonaueschingen, which became a major success.
In the neighboring village of Zepfenhan, about 12 km (7.5 mi) away, is theFlugplatz Rottweil-Zepfenhan [de] (Rottweil-Zepfenhan airfield), which can be approached by small aircraft. The nearest commercial airports areStuttgart Airport andZurich Airport.
Rottweil has threeGymnasien (Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium,Droste-Hülshoff-Gymnasium,Leibniz-Gymnasium), oneRealschule, oneFörderschule (Achert-Schule), threeGrundschulen (Eichendorff-Grundschule,Grundschule Neufra andGrundschule Neukirch), and fourHauptschulen (GHS Göllsdorf,Johanniter-Grund- und Hauptschule,Konrad-Witz-Grund- und Hauptschule andRömer-Grund- und Hauptschule).
The late-Romanesque andGothic–eraMünster Heiliges Kreuz ("Minster of the Holy Cross"), built over a pre-existing church from 1270. It features acrucifix byVeit Stoss and noteworthy Gothic sculptures.
Kapellenkirche (1330–1340), a Gothic church with a tower and with three statue-decorated portals
Lorenzkapelle ("Church of St. Lawrence", 16th century) in late Gothic style. It houses some two hundred works by Swabian masters and Gothic altarpieces from the 14th and 15th centuries.
The town's museum, including a notable Roman mosaic with the legend ofOrpheus
The late-Gothic town hall (1521)
St. Pelagius, aRomanesque church from the 12th century. Excavations have brought to light Roman baths on the same site.
ThyssenKrupp constructed a $45 million, 807-foot (246 m) tower, theRottweil Test Tower. The tower is a research facility for the company and is used to test new elevator cars and technologies. When the tower was completed in 2017, it was the tallest elevator test tower in the world.[17][a] The tower has 12 elevator shafts.[18]
^Website of Dominikaner Museum Rottweil (retrieved May 22, 2014), on permanent display is a wooden table from August 4, AD 186 naming arae flaviae asmunicipium thus making Rottweil the oldest town in Baden-Württemberg[1]Archived 2014-05-21 at theWayback Machine
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