Göppingen

Not to be confused with Göttingen.
Göppingen
Stiftskirche
Göppingen
Coordinates
Administration
Country Germany
State Baden-Württemberg
Admin. region Stuttgart
District Göppingen (district)
Mayor Guido Till (SPD)
Basic statistics
Area 59.22 km2 (22.86 sq mi)
Elevation 323 m  (1060 ft)
Population 56,819 (31 December 2010)[1]
 - Density 959 /km2 (2,485 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate GP
Postal codes 73033–73037
Area codes 07161, 07165, 07163
Website www.Goeppingen.de

Göppingen is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the district Göppingen. It is situated at the bottom of the Hohenstaufen mountain, in the valley of the river Fils.

The German branch of SIGG has its offices in the city.[2]

Contents

History

Tradition has it that the city was founded by an Alemannic leader called Geppo sometime in the 3rd or 4th century. A disastrous fire on August 25, 1782 destroyed most of the town, but it was immediately rebuilt. Industrialisation during the 19th century made the area into a centre of industry. The importance of such industry is still seen in the town in the present day in companies such as Märklin and Schuler.

Cooke Barracks

In 1930, a civilian air field was built north of Göppingen. This was acquired by the Luftwaffe in 1935 and expanded into Fliegerhorst Kaserne. From 1945 through 1949, displaced persons and refugees were housed in the kaserne. In 1949, it was renamed Cooke Barracks in honor of Charles H. Cooke, Jr. who had been posthumously awarded the Silver Star and Soldier's Medal for gallantry in action. In late 1950, the 7th Army had been reactivated in Stuttgart and U.S. Army units began to be stationed at Cooke Barracks. The barracks began to be expanded and was used as the 28th Infantry Division headquarters. The 28th Infantry was redesignated as the 9th Infantry Division (United States) in 1954 and was replaced by the 8th Infantry Division in 1956. They were then replaced by the 4th Armored Division in 1957, which was redesignated as the 1st Armored Division in 1971 and moved to Hindenburg Kaserne in Ansbach in 1972. The 1st Infantry Division moved from Augsburg in 1972 until they were deactivated in 1991. Cooke Barracks was returned to the German government in 1992. The barracks were again used to house refugees for some time, then returned to civilian use.[3] A website, CookeBarracks.com, is dedicated to those who served at Cooke Barracks.

Sport

Frisch Auf Göppingen currently plays in the German first handball-division (Handball-Bundesliga).

Twin towns

References

  1. ^ "Bevölkerung und Erwerbstätigkeit" (in German). Statistisches Landesamt Baden-Württemberg. 20 July 2011. http://www.statistik-bw.de/Veroeffentl/Statistische_Berichte/3126_10001.pdf. 
  2. ^ "SIGG Addresses." SIGG. Retrieved on 12 May 2010.
  3. ^ "U.S. Army Installations - Göppingen & Schw. Gmünd". U.S. Army in Germany. http://www.usarmygermany.com/USAREUR_City_Goeppingen.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-27. 

External links

Germany portal
Towns and municipalities in Göppingen