Sindelfingen

Sindelfingen is a German town near Stuttgart at the headwaters of the Schwippe (a tributary of the Würm) that is the site of a Mercedes-Benz assembly plant.

History

• 1155 First documented mention of Sindelfingen
• 1263 Founding of the city by Graf Rudolf von Tübingen-Herrenberg
• Middle Ages Notable weaving industry
• 1535 Entrance of the Protestant Reformation
• 1944 Stuttgart/Sindelfingen oil refinery bombed by the Oil Campaign of World War II
• 1958 Partnership with the French city Corbeil-Essonnes
• 1962 S. became "Große Kreisstadt"
• 1971 Maichingen and Darmsheim were incorporated
• 1987 Last Volksfest, a summer festival (the site was required for a county garden exhibition)

The weaving industry survived until most of Europe's textile industry was wiped out due to Asian imports. Some textile distribution centres are still left in the town. Former weaving mills can still be found in the city area, now used as offices for the computer industry. This is due to the takeover of Hollerith by IBM which used the punched card technology from the weaving mills.

Geography

Neighbouring towns and cities: Böblingen (continuous), Stuttgart (15 km), Leonberg. The highest point is 531 metres above sea level and to the north is the Glemswald (Nature reserve).

Main sights

• Old city hall (Rathaus), now the city museum (free admission)
• St Martin's church (Martinskirche) (built: 11th–12th century)
• A short alley with half timbered houses (Fachwerkhäusern)
• Old cemetery (behind city library)
• Witch jump
• Cloister Lake
• Large public swimming pool with a long water slide [1]
• water-tower on Goldberg
• Water-tower Sindelfingen-Steige
• Water-tower Sindelfingen-Eichholz
• Friendship Fountain on the market place, designed by Bonifatius Stirnberg [2]. Around a central fountain with the Pegasus are six small fountains representing the six partner towns of Sindelfingen. The figures can rotate.
• Miniature Railway in the Sommerhofen Park
• Powerline-branch Maichingen
• Zweigart-Sawitzki-Bridge
• High-based pylons
• TV repeater Darmsheim
• Transmitter Tower Fuchsberg
• Transmitter Tower service area Forest of Sindelfingen
• Daimler AG factory. Tours can be arranged through Mercedes dealers.

Culture

Sindelfingen has an annual International Street Fair which features ethnic food and performances from the partner cities, as well as from various local ethnic clubs.

Film producer, director, and author Roland Emmerich grew up in Sindelfingen. Wizo is a Punk rock band from Sindelfingen. A progressive rock band called Sindelfingen was based in the Medway Towns, Kent, England, in the mid 1970s.

Transport

Sindelfingen can be reached trough the A8 and A81 motorways, and through the S-Bahn connections to Stuttgart or Herrenberg (station is called Goldberg). The nearest airport is that of Stuttgart.

Twin towns

Sindelfingen is twinned with:

• Schaffhausen, Switzerland, since 1952
• Corbeil-Essonnes, France, since 1961
• Sondrio, Italy, since 1962
• Dronfield, United Kingdom, since 1971
• Győr, Hungary, since 1987
• Torgau, Germany, since 1987
• Chełm, Poland, since 2001

References