Villingen-Schwenningen: The history of the largest double town in Germany!

Villingen-Schwenningen: The history of the largest double town in Germany!

In Baden-Württemberg there are 42 municipalities with double names, from which Villingen-Schwenningen stands out as the greatest. With around 89,784 inhabitants - as of November 2024 - this city is a real figurehead. The municipality was founded on January 1, 1972 by the much -noticed merger of the independent cities of Villingen and Schwenningen. This event was part of the extensive regional reform in Baden-Württemberg, which took place between 1968 and 1975 and affected numerous communities. The fusion of Villingen-Schwenningens also took place after a positive vote by the citizens of both cities, which shows that the local population was behind this step. [Merkur] (https://www.merkur.de/deutschland/baden-wuerttemberg/groesstadt-in-de-inemen--dablenamen-T-T-T-T-DIE-93777329.HTML) reports that the area reform was primarily the goal of forming the formation of more powerful communities.

The differences between the two parts of the city could hardly be larger. Villingen is a thousand -year -old city, planned by the ruling family of the Zähringer, with a clear central structure and art -historical buildings. Schwenningen, on the other hand, grew unplanned and shows up with workers' housing estates and petty -bourgeois houses. While Villingen mainly maintains the Roman Catholic faith, Schwenningen was shaped by the Evangelical Lutheran Reformation. These different political cultures and religious affiliations can still be felt today and have significantly influenced the mentality of the residents. Landeskunde Baden-Württemberg provides numerous interesting insights.

The area reform and its effects

The regional reform in Baden-Württemberg was a real turning point. From 1968 to 1975 the goal was to drastically reduce the number of communities and to strengthen the administration in order to create more efficient structures. As a result, many independent communities, including Villingen and Schwenningen, were merged. Overall, the number of communities was reduced from 3,379 to 1,111. A new organization of the administration had to be found that offered simple and clear structures. Wikipedia documents the various measures and laws that were passed in the course of this reform.

In the first decades, the economic differences between the two cities were visible. While Schwenningen became known in the 19th century through watch production, Villingen had a moving story with multiple destructions and start -ups. Villingen belonged to Austria and Württemberg, among others, before it became part of Baden in 1806. For example, Schwenningen produced the first battery -operated watches in 1956 and was therefore a pioneer in the industry. The development of the city was characterized by the economic strengths and challenges that they met through the course of history.

The merger not only brought new challenges, but also new opportunities. Villingen-Schwenningen goes into the future with its own coat of arms, which was introduced in 2001. In it the Reichsadler from Villingen and the swan from Schwenningen unite. Even today, the districts still have their own postcodes and town halls, which underlines the identity of the respective districts. Despite this independence, the city is often viewed as a unit.