Every Swabian Alb town has a unique atmosphere of its own, a special history whose repercussions can still be felt today. The first Swabian university was founded in Tübingen an 1477. You will also find homes to the intellect in Reutlingen and Nürtingen with their renowned technical colleges. Schwäbisch Gmünd, the oldest Hohenstaufen city and former imperial city, is famous for its jewellery and design industry. The Hohenstaufen city Göppingen was influenced by Emperor Barbarossa and more recently by model railways. Giengen an der Brenz was founded by the Hohenstaufens and is now famous for teddy bears, and Gottlieb Daimler was born in the Hohenstaufen town Schorndorf. And although Aalen received its character from the Hohenstaufens, it was a Roman metropolis as early as 150 BC, as was Heidenheim. Ellwangen, Rottenburg and Blaubeuren have been shaped by a centuries-old spiritual tradition. The former imperial free city of Ulm developed into a great trading centre from the 11th century on. And the former imperial city of Esslingen, as well as the city of Plochingen, were early pioneers in the industrialization of the mid-Neckar region. Industries that have developed out of centuries-old craft trades in combination with new, creative products: this is also typical of the “textile towns” such as Albstadt, Münsingen and Metzingen. Tuttlingen ist famous for medical equipment, while Geislingen (with its five valleys) and Kirchheim unter Teck are renowned for metal goods, and Trossingen, the harmonica town, for musical instruments. With their palaces and castles, residential seats such as Hechingen, Balingen, Haigerloch or Sigmaringen are testimony to former rulers, especially the Hohenzollerns. Bad Urach, which today is one of the most frequented health resorts in Germany, was for decades the residence of the Counts of Württemberg, and an important Alemannic settlement long before that. And the history of Ehingen on the Danube, once a Lower Austrian town, or of the Württemberg country town Pfullingen, reaches back to earliest Alemannic times. Diversity, history, tradition and modernity, festival and celebration – the towns of the Swabian Alb have a lively mixture for you.