Winnenden

Winnenden
Winnenden
Town
	Winnenden
	Coat of arms
	Location of Winnenden
Country	Germany
State	Baden-Württemberg
Admin. region	Stuttgart
District	Rems-Murr-Kreis
Subdivisions	town center and 8 Quarters
Government
• Lord mayor	Bernhard Fritz
Area
• Total	28.05 km2 (10.83 sq mi)
Elevation	292 m (958 ft)
Population (2022-12-31)
• Total	29,245
• Density	1,000/km2 (2,700/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	71349–71364
Dialling codes	07195
Vehicle registration	WN
Website	www.winnenden.de

Winnenden is a small town in the Rems-Murr district of the Stuttgart Region, in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is situated approx. 20 km (12 mi) northeast of Stuttgart's city center with a population of less than 28,000. The town is home to the Kärcher Company, makers of cleaning equipment namely pressure washers.

History

The earliest mention of Winnenden is in a document of 1181, in which one Gottfried of Schauenburg Winnenden is mentioned as a witness that Emperor Friedrich I held the castle in the town. Around 1200 the castle, which was then called Windin, came into the possession of Heinrich of Neuffen. In 1277 it was transferred to Konrad von Weinsberg. On 10 October 1325 the castle and town were sold to Württemberg.

In the Peasants' War, Winnenden was first under the control of the "Armer Konrad" or the peasant's army, but by 1519 was under the control of the Swabian League. An epidemic in 1616 took the lives of approximately half of the population. During the Thirty Year's War the city was pillaged twice, in 1638 and 1643. Imperial, French and Swedish troops occasionally occupied Winnenden during that conflict.

In March 2008, Winnenden and the nearby town of Backnang jointly hosted the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships, in cooperation with the German Debating Society. The competition was conducted at the Lessinggymnasium in Winnenden and the Max-Borngymnasium in Backnang.

Politics

The council, according to the 2004 municipal elections the following parties: the CDU (10 seats), voter Free Association (8), SPD (5), and Green Alternative List (3)

2009 School shooting incident

On 11 March 2009, the town made international headlines following a school shooting at Albertville-Realschule Winnenden school. The gunman was a former pupil who opened fire without warning. The shooting resulted in the death of 16 people. The attacker committed suicide. Most of the victims at the school were female — eight female students, three female teachers and one male student, said Heribert Rech, interior minister for Baden-Württemberg state.^[2]