Böbingen an der Rems

Böbingen an der Rems
Coat of arms of Böbingen an der Rems Coat of arms
Böbingen an der Rems
Location of Böbingen an der Rems within Ostalbkreis district
Coordinates:
Country	Germany
State	Baden-Württemberg
Admin. region	Stuttgart
District	Ostalbkreis
Government
• Mayor	Jürgen Stempfle
Area
• Total	12.23 km2 (4.72 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)
• Total	4,522
• Density	370/km2 (960/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	73560
Dialling codes	07173
Vehicle registration	AA
Website	www.boebingen.de

Böbingen an der Rems is a municipality in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, in Ostalbkreis district. It lies on the river Rems.

Roman history

The Roman Limes passes through Böbingen, and the historical name of the locality "Bürgle" (= small castle) indicates that the presence of a Roman fort in Unterböbingen had never been forgotten. In 1885/86 first archeological excavations were conducted by the retired Chief of Staff of the Württemberg Army, Major-General Eduard von Kallee. Based on military strategic considerations he identified Unterböbingen as a Roman castrum. In 1892 Major Heinrich Steimle examined this in more detail by excavations on behalf of the Empire-Limes-Commission. The Roman military thermal bath, which was also open to the civilian inhabitants of the village was placed outside of the fort and excavated in 1978 north of the fort on a high terrace on the ridge above Remstal.

The fort and surrounding remains of the Unterböbingen castrum are since 2005 part of the UNESCO World Heritage, as they are a section of the Upper-Rhaetian Limes.

Alamannic settlements and first written reference

Many historical artefacts have been found in excavations, such as Alemannic graves. These and the old Michael Church in Oberböbingen are references to subsequent settlements, after the Romans had given up this military out-post. The first written reference about the municipality Böbingen is from 1281. In a document of 30 November 1291 is mentioned that the Gotteszell monastery had bought a farm in "Bebingen".

File:Kastell Unterböbingen Eckturm.jpg

Tower at the south-east corner of the Roman castrum Unterböbingen, which has been found by General Eduard von Kallee based on his military experience