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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

Backnang
Backnang (German pronunciation: [ˈbaknaŋ] ; Swabian: Bagene) is a town in Germany in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, roughly 30 km (19 mi) northeast of Stuttgart. Its population has increased greatly over the past century, from 7,650 in 1900 to 37,957 in 2022.

Backnang was ceded to Württemberg by the Baden (Zähringer family) in 1325. Backnang has been known as Gerberstadt due to several tanneries and leather factories, and wool and cloth mills that dominated Backnang's industries. Today, all of these have vanished, and instead, telecommunication companies such as Ericsson (formerly AEG, Telefunken, ANT Nachrichtentechnik, Bosch and Marconi) and Tesat-Spacecom dominate the town's industries. The Stiftskirche, formerly the church of Backnang Abbey, dates back to the 12th century.

Backnang hosts the annual Strassenfest during the last weekend in June. It has been founded as a street festival where local sports and cultural clubs offered drinks and foods. The traditional opening of the Strassenfest is marked with cannon shots from the city tower at 6 pm on Friday and ends with the Zapfenstreich on the following Monday at 11 pm. The Strassenfest typically attracts more than 100,000 spectators.

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1849:4,464—    
1871:4,472+0.2%
1900:7,650+71.1%
1925:8,811+15.2%
1939:11,601+31.7%
1946:15,412+32.9%
1961:23,725+53.9%
1975:29,614+24.8%
1995:33,882+14.4%
2010:35,395+4.5%

Mayors

Before 1930 the title for this position was Stadtschultheiß. In 1930 the title became Bürgermeister (Mayor), and in 1956 with the elevation of Backnang to a "large district town," the title was changed to Oberbürgermeister (Lord Mayor).

  • 1901–1921: Hermann Eckstein
  • 1921–1945: Albert Rienhardt
  • 1946–1966: Walter Baumgärtner
  • 1966–1986: Martin Dietrich (1929-2012)
  • 1986–1994: Hannes Rieckhoff (born 1944)
  • 1994–2002: Jürgen-Heinrich Schmidt (born 1942)
  • 2002-2021: Frank Nopper (born 1961)
  • since 2021: Maximilian Friedrich (born 1987)
Stiftshof, the local court, on the right
Christmas market 2010

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Backnang is twinned with:

Notable people

External links