Waiblingen

 

Waiblingen (consisting of five town districts called Beinstein, Bittenfeld, Hegnach, Hohenacker and Neustadt) is to be counted among the most beautiful cities with timber-framed buildings in Southern Germany. On a tour through the historic centre with its picturesque narrow streets, impressive timbered houses and imposing towers history comes back to life.

Waiblingen offers a wide range of cultural activities, mainly shaped by institutions such as the Community Centre, the public library and the Stihl Gallery Waiblingen along with the School of Arts Unteres Remstal which opened in May 2008 on the bank of the river Rems. In its first year of existence, the Stihl Gallery has gained nation-wide attention with exhibitions on artists like Rembrandt, William Turner, Wilhelm Busch and John Cage. In addition, there is a vibrant music scene due to the City Orchestra, the Waiblingen Chamber Orchestra, the Philharmonic Choir as well as many other ensembles and music societies.

But Waiblingen is more than this. It has a vivid town history and the living history of the legendary Staufer Dynasty. It is down to earth in a Swabian way and yet open-minded, and it is attractively situated on the river Rems surrounded by vineyards.

More than 53.000 residents live in Waiblingen, which is district town and also the administrative centre of Greater-Rems-Murr with 420.000 inhabitants. Only 12 kilometres away from Stuttgart, it is home to well-known companies like Bosch, Stihl or Kaiser-Candy. Numerous world market leaders and `hidden champions’ help to mould the image of Waiblingen as economic location; their products and services ensure that the name Waiblingen is known on all continents.

In late 2007, the Packaging Excellence Center (PEC) was established in Waiblingen, from which results a fast transfer of state-of-the-art technology for the benefit of companies, colleges, employees and the city’s reputation as a centre for packaging and automation technique.

Since October 2008, a college of the International Institute for Integral Innovation, is located in Waiblingen. The International Institute sees itself as think-tank for companies and offers with Master of Design Integral Studies a training centre for inventors who pass their knowledge to companies in order to accelerate the innovation process.