Hohenstaufenstadt Göppingen
Welcome to the city of Göppingen, nestled in the shadow of the Hohenstaufen Mountain, which once bore the ancestral castle of the royal and imperial Staufer dynasty on its summit. It was during the high Middle Ages that the city of Göppingen began to flourish. However, even before then, people inhabited the area that is now Göppingen. Evidence of this includes Celtic burial mounds in Oberholz, dating back to the Hallstatt period between 800 and 450 BCE. The Romans also left their mark here. The foundation of the Oberhofen Church, located just north of the old town center, contains remnants of a Roman villa rustica, an agricultural estate dating back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE.
Following the Romans, the Alamanni settled in the Filstal region. Several graveyards dating from the 5th to the 8th centuries CE are known to surround Göppingen. These graveyards were naturally accompanied by corresponding settlements. It is believed that the origins of the later city of Göppingen lie in these scattered settlement sites, specifically in Oberhofen, Niederhofen – which corresponds to the area of the present-day Christophsbad – and at Freihof, where the Freihof-Gymnasium now stands.
Over time, these settlements merged, and in the 13th century, they were encircled by a wall – thus giving rise to the city of Göppingen. Göppingen was first mentioned by name in 1154 in a document issued by the Staufer ruler Frederick Barbarossa while he was passing through. Following the collapse of Staufer rule, Göppingen came under the control of the Counts of Württemberg after 1319, and it has remained Württembergian ever since. This long-standing tradition is reflected notably in the Göppingen city coat of arms, which features the Württemberg deer antlers beneath a red chief on a silver or white background.
Only a few remnants of this medieval city remain today. Two fires, in 1425 and 1782 respectively, largely destroyed it. Consequently, the present-day Göppingen old town presents itself in the style of classicism with a checkerboard-like layout, as it was reconstructed after 1782.