Engstingen is a municipality in the Tübingen administrative region (Regierungsbezirk) in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It lies in the Swabian Jura (plateau), about south of Reutlingen.
It was formed on January 1, 1975 from the former independent municipalities of Großengstingen, Kleinengstingen and Kohlstetten.
Engstingen is located on the northern edge of the Swabian Jura, at altitude on the Alb plateau near the Alb edge in the valley of Ur-Lauter, about 15 km south of the town Reutlingen.
Municipality
According to the municipal reform on January 1, 1975, the three previously independent municipalities Großengstingen, Kleinengstingen and Kohlstetten and the industrial park Gewerbepark Haid were combined into Engstingen. The village of Großengstingen and the houses at Großengstingen railway station and Haid belonged previously to the former municipality Großengstingen. The former municipalities Kleinengstingen and Kohlstetten each included only these villages respectively.
Großengstingen and Kleinengstingen are lying together, surrounded by a ring of wooded hilltops. The municipality Kohlstetten is about northeast and Haid about south. The deepest point of denunciation, with , is located on the railway line at the border to the municipality of Offenhausen; the highest point of on the Judenstein is on the border to the municipality of Meidelstetten.
The following towns and municipalities, which all belong to the district of Reutlingen, share borders with the municipality Engstingen: Lichtenstein, St. Johann, Sonnenbühl, Gomadingen, Trochtelfingen and Hohenstein. The municipality Engstingen teamed-up with the municipality Hohenstein to a Joint Management Community (Verwaltungsgemeinschaft).
Geology
The Alb plateau was created when the disk of the White Jurassic was raised before about 50 million years ago. There were many cracks and fissures in the limestone rock, so that rainwater seeps very quickly, and so the Alb is quite low in water. Thus, it is surprising that a mineral spring exists in the municipality of Kleinengstingen.
History
Common
The earliest permanent settlement traces are from the Hallstatt culture (Tumulus in the area of Haid). The area belonged from the first to the third century to the Roman Empire (Agri Decumates).
During the Thirty Years' War, all three subsites suffered from great population losses, and subsequently Swiss and other foreign families migrated into this area.
Großengstingen
The earliest document of the name of the place names "Anegistingin" was dated 24 January 783 in a deed of Lorsch Abbey. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Chur acquired some properties at the beginning of the 10th century. In 1439 the name "Großengstingen" appeared for the first time. A rarely used name was "Churengstingen".
The right for free hunting was abolished in 1709 and partially re-introduced from 1713 to 1806 out of courtesy of the duke.
On October 31, 1717 Chur sold Engstingen to the Zwiefalten Abbey. From there it was transferred to the Protestant Württemberg on 30 April 1750. Großengstingen became part of Oberamt Reutlingen in 1806 and became a district (Landkreis) from 1938.
From 1963 to 1993, the Rocket artillery battalion 250 of the Bundeswehr was stationed in the Eberhard Finck barracks in Großengstingen.
Kleinengstingen
Northwest of Kleinengstingen is an Alemannic row grave field. The oldest known mention of "Clain Engstingen" dates from 1482. The place was sometimes called "Freiengstingen" in the 13th century during the reign of the barons of Engstingen (liber de Anegestingen). However, it was probably already then under the reign of Württemberg. The local reign was finally transferred in 1454 to Württemberg, annexing it to the Amt Pfullingen. From then, it was sometimes mentioned as "Unterengstingen". In 1806 Kleinengstingen came to Oberamt Reutlingen, and in 1938 it became a district.
Kohlstetten
The oldest known mention of the name "Cholsteten" (from the German words for cabbage or more likely for charcoal) can be found in a document of the Weißenau Abbey of 1161. The place came in 1230 from the Earl of Achalm to the House of Urach and from there in 1265 to Württemberg. The place was very badly damaged in the Thirty Years' War; only the church survived the era relatively unscathed. Kohlstetten was part of the Oberamt Urach (Unteramt or parish Gächingen) within Württemberg. In 1808, it came to the Oberamt Münsingen and became in 1938 a district. In 1973, it became part of the district of Reutlingen.