Tübingen

Tübingen (tü`bĭng–ən), city (1994 pop. 83,553), Baden-Württemberg, SW Germany, on the Neckar River. It is a cultural and industrial center; manufactures include textiles, machinery, metal goods, wood products, and printed materials. Tübingen was chartered c.1200, passed to the counts (later dukes) of Württemberg in the mid-14th cent., and became the second capital of Württemberg in the mid-15th cent. The old part of the city retains its medieval character; noteworthy buildings include the city hall (1435), the late-Gothic Church of St. George (15th cent.), and Hohentübingen, a castle first mentioned in the 11th cent. and later (16th cent.) renovated in Renaissance style. Tübingen is famous for its university (founded 1477), where Melanchthon taught (1512–18); its theological faculty was famous in the 19th cent. as the Tübingen School, founded by F. C. Baur. Hegel and the astronomer Johannes Kepler both studied at the theological school. The poet Uhland was born (1787) in Tübingen, and the poet Hölderlin died (1843) there.