Esslingen am Neckar

Esslingen am Neckar is a city in the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Wurttemberg in southern Germany, on the Neckar river about 14 kilometers southeast of Stuttgart, and serves as the seat of the Esslingen district. First documented in the eighth century, it became a Free Imperial City in 1181 and lost that independence in 1802 and 1803 when it was incorporated into the Duchy of Wurttemberg during the Napoleonic era. The city had 96,182 residents as of 31 December 2024, the tenth largest in Baden-Wurttemberg, and lies on the German Timber-Frame Road; it suffered little damage in the Second World War and surrendered peacefully to Allied forces in April 1945, leaving its medieval character largely intact.