Schwäbisch Hall

Schwäbisch Hall is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, in the valley of the Kocher river, which together with its headwater Lein is the longest tributary of the Neckar. From 1802 until 1934 it was officially just Hall. It is the seat of the district of Schwäbisch Hall, lies north-east of the state capital Stuttgart with Heilbronn as the closest larger city, and despite its name belongs to the East Franconian-speaking region of Heilbronn-Franconia, closer in culture and language to neighbouring Franconia in Bavaria than to the Alemannic-speaking parts of Württemberg. The town was first mentioned in the Öhringer Stiftungsbrief of 1063. While towns such as Heilbronn grew with the Industrial Revolution, the population of Hall stagnated; it had 36,799 residents at the end of 2009 and over 39,000 in 2017. Notable companies include the housing credit company Bausparkasse Schwäbisch Hall, founded in 1944, and RECARO Aircraft Seating.