The original settlement was named Vila, from the Latin villa, which meant "estate, manor" and in late antiquity came to mean "small town". This evolved into Weil. Later the suffix "die Stadt" was added to distinguish the town from villages of the same name, such as Weil im Dorf and Weil im Schönbuch. Among other things the city is known throughout Germany as "a grammatical error with 20,000 inhabitants" for its unusual name which could be translated to either "Because, the city" with the word "city" being masculine instead of feminine or "because of the city" if the word "city" was not in the dative case. The name arose because the place of issue in official documents was usually given as "gegeben zu Weil, der Stadt". The Roman origins of the city are immortalized in the coat-of-arms which feature the SPQR motto.
History
In 1075 A.D., the village "Wile" was first mentioned in a document as the property of the famous monastery Hirsau. Weil der Stadt became a Free Imperial City in the 13th century, but had existed for centuries before as an important trading place. It was completely destroyed during the Thirty Years' War in 1648 but was subsequently rebuilt, and the center is still dominated by buildings from this period. The city fortifications are still nearly intact with city walls, gates, and several towers called "Red Tower" or "Thief's Tower", "Rope-Maker's Tower", and "Raven's Tower". Weil der Stadt is best known as the birthplace of both the astronomerJohannes Kepler and the Protestant reformerJohannes Brenz of Württemberg. The association with Kepler is the reason for the town's unofficial title. Due to its surroundings and attractive cityscape which is dominated by the church steeple of St. Peter and Paul, Weil der Stadt is a popular destination for excursions in the Stuttgart region. At the beginning of the 19th century, Weil der Stadt became part of the Kingdom of Württemberg. Since 1952, the town has been part of the German Federal State of Baden-Württemberg. Since 1973, Weil der Stadt has been part of the district of Böblingen, including the municipalities of Merklingen, Hausen an der Würm, Schafhausen and Münklingen. Weil der Stadt is connected to Stuttgart and Calw by federal highway B 295. Weil der Stadt station is on the Black Forest Railway and is the terminus of line S 6 of the Stuttgart S-Bahn.
Events
Weil der Stadt is a stronghold of traditional carnival which is celebrated with a parade in the city center. In contrast to the carnival in the Rhineland, the carnival in Weil der Stadt, called Fasnet, is based on Alemannic traditions which are celebrated in various towns in South Western Germany and Switzerland. Weil der Stadt escaped destruction in World War II when a French artillery barrage was called off in honor of its being Kepler's birthplace.
