The secrets behind the curious place names in Baden-Württemberg!

The secrets behind the curious place names in Baden-Württemberg!

Stuttgart, Deutschland - Did you know that the names of many places in Baden-Württemberg are not only chosen by chance? On a train journey from Stuttgart to Tübingen, travelers often smile at the variety of cities with the ending «-INGE». Statisticians have now searched the numbers and have gained exciting knowledge about the naming in the region!

The ending «-ingen» is widespread in Baden-Württemberg. This name can be found in 230 out of 1,101 municipalities, i.e. 20.7 percent. It can often be found in the south and in the middle of the country. The “home” ending follows with 126 municipalities (11.4 percent) and is particularly widespread in the north of the state. Other interesting endings are «-Hausen» and «-Bach», which also occur in many place names.

The roots of the place names

The names are not arbitrary, but have historical roots. The ending «-ingen» dates from the time of the Germanic tribes, around the 4th to 6th centuries, and indicates the belonging to a gender or trunk. An example is Herbertingen, which means something like "with the people of Herbert". Other names, such as Holzgerlingen, also indicate geographical or historical characteristics. According to the name researcher Werner Schäfer, place names such as fossils that give us insights into history.

The variety of names ranges from the shortest with only two letters, such as «Au», to the longest, such as «Hirschberg on Bergstrasse» and «Müllheim im Markgräflerland», both of whom are 25 characters long. There are also amusing place names such as cakes, sweeties and even misery that make you smile. The statisticians have also found that 80 municipalities end on «-Bach» while 51 congregations carry the ending «mountain», often in mountainous regions such as the Black Forest.