106 ANDREAS KURTZ 



town its inhabitants in frequent struggles had 

 suffered siege, for it lay not far distant from 

 the path of armies that came in successive 

 periods from north and south, from east and 

 west. It was no fortress, but walled ramparts 

 encircled the homes of its active, thrifty 

 people. Tubingen, with its celebrated uni- 

 versity, the alma mater of the reformers, 

 Reuchlin and Melancthon, and the home of 

 Wieland, was only a few miles distant, and 

 Reutlingen itself played no unworthy part in 

 the great drama of the Reformation : with 

 Niirnberg it was one of the earliest towns to 

 accept the Augsburg Confession. The 

 intellectual and spiritual life of the people of 

 this district had been quickened by the 

 influence of Tubingen, and Reutlingen en- 

 joyed the privilege of possessing excellent 

 town schools. In Kurtz's day the population 

 amounted to only between 7,000 to 8,000 

 inhabitants ; to-day it numbers about 18,000, 

 and yet with this small population, it has its 

 primary schools, its classical gymnasium, a 

 " Real " school, where modern languages and 

 the sciences are taught, its technical school, 

 where instruction is given in the arts, 

 especially spinning and weaving ; then there 

 is a most excellent and celebrated high class 



