WURTTEMBEECh 



223 



ReutUttgen (15,245 inhabitants), in a side valley of the Neckar, was raerely a 

 village of serfs in the twelfth century, but through the industry of its inhabitants 

 it has grown into an important town. There are tan-yards, shoe factories, and 

 printing-offices. The Gothic chur^-h of the town is looked upon as the finest 

 religious edifice in Wiirttemberg. 



Metzingen (5,003 inhabitants) and Nûrtingen (5,078 inhabitants) succeed each 

 other on the Neckar, whilst lùrchheim (6,197 inhabitants), at the foot of the 

 castle of Tccl-, and G'ôppingen (9,532 inhabitants), known for its tan -yards and 

 cotton-mills, occupy lateral valleys at the foot of the Swabian Jura. Esslingen 



Fia-. 128. — View of Tubingen. 



(15,701 inhabitants), lower down on the Neckar and close to Stuttgart, has 

 machine shops, iron works, and other manufactories. The grapes grown on the 

 surrounding hills are converted into " Esslingen champagne," a mischievous 

 beverage. 



Several towns of importance lie in the valle}^ of the Rems, which joins the 

 Neckar opposite Ludwigsburg, and is one of the most fertile of Wiirttemberg. 

 Waibhiujen (4,128 inhabitants), near its mouth, is no longer the most populous 

 town, but under its Italian name of Ghihellino it has acquired a great repu- 

 tation on account of the wars carried on in Italy by the emperors of the 



