Horb

Horb rises above the Neckar on the slopes of the Schütteberg. The marshes along the river gave the settlement its name, recorded around 1090 as Horv or Horva, an old word for swamp. It was called a town in 1228 and had a documented market by 1277. The counts palatine of Tübingen held it until 1305, followed by the counts of Hohenberg; in 1381 it passed to Austria and became an administrative seat within Further Austria.

Horb remained predominantly Catholic after the Reformation, in keeping with its Austrian allegiance. In 1725 a great fire destroyed more than two thirds of the town, including much of the medieval market square and upper town. Austrian rule ended in 1806, when Horb passed to Württemberg. It became the seat of a Württemberg administrative district the following year.