Oberndorf

Oberndorf stands on the upper Neckar, where a town was founded by the dukes of Teck around the middle of the thirteenth century. It occupied a shelf above the river, while religious houses grew in the valley below. The dukes confirmed the town's rights in 1300, but its position among competing dynasties repeatedly brought changes of lordship.

In 1381 Oberndorf passed with the county of Hohenberg to the Habsburgs. The town was often pledged to other lords, including the counts of Zimmern; their chronicler Froben Christoph governed it from 1548 to 1563. During the Thirty Years' War occupation, plague and military demands took a heavy toll. A fire in 1780 destroyed scores of houses, the town hall and the Dominican convent. Oberndorf came to Württemberg after the Peace of Pressburg in 1805.