Besigheim is a municipality in the district of Ludwigsburg in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.

It is situated 13 km north of Ludwigsburg at the confluence of the Neckar and Enz rivers. The town has many old buildings and a town hall that dates back to 1459. There are two medieval towers, Gothic church, cobblestone market place and other historical objects of interest.

Besigheim was founded in the 12th century as a well-defended walled city. The first mention of the city in official documentation was in 1153 in a decree by King Friedrich I.

In 1693, the fortifications were all but destroyed by French troops, and by 1750 were little more than rubble.

Surrounded by the Neckar and Enz rivers, Besigheim is idyllically situated between steep, terraced vineyards. The townscape, which today appears so incomparably picturesque, originally had inestimable military-strategic significance. The mountain spur that juts out into both rivers naturally protected the town against attacks. Although the name Besigheim suggests that it originated in the Alemannic-Frankish period, there is still no evidence of a burial ground or an early medieval settlement.

Besigheim was first mentioned in a document in 1153. The "curtis Basincheim" given by Empress Agnes to the Erstein monastery in Alsace before 1062 was passed on to Margrave Hermann of Baden by Abbess Berta on behalf of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in that year. The emperor thereby strengthened the bond of an important vassal to himself. For him, Besigheim was an important piece of the puzzle for the expansion of his rule in the central Neckar region.

The Margraves of Baden soon recognized the strategic importance of the unique topography of Besigheim and around 1220 expanded the Besigheim manor house into a fortress with two castle complexes within a few hundred meters. One complex was located at the southern exit of the city to secure the mountain side with the Schochen Tower and Steinhaus, and another in the north to control the river crossing. The Waldhorn Tower is a reminder of this "Lower Castle", which was destroyed and then demolished at the end of the 17th century.

The margraves soon granted the town market and town rights. In 1277, Besigheim was called an "oppidum". In the 13th century, however, the Badeners finally turned to the Upper Rhine as their future center of power and gradually gave up their possessions in the middle Neckar region. They kept only Besigheim in their hands, administered by ministerials who lived in the castle as bailiffs (from 1231).

The town developed into an important economic community due to the strong growth of wine-growing, crafts and rafting on the Enz, especially since the 15th century. Besigheim acquired its current appearance during this time. The town church (1383-1448) with the precious Besigheim high altar (around 1520), the town hall (1459) and numerous town houses are architectural testaments to this period and to the beginning of economic growth and prosperity. Almost every house still has a vaulted cellar for storing and aging the precious wine. Of the three wine presses that once existed, the current wine press, built in 1591, testifies to the importance of this important branch of the economy. After extensive renovation work, it has been used as a town hall since 1989.

The sovereign bond with the Baden margrave family now began to become increasingly fragile. In 1463, the margraves had to pledge the town to the Palatinate after losing a war. In 1504, Duke Ulrich of Württemberg conquered the town. The redemption and return of Besigheim to Baden in 1529 lasted barely two generations. In 1595, Württemberg acquired the office of Besigheim along with Hessigheim, Mundelsheim, Walheim and half of Löchgau by purchase for a huge sum of almost 384,000 guilders. (One guilder would be worth around 16 euros today).

In 1556, Besigheim became Protestant. The Peasants' War (1525) and the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) with their terrible consequences led to great hardship among the population. In addition, there was the plague, which, together with many deaths from starvation, decimated the population.

Later, the city was again plagued by war and destruction during the Palatinate War of Succession in 1688 and 1693. During these acts of war, the Lower Castle was so badly damaged that it eventually had to be demolished.

In the course of the municipal reform in 1971, Ottmarsheim, about 5 km away, became part of Besigheim. Today, Besigheim is a modern town with a unique historical flair. A town in which wine-growing and wine enjoyment still have great importance and in which it is wonderful to live and always worth a visit.

By the turn of the century, the infrastructure had improved significantly, not only for businesses but also for the citizens. The water supply in the town was expanded in 1897 and electricity and electric light were available from 1901/02. The town survived the World Wars without major damage. Unfortunately, the historic Enz Bridge was blown up by German troops in the last days of the war, which is still seen today as a great loss for Besigheim's unique townscape.

The early connection to the then new Stuttgart-Heilbronn railway line in 1848 led to various industrial settlements being established west of the Enz around the station area. The most important company here was the "Mechanical Jersey Weaving Mill" Mattes & Lutz, which had found a home in 1872 in the former building of the old Thurn & Taxis post office. At the beginning of the 20th century, after a major fire on the Neckar side, the oil production of the Bremen-Besigheimer Ölfabriken AG was relocated to this side of the city. This company was also an important employer at the end of the industrial age. The factory was sold in 1920, along with the power plant, to the paint factory Gustav Siegle in Stuttgart. Today, the BASF company produces color pigments there for global trade.

In 1810, Besigheim became a district town, and in 1822 the seat of the district court was added. Besigheim thus became the administrative centre of the former districts of Besigheim, Bietigheim, Bönnigheim and Lauffen. The district building, built in 1908 in place of the "Old Castle" as the seat of the royal Württemberg district, still characterises the townscape on the east side of the historic old town. In the 19th century, Besigheim thus increasingly developed into an administrative town. Even when the Besigheim district was incorporated into the new district of Ludwigsburg in 1938, the district building remained the seat of numerous state offices.

The expansion of Württemberg at the expense of former imperial cities and monasteries in the course of the "Napoleonic land consolidation" at the beginning of the 19th century made an administrative reform necessary. When former district offices were merged into new and larger units, Besigheim was finally able to prevail over neighboring Bietigheim.