ESSLINGEN, a town of Germany, in the Land of Wurt temberg, in a fertile district on the Neckar, 9 m. S.E. from Stuttgart, on the railway to Ulm. Pop. (1933) 43,089. Esslingen, which dates from the 8th century, became a town in 886. It became a free imperial city in 1209 and was surrounded with walls by order of the emperor Frederick II. Its liberty was fre quently threatened by the rulers of Wurttemberg, but it did not become part of that country until 1802. It is surrounded by mediaeval walls with towers and bastions, and has numerous suburbs. On a commanding height above the town lies the old citadel. The inner town has an old (143o) and a new Rathaus, formerly a palace. The church of Our Lady (Frauenkirche) is a fine Gothic building of the i 5th century with a beautifully sculp tured doorway and a lattice spire 24o ft. high. The church of St. Dionysius, dating from the 13th century, possesses a fine screen and a ciborium of 1486. The municipal archives at Ess lingen contain much valuable literature bearing especially on the period of the Reformation. The town has railway, machine and electrical works; cloth, gloves and metal goods are also manu factured here, and there are spinning-mills. Famous for its wines, and possessing the oldest sparkling wine cellarage in Germany. Esslingen does a considerable trade in wine and fruit.