During this time the ownership of the town, which still came under the rule of the bishopric of Mainz, was subdivided between four noble families - the Lords of Sachsenheim, Liebenstein, Gemmingen and Neipperg.

In 1750, Earl Friedrich von Stadion purchased the town and so brought to an end the Garnerbentum era.

* Hohenstein: In silver, a red crenellated castle with twin towers on a green hill formed by a row of five diamonds.

The industrial age did not reach Bönnigheim until 1 November 1854, when Alois Amann (1824 – 1892) and Immanuel Böhringer (1822 – 1906) established a firm for the production of twisted and dyed silk yarns in a house which had previously been a private school for boys.

The firm's modest production together with some purchased yarn was dyed at the Rau dyeing works in Berg before being taken to Bönnigheim where it was wound onto a bobbin and finished by twelve women.

In the same year, the black dyeing process was transferred in-house and additional machinery of various kinds was acquired.

When the firm celebrated its silver jubilee in 1879 it had become the leading German manufacturer of silk sewing threads.

[5] In 1880, a competitor, Payr and Mayer in Augsburg and its subsidiary in Mössingen were bought and the top management transferred to Bönnigheim.

Emil Amann travelled throughout Europe on sales missions while his father and brother concentrated on the running of the factory.

[8] No river flows through Bönnigheim and so a bore hole was sunk within the factory complex in 1886 to provide water for dyeing.

[9] Alfred Amann followed apprenticeships in Lyon, London and Krefeld before returning to the firm in 1888 to take up the post of technical director.

[10] When Alois Amann died in 1892, the sons took over the business and continued in partnership until 1917 when Emil retired to Wiesbaden to live the life of a man of private means.

The Zabergäu Railway provided good communications with Güglingen and a branch was opened in that nearby town.

However, within a few months of the end of hostilities, manufacturing restarted although full output was not attained until 1948 when the import of raw silk was again permitted.

[16] The German economic boom brought about a significant increase in the demand for sewing threads both at home and abroad and the firm was restructured accordingly.

In 1959, 90% of the output consisted of thread made from natural sources, but by the end of the 1970s, the same percentage was being produced from synthetic fibres.

The 1970s also saw production transferred overseas with factories opened in South Africa, Mexico and Spain, the output of the various plants being geared to the requirements of the individual markets.

Within a year of entering the firm, Alfred, together with his mother, and brother, Emil, provided funds for a new chapel at the local cemetery which is still in use to this day.

During the period of hyper-inflation in the Weimar Republic in 1921, Amann was the only firm in the area not to lay off workers: instead they built a track around the town's forest.

It was his wish that workers be able to buy their own houses and, to this end, loans at low interest were granted to those able to prove that they had saved money.

An independent news sheet Nachrichtenblättle reporting from the town halls of Bönnigheim, Kirchheim und Erligheim is published once a week.