Central Ettlingen and its largest constituent communities (Bruchhausen, Ettlingenweier, Oberweier) lie on the plain itself, but some of the villages (Spessart, Schöllbronn, and Schluttenbach) are nestled among the northernmost foothills of the Black Forest.

Ettlingen was an important crossroads during Roman times, when the region was part of the province of Germania Superior.

This is demonstrated by the many artifacts found in the area, including the "Neptune Stone," which commemorates a flood of the Rhine, and the remains of a Roman bath excavated beneath St. Martin's Church.

During the Nine Years' War the town was nearly completely burned to the ground by the troops of Louis XIV, but was nevertheless rebuilt in the following decades under Margravine Sibylle Auguste.

[3] In the period of Napoleon's activities in Germany, Margrave Karl Friedrich of Baden was made Elector in 1806 and Grand Duke in 1806.

In 1966, Ettlingen passed the 20,000 population mark and raised to the status of Große Kreisstadt by the state government of Baden-Württemberg.

During the period of secularization following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, Ettlingen was part of the ordinariate of Bruchsal.

In 1821, it became part of the newly founded Archdiocese of Freiburg, and the town was made the seat of a deanery, which included not only the parishes within Ettlingen proper, but also those in surrounding villages and neighboring municipalities.

About two thirds of the remaining Jewish citizens of Ettlingen emigrated during the Nazi era and the rest were deported to concentration camps.

The Paulusgemeinde was split up in 1972 to create the Luthergemeinde (Luther Congregation), which caters to the Protestants of Ettlingen West, Bruchhausen, Ettlingenweier, and Oberweier.

It is now home to a private school, medical offices, a vehicle registration centre, new housing and the Kulisse movie theatre.