Central Leonberg encompasses Silberberg, Ramtel, Gartenstadt, and the residential neighbourhoods of Eichenhof, Glemseck, Hinter Ehrenberg, Mahdental, and Rappenhof.

The position on the brow of the hill was chosen as a defence from enemies to the west, the towns of Markgröningen, Weil der Stadt, and the counts in Tübingen and Calw.

The gates and almost all of the walls were demolished in and after 1814/1815, leaving only the coat of arms still on display in the Altes Rathaus (old town hall)).

[3] The only surviving building from the old town fortifications was the "Stonehouse" near the uppermost tower, probably because it was the only one used for housing and was not destroyed by the great fire of 1498.

During the Holy Roman Empire, Leonberg fell under the jurisdiction of Esslingen before finally becoming part of Württemberg in 1383, when it first gained administrative rights.

During the era of witch hunts, the Leonberg governor Lutherus Einhorn sent 15 women to trial under suspicion of witchcraft.

Kepler's mother was nearly tortured to death in the cellars of the "Stonehouse" before being transferred to Güglingen, where she was subsequently released in October 1620.

In 1938, Eltingen – a staunchly proletarian community of small landowners - was finally merged with the more bourgeois Leonberg.

[6] The population figures are estimates, census results (¹) or official updates of the respective statistical offices (only primary residences).

¹ Census results The old town dates back to the Middle Ages and includes a historical market square lined by restored half-timbered houses.

Standing among them is the old Town Hall (Rathaus), which, with the water tower on Engelberg Hill, is considered a defining feature of Leonberg.

The birth house of Schelling and the huge Zum Schwarzen Adler guesthouse - the first documented seat of parliament of the County of Württemberg - are also key features of the old town.

Further attractions include the Evangelical Church (Stadtkirche) with its Roman and Gothic architecture and the former Latin school (which was attended by the astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler).

Named after the German word for "bitter orange", the garden originally dates back to the height of the Renaissance.

Other sights include: Leonberg once fell into the bishopric of Speyer and was part of an area governed by archdeacon St. Trinitatis.

After the reformation, Catholicism first reappeared in Leonberg in the late 19th century with the first parish set up in 1946 shortly followed by St. Johannes Baptista church in 1950.

Since the latest round of local elections in June 2004, the district council has had 34 seats distributed as:[7] The distribution of the seats among the various parties and groups since the election of June 2009 looks like this,[8] changes over 2004 in brackets: A head of local administration - an executive official called the Schultheiss - was first appointed in Leonberg in 1304.

Most of the local vineyards lie to the south of the town in the Feinau area and on the Ehrenberg slopes along the Glems river.

All types of schools common to Germany are found in Leonberg: The district of Böblingen funds a vocational college plus the Karl-Georg-Haldenwang-Schule for the disabled.

The horse market attracts huge crowds and is so important to local tradition that civil servants are granted half a day's leave to attend.