About Eßlinger Zeitung

Eßlinger Zeitung

The Eßlinger Zeitung is a regional daily newspaper published in Esslingen am Neckar, the historic city on the Neckar river east of Stuttgart. Founded in 1868, it is one of the oldest newspapers in Baden-Württemberg, published by the Bechtle Graphische Betriebe und Verlagsgesellschaft GmbH & Co. KG. The paper reported a sold circulation of 17,073 copies and appears in several editions: the city edition, the district and Filder edition, and the Cannstatter Zeitung and Untertürkheimer Zeitung editions. Since 1973 the paper has published the city of Esslingen's official announcements by municipal council resolution. In March 2026 the paper's online brand identity was replaced by "Stuttgarter Zeitung Esslingen," with the website redirecting to the Esslingen regional section of the Stuttgarter Zeitung. The Bechtle publishing house also prints the Baden-Württemberg edition of Bild and Bild am Sonntag.

Overview

The Eßlinger Zeitung appears as a subscription daily for Esslingen and the surrounding district, one of the most economically dynamic regions in Germany. Esslingen am Neckar, the paper's home city, is a former Free Imperial City with one of Germany's best-preserved medieval old towns, home to around 95,000 residents and major employers in the electrical, automotive, mechanical engineering, and pneumatics industries, providing some 56,000 jobs in the city.

The paper's editions cover the city of Esslingen, the Esslingen district and the Filder plain, and, through the Cannstatter Zeitung and Untertürkheimer Zeitung titles, parts of Stuttgart's eastern districts. The Bechtle publishing house, based in Esslingen's Oberesslingen district, combines the newspaper with a major printing operation: the house prints the Stuttgarter edition of Bild and the entire Baden-Württemberg circulation of Bild and Bild am Sonntag, making it one of the state's significant printing companies. The paper's claim to publish the most extensive and detailed local section in the region reflects its deep roots in a city whose civic pride and medieval heritage give local journalism a particularly loyal audience.

History

The Eßlinger Zeitung's first edition appeared on April 25, 1868, as a trial issue, officially three times weekly from May 1, 1868, and daily on working days from July 1, 1868. On October 1, 1869, the printers Otto Bechtle and Matthias Linsenmann took over the paper from the J. F. Schreiber publishing bookstore, and from September 1, 1872, Otto Bechtle became the sole owner of the paper and the M. Linsenmann printing house, soon renamed the Buchdruckerei Otto Bechtle.

The paper modernized through the decades: in 1886 it moved to the Esslinger Marktplatz with a high-speed press driven by a gas motor, with further press renewals in 1890 and 1900, when 12,000 newspapers per hour could be printed. In 1912 Bechtle took over the Plochinger Zeitung and the Neckar- und Filderzeitung of Köngen, and in 1926 the papers were converted to the Berlin format. When Otto Bechtle died on September 3, 1926, his son Richard Bechtle took over, but in 1933 he was forced to give up the majority of his publishing shares to the National Socialist press and was banned from the profession and excluded from the publishing house's management.

The paper reappeared on February 1, 1949, initially under the title Neckarpost with an American occupation license, and from July 1949 again as the Eßlinger Zeitung, this time led by Otto Wolfgang Bechtle, Richard Bechtle having died in 1944. Otto Wolfgang Bechtle, who joined the paper's management in 1947, became one of the leading publishing figures in Baden-Württemberg: co-founder of the Association of Southwest German Newspaper Publishers in 1953, its president from 1970 to 1987, a member of the dpa supervisory board from 1958 and its chairman from 1974 to 1991, and a member of the German Press Council. He founded the Bechtle book publishing house in 1949 and took over the Cannstatter Zeitung and the Untertürkheimer Zeitung in 1960.

From 2017 to 2025 the Bechtle publishing house belonged to the newspaper group of the Südwestdeutsche Medienholding (SWMH), whose best-known titles include the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the Stuttgarter Nachrichten, and the Stuttgarter Zeitung. In 2025 the SWMH sold its complete shares in the Medienholding Süd, which includes the Bechtle publishing house, to the Neue Pressegesellschaft. In March 2026 the paper's online brand identity was replaced by Stuttgarter Zeitung Esslingen.

Coverage and Content

The Eßlinger Zeitung's local pages cover the public life of Esslingen and the district in depth. Esslingen city politics forms a core beat: the city council, the lord mayor's office, the preservation of the medieval old town, and the municipal budget. The paper reports on the Esslingen district administration, covers the courts and police, and follows the regional economy with specialist knowledge: the electrical and automotive industries, mechanical engineering, the media and publishing sector, and the commuter economy oriented toward Stuttgart.

The paper covers the emergency services and volunteer fire brigades, education from primary schools through the Gymnasien and the Esslingen University of Applied Sciences, and the churches, clubs, and associations that structure community life: sports clubs, choral societies, and the calendar of town festivals, the Esslingen medieval Christmas market, one of Germany's most famous, markets, and the onion festival. Cultural coverage follows concerts, exhibitions, and theater, and the paper documents the city's heritage, from the Free Imperial City era to the industrial present.

The supra-regional pages supply national and international news, business and finance, sports, culture, and opinion. The paper's reporters attend the city council's meetings, cover the local courts, and report from the scene of breaking news, maintaining the on-the-ground presence that distinguishes a staffed local daily from a remote news desk. The paper carries the classified and display advertising, family announcements, and death notices customary in the German regional press, and since 1973 it has published the city of Esslingen's official announcements.

Organization and Ownership

The Eßlinger Zeitung is published by the Bechtle Graphische Betriebe und Verlagsgesellschaft GmbH & Co. KG, based in Esslingen-Oberesslingen. The publishing house belonged to the Südwestdeutsche Medienholding's newspaper group from 2017 to 2025; in 2025 the SWMH sold its complete shares in the Medienholding Süd, which includes the Bechtle publishing house, to the Neue Pressegesellschaft, the Ulm-based media group.

The Bechtle house combines the newspaper with significant printing operations, including the Baden-Württemberg editions of Bild and Bild am Sonntag. A newsdesk was introduced in the editorial office to coordinate the paper's editions. Financial details for the individual titles are not disclosed separately.

Digital Presence

The Eßlinger Zeitung's digital presence has undergone a significant change: in March 2026 the paper's online brand identity was replaced by Stuttgarter Zeitung Esslingen, with the website redirecting to the Esslingen regional section of the Stuttgarter Zeitung. The paper's local reporting for Esslingen and the district now appears within the Stuttgarter Zeitung's digital platform, one of the most visited regional news websites in Baden-Württemberg.

The paper offers an e-paper edition reproducing the printed paper page for page, and the digital products include newsletters and breaking-news alerts. The Eßlinger Zeitung's 1868 founding makes it one of the oldest newspapers in the state, and its local journalism for Esslingen, the district, the Filder, Cannstatt, and Untertürkheim continues in print while the digital presence has been integrated into the Stuttgarter Zeitung's platform. The March 2026 online rebrand reflects the ongoing consolidation of the Baden-Württemberg regional press, as historic local titles pool their digital resources within larger publishing groups while maintaining their print identities.