Settlement in the region dates back to at least the
Iron Age. A
Hallstatt cemetery in Albstadt was excavated by amateur archaeologists in the late nineteenth century and revealed a wide range of pottery and metal artefacts. Known as the 'Degerfeld Barrow' cemetery, a substantial collection was built up by the local antiquary Hyronimus Edelmann that was eventually deposited in the
British Museum. On November 16, 1911, Albstadt was hit by a 6.1 earthquake, particularly affecting the areas of Tailfingen, Lautlingen and Margrethausen. There was high property damage, but there were no fatalities. Thousands of buildings, including landmarks, were damaged, some of them irreparably. The earthquake also resulted in landslides, which caused additional property damage. It is the second most powerful earthquake recorded in Germany, after the
1756 Düren earthquake. On May 28, 1943, Albstadt was hit by a 5.6 earthquake, again affecting the areas of Tailfingen, Lautlingen and Margrethausen. There was again high property damage on thousands of buildings, but there were no fatalities. During
World War II, a heavy bombing raid was carried out on Albstadt on July 11, 1944, which killed 65 people and another one on February 20, 1945, which killed 19 people. In April 1945, the French moved in, and Albstadt, as part of the newly created state of
Württemberg-Hohenzollern, was subsequently part of their
occupation zone until 1949. On September 3, 1978, Albstadt was hit by a 5.7 earthquake
(de), which caused high property damage but no fatalities. 6850 buildings were damaged, some of them irreparably. The cost of the damage amounted to 275 million
Deutsche Mark, which is the costliest earthquake in Germany to date. == Religion ==