Wolfstein, Rhineland-Palatinate
Wolfstein was founded in 1275 on Habsburg King Rudolph I's orders, which called for a “fortified and free” town near his castle, “Woluisstein”, now known as the "Alt-Wolfstein" (“Old Wolfstein”) ruin. Rudolph forthwith granted the new town the same town rights and freedoms as the town of Speyer. As an “everlasting marketplace”, it was to be a sanctuary for commerce, trade and dealing. The first townsmen and -women came from the surrounding, much older villages.
Wolfsburg
From about 1,000 inhabitants in 1938 the population of the city increased to 25,000 in 1950 and doubled to 50,000 until 1958. On 1 July 1972 the population of Wolfsburg first went beyond the mark of 100,000 because of the suburbanization of several villages which made Wolfsburg a major city. In 1973 the population reached its highest level: 131,971. At the end of December 2010 121,451 people were registered with their principal residence in Wolfsburg. Until the end of 2012 this number climbed up to 123,144.