Schelklingen (German pronunciation: [ˈʃɛlklɪŋən] ^ⓘ) is a town in the district of Alb-Donau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is situated 10 km north of Ehingen, and 20 km west of Ulm. Schelklingen and 82% of its territory form part of the Swabian Jura Biosphere Reserve.

The town centre of Schelklingen is located in the prehistoric valley of the Danube at the feet of the Swabian Alb or Swabian Jura (547 m above NN). The villages of Hausen ob Urspring, Justingen, and Ingstetten are located on the table land of the Swabian Alb. In the Schmiech valley are located the villages of Schmiechen, Hütten, Gundershofen, and Sondernach.

To the north of Schelkingen is the town of Heroldstatt, to the east the town of Blaubeuren, to the south-east the town of Erbach, to the south are Altheim and Allmendingen, and to the west are Mehrstetten and the town of Münsingen, the latter both belonging to the county of Reutlingen.

The borough of Schelklingen has the following municipal subdivisions: the villages of Schmiechen, Hausen ob Urspring, Justingen, Ingstetten, Hütten, Gundershofen and Sondernach. Within the borough are the municipalities of Schmiechen, Hausen ob Urspring, Justingen, Ingstetten, Hütten, Gundershofen and Sondernach. Also within the borough are smaller hamlets, individual farms, old corn mills, castles and an old monastery: Muschenwang Farm (Hausen ob Urspring), Oberschelklingen Farm (to Schelklingen), the hamlet of Sotzenhausen (former cement factory, Schelklingen: not to be confused with the hamlet of Sotzenhausen which was incorporated in 1835 into Pappelau, today the town of Blaubeuren), the corn mill hamlet of Springen (Gundershofen), the Riedmühle mill (Sondernach), the hamlet of Talsteußlingen and Neusteußlingen Castle (Hütten), the hamlet of Teuringshofen (Hütten) and the old monastery of Urspring (Schelklingen).

Castro et villae Schälkalingen (castle and village of Schelklingen) were first mentioned in an 1127 deed. The first owners were the Swabian edelfrei Lords of Schelklingen, three brothers: Rüdiger, Adalbert and Walter, who donated property to the newly established Benedicitne abbey of Urspring nearby. In the early 13th century, by the way of purchase, marriage or inheritance, the Schelklingen territory was acquired by the Swabian counts of Berg (Grafen von Berg, not to be confused with the Rhenish Berg dynasty). Descending from Berg Castle near Ehingen, Count Henry III (d. 1242), also Margrave of Burgau, appeared as the holder of Schelklingen from 1234 onwards, at the time when for the first time the settlement was called a town (civitas, according to municipal law). His son and heir Ulrich II adopted the title of a Count of Berg-Schelklingen in 1248. In 1343, the last Count of Berg-Schelklingen, Conrad, sold the estates to the Habsburg dukes of Austria and received it back as fief. When he died three years later, the territory of Schelklingen fell to the Austrian dukes as a reverted fief.

Schelklingen was later administered within Further Austria (Vorderösterreich) and remained with the Habsburg monarchy until 1806. The Peace of Pressburg (Frieden von Pressburg) of 1805 brought Schelklingen to the Electorate of Württemberg as reward for the military help given to Napoleon by the Württemberg rulers.

The permanent shortage of money on the side of the Dukes of Austria and the high prestige connected with an own dominion on the side of the landed gentry were the reasons why the territory of Schelklingen (together with Ehingen and Berg) most of the time was mortgaged and given away as a fief. While during the period from 1346 to the end of the 15th century the masters of the mortgage changed fast, the situation became more stable afterwards. Up to 1568 the territories of Ehingen, Schelklingen and Berg were possessed by the following persons respectively families:

In 1568, the town of Ehingen was able to free herself from a new mortgage, while paying a large sum of money to the Austrian rulers residing in Innsbruck. This way, the direct aristocratic rule ended, and the territories of Ehingen, Schelklingen and Berg in future were administered by Austrian governors, most of the time noblemen. In 1680 the Count of the Empire (Reichsgraf) and bishop of Eichstätt Marquard Schenk von Castell reminded the German Emperor of his merits and services. Thus, thanks to his efforts, the family Schenk von Castell first received the territories of Schelklingen and Berg (without Ehingen) first as a mortgage and finally in 1732 as a personal fief. The feudal rule of this family over Schelklingen and Berg lasted until the middle of the 19th century when the last obligations were abolished. Franz Ludwig Schenk von Castell (1736–1821), a prosecutor of criminals, was the most influential owner of the two territories during the 18th century.