SCHWABMüNCHEN

'Schwabmünchen' is a regional centre in Bavaria in the administrative region of Swabia south of Augsburg in the Augsburg district.

Contents

Geography

Location

Neighbouring communities

City divisions

History

Population growth

Politics

City partnership

Culture and sightseeing

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Established enterprises

Personalities

Sons and daughters of the city

External links

Geography

Location

Schwabmünchen lies about 20 km south of Augsburg between Lech and Wertach on the western edge of the Lechfeld, a gravel plain. Through the city flows the river Singold. In the west, about 5 km from town in the residential area of Stauden rise the ''Westliche Wälder'', or Western Forests.

Neighbouring communities

North of Schwabmünchen, about 3 km away, lies Großaitingen. Furthermore, Schwabmünchen is surrounded by Untermeitingen to the southeast, Langerringen to the south and Hiltenfingen to the southwest, as well as, about 10 km away in the ''Stauden'' – an area of gentle wooded hills and cultivated dales – Mickhausen to the northwest.

City divisions

In 1978, as a result of Bavarian municipal reform, the following communities were amalgamated into Schwabmünchen:

★ ''Birkach'', with a population today of 186, was mentioned in a document as early as 969 under the name "Pirichah" as a domain of Saint Stephen's Convent (''"Kloster St. Stephan"'') in Augsburg. It lies about 7 km from Schwabmünchen in the ''Schwarzachtal'' (valley).

★ ''Klimmach'', with a population today of 255 already existed in the early Middle Ages, but was only first mentioned in a document in 1482. Klimmach is an important pilgrimage place in the Bishopric of Augsburg. Klimmach lies about 6 km west from Schwabmünchen on the heights between the Wertach Plain ("''Wertachebene''") and the ''Schwarzachtal''.

★ ''Mittelstetten'' with 571 inhabitants.

★ ''Schwabegg'', which today has 781 inhabitants, had its first documentary mention in 1110. It lies about 5 km west of Schwabmünchen at the edge of the rise towards the Stauden area and the Wertach Plain.

History

Schwabmünchen was first mentioned in writing in 954 as "castellum Mantahinga"
in a biography about the Bishop of Augsburg, Saint Ulrich. From archaeological digs in the north of the modern city have come clues of Celtic, Roman and Alamannic peoples dwelling in the area in bygone ages. In 1562, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I raised the community to market town and bestowed upon it a market town's coat of arms. In the years from 1804 to 1806, Schwabmünchen came under Bavarian rule, having formerly belonged to the Augsburg Church Estate (''Augsburger Hochstift'').
On 4 March 1945, late in the Second World War, Schwabmünchen was beset by a heavy air raid, which killed 60 inhabitants. One fourth of the town was utterly destroyed, and two thirds of it was heavily damaged.
After the war, the population rose dramatically owing to the great number of refugees flowing into the town, and in 1953, Schwabmünchen was raised from market town to city. In 1972, the former district of Schwabmünchen was merged with the district of Wertingen to form the current district of Augsburg.

Population growth

1840: 3,438 inhabitants
1900: 4,751
1939: 5,453
1970: 9,200
2005: 13,806

Politics

Distribution of places on the 24-seat city council (as of municipal elections in 2002) is as follows:

★ CSU: 14 seats

★ SPD: 5 seats

★ ''Freie Wählervereinigung'' (citizens' coalition): 4 seats

★ Greens: 1 seat
Since 1992, Hans-Joachim Neumann (CSU) has been mayor of Schwabmünchen.

City partnership

Since 7 June 1975, there has been a city partnership between Schwabmünchen and the city of Giromagny in France. Giromagny lies 12 km north of Belfort at the foot of the Vosges mountains.

Culture and sightseeing

Worth seeing is one of Schwabmünchen's landmarks, the ''Hexentürmchen'', or Witches' turrets, flanking a gateway at the city hall that once led into the episcopal ''Straßvogtei'', or "road bailiwick", the name given the area for the important ancient road that led through it. The turrets were apparently built in the sixteenth century.
Another thing to see is the ''Strickerbrunnen'', or "Knitter Fountain", at Schrannenplatz. It was created by sculptor Karl-Ulrich Nuss. To the right and the left, underneath the knitter stand a lamb and a goat. According to one story, if two people sit on these animals at the same time, they will be lifelong friends.

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Schwabmünchen is the terminal stop on the ''Augsburger Verkehrsverbund'', the Augsburg area's transport system. Trains run half-hourly to Buchloe and Augsburg.
Through ringroads and feeder roads, the town is connected with ''Bundesstraße'' (Federal Highway) 17 which leads to Augsburg and Landsberg am Lech, and which is built quite similarly to an Autobahn.

Established enterprises

★ Schöffel Sportbekleidung GmbH (sportswear)

★ Osram wire and chemical works

★ Kalenderwerk Zettler

★ Eberle spring factory

Personalities

Sons and daughters of the city

★ Leonhard Wagner (1453-1522), the most important calligrapher of the late German Renaissance, after whom the city's ''Hauptschule'', ''Realschule'' and ''Gymnasium'' are named.

★ Prof. Dr. Werner Huß (1936- ), ancient historian

★ Claudia Vecchiarelli (1978- ), naïve painter

External links

★ Gymnasium's homepage

★ Realschule's homepage