Aichach-Friedberg is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It is bounded by (from the northwest and clockwise) the districts of

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

Donau-Ries Donau-Ries (''Danube-Ries'') is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Ansbach, Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen, Eichstätt, Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, Aichach-Friedberg, A ...

Neuburg-Schrobenhausen Neuburg-Schrobenhausen is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the districts of Pfaffenhofen, Aichach-Friedberg, Donau-Ries and Eichstätt, and by the city of Ingolstadt. History The dis ...

, Pfaffenhofen,

Dachau , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

Fürstenfeldbruck Fürstenfeldbruck () is a town in Bavaria, Germany, located 32 kilometres west of Munich. It is the capital of the district of Fürstenfeldbruck. it has a population of 35,494. Since the 1930s, Fürstenfeldbruck has had an air force base. Th ...

and Landsberg, as well as by the city of

History

Aichach-Friedberg was settled by Bavarian tribes from the seventh century on. The region is sometimes called the cradle of Bavaria, since the castle of Wittelsbach was located close to the present city of

Aichach Aichach (; Central Bavarian: ''Oacha'') is a town in Germany, located in the Bundesland of Bavaria and situated just northeast of Augsburg. It is the capital of the district of Aichach-Friedberg. The municipality of Aichach counts some 20,000 in ...

. It was the ancestral castle of the Wittelsbach family, who were rulers of Bavaria for thousand years. The castle was razed to the ground in 1208, and today there is nothing else left than a memorial stone at the place. The town of Friedberg was founded in the 13th century in order to collect a toll from people using the bridge across the

Lech Lech may refer to: People * Lech (name), a name of Polish origin * Lech, the legendary founder of Poland * Lech (Bohemian prince) Products and organizations * Lech (beer), Polish beer produced by Kompania Piwowarska, in Poznań * Lech Poznań, ...

River. Aichach became a town about hundred years later. In 1862 the two districts of Aichach and Friedberg were founded. They were merged in 1972 and became part of the administrative region of

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

. Anyhow, historically Aichach-Friedberg does not belong to Swabia, but to

Old Bavaria Altbayern ( Bavarian: ''Oidbayern'', also written Altbaiern, English: "Old Bavaria") is the territory and people of the three oldest parts of the Free State of Bavaria, which were earlier known as Kurbayern (English: "Electoral Bavaria") after the ...

. The name of the new district was originally ''Augsburg-Ost'' ("Augsburg East"), but it was changed to Aichach-Friedberg in 1973.

Geography

The district is located to the east of the city of

and comprises a rural area with few major towns. The Lech River forms the western border of the district. Another river, the

Paar The Paar is a river of Bavaria, Germany, a right tributary of the Danube. For several tens of kilometers it flows parallel to the Lech, at only a few km distance. Near Augsburg, the Paar leaves the Lech valley and turns north-east towards Ingolst ...

(an affluent of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

), enters the district in the southwest, runs through

and leaves to the northeast. The territory is also known as Wittelsbacher Land, due to the castle of

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate o ...

near Aichach.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms displays: * top: the white and blue checked pattern of

* bottom left: the oak leaf from the old coat of arms of Aichach * bottom right: the ''Ulrich's Cross'', used by the bishops of

Towns and municipalities

Town twinning

* Affing: Lobez (Poland) * Aichach:

Brixlegg Brixlegg is a market town (since 1927) in the Kufstein district in the Austrian state of Tyrol. The town lies in the Lower Inn Valley and at the entrance of the Alpbachtal. Neighbouring municipalities Alpbach, Kramsach, Radfeld, Rattenberg, ...

(Austria), Gödöllö (Hungary),

Schifferstadt Schifferstadt ( pfl, Schiwwerschdadd, ''Schiffaschdad'', or ''Schiwwerschdadt'') is a town in the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. If not including Ludwigshafen (the district free city that is the capital of Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis), ...

(Germany) * Aindling:

Avord Avord () is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Geography A farming area comprising the village and several hamlets situated by the banks of the river Yèvre, some east of Bourges at the junction of ...

(France) * Dasing:

Siedlce Siedlce [] ( yi, שעדליץ ) is a city in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants (). Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously the city was the capital of a separate Siedlce Voivodeship (1975–1998). The city is situated b ...

(Poland) * Friedberg:

Bressuire Bressuire (; la, Berceorium; Poitevin dialect, Poitevin: ''Beurseure'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Deux-Sèvres, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The town is situated on an eminence overlooki ...

(France),

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village ...

(England), Friedberg (Austria),

La Crosse La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's populat ...

(USA),

Völs am Schlern Völs am Schlern (; it, Fiè allo Sciliar ; lld, Fíe or ), often abbreviated to Völs, is a municipality in South Tyrol in northern Italy. It is located at the foot of the Schlern mountain, about east of Bolzano. Geography As of November 30, 2 ...

(Italy) * Hollenbach:

Contest Contest may refer to: * Competition * Will contest * Contesting, amateur radio contesting (radiosport) Film and television * ''Contest'' (2013 film), an American film * Contest (1932 film), a German sports film * "The Contest", a 1992 season 4 e ...

(France) * Kühbach: intended with

Balatonföldvár Balatonföldvár (german: Földwahr) is a popular resort town in Somogy County, Hungary, on the southern side of Lake Balaton, approximately 120 km southwest from Budapest and about 23 km southwest from Siófok, the "capital of Balaton ...

(Hungary) * Mering:

Ambérieu-en-Bugey Ambérieu-en-Bugey (; frp, Ambèriô) is a commune in the department of Ain, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. It is the largest town in the arrondissement of Belley and the capital of the Canton of Ambérieu-en-Bugey which consists of ...

(France) * Obergriesbach:

Eltendorf Eltendorf ( hu, Ókörtvélyes, Ó-Körtvélyes, sl, Gruškova Ves) is a town in the district of Jennersdorf in the Austrian state of Burgenland Burgenland (; hu, Őrvidék; hr, Gradišće; Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland;'' Slovene: ''Gradiš ...

(Austria) * Pöttmes: La Haye-Pesnel (France) * Schiltberg:

Schwertberg Schwertberg is a market town in the district of Perg in the Austrian state of Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germ ...

(Austria) * Sielenbach: Saint-Fraimbault-de-Prières (France)

References

External links

Official website
(German)
tourist website
(German) {{Coord, 48.42, 11.08, display=title, format=dms Districts of Bavaria