Günzburg is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in

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 ...

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 ...

. Its capital is the town

Günzburg Günzburg (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Genzburg'') is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is a ''Große Kreisstadt'' and the capital of the Swabian Günzburg (district), district Günzburg. This district was constituted in 1972 by combining the city ...

. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Dillingen,

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 ' ...

Unterallgäu Unterallgäu is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Neu-Ulm, Günzburg, Augsburg, Ostallgäu, Oberallgäu, and the districts Ravensburg und Biberach in Baden-Württemberg. ...

and

Neu-Ulm Neu-Ulm ( Swabian: ''Nej-Ulm'') is the capital of the Neu-Ulm district and a town in Swabia, Bavaria. Neighbouring towns include Ulm, Senden, Pfaffenhofen an der Roth, Holzheim, Nersingen and Elchingen. The population is 58,978 (31 December 2019 ...

, and by the state of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

(districts

Alb-Donau Alb-Donau-Kreis is a (district) in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is bounded by (from the south and clockwise) the districts of Biberach (district), Biberach, Reutlingen (district), Reutlingen, Göppingen (district), Göppingen and Heidenheim ( ...

and Heidenheim).

History

In the early Middle Ages the tiny county of

Burgau Burgau is a town in the district of Günzburg in Swabia, Bavaria. Burgau lies on the river Mindel and has a population of just under 10,000. History The territory around Burgau was originally part of the stem duchy of Swabia. The death of Co ...

ruled the region. In 1213 the county was acquired by the lords of

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer Former states *Berg (state), county and duchy of the Holy ...

; it was then known as Berg-Burgau, but the last ruler of this collateral line died in 1301, and

(now raised to the level of a margraviate) became an exclave of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. In the early 17th century the administrative seat was moved from the town of Burgau to Günzburg, but the margraviate retained its name. When the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

ceased to exist in 1806, the margraviate was dissolved and the region was annexed by

. The district was established in 1972 by merging the former districts of Günzburg and Krumbach.

lost its status as an

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

and became the administrative seat of the new district.

Geography

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 ...

river and its tributaries characterise this district. The Danube runs through the northernmost parts of the district, passing the cities of Günzburg and Leipheim. There are several affluents coming from the south, for example Biber,

Günz The Günz is a river in Bavaria, Germany. It is formed near Lauben by the confluence of its two source rivers: the Östliche Günz (eastern Günz) and the Westliche Günz (western Günz). It is approx. long (including its western source river) ...

and

Mindel The Mindel () is a river in Bavaria, southern Germany. The Mindel originates west of Kaufbeuren, in the Allgäu region, and flows generally north. It flows into the Danube (right tributary) in Gundremmingen, east of Günzburg. The towns Mindelhei ...

. Most of the district's area is covered with forests; the eastern third of the territory is part of the ''Augsburg Western Forests Nature Park''.

Coat of arms

On the right there are the old arms of the margravate of Burgau: red and white with a yellow beam. The eagle is from the arms of the Schwabegg-Ursberg family, which founded two monasteries in the district.

Towns and municipalities

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunzburg (District) Districts of Bavaria