Oettingen in Bayern ( Swabian: ''Eadi'') is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in 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, Au ...

district, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is situated northwest of

Donauwörth Donauwörth () is a town and the capital of the Donau-Ries district in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is said to have been founded by two fishermen where the rivers Danube (Donau) and Wörnitz meet. The city is part of the scenic route called "Roman ...

, and northeast of

Nördlingen Nördlingen (; Swabian: ''Nearle'' or ''Nearleng'') is a town in the Donau-Ries district, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, with a population of approximately 20,674. It is located approximately east of Stuttgart, and northwest of Munich. It was b ...

Geography

The town is located on the river

Wörnitz Wörnitz is a municipality in the district of Ansbach, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Wörnitz, west of Ansbach Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of ...

, a tributary 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 , p ...

, and lies on the northern edge of the

Nördlinger Ries The Nördlinger Ries is an impact crater and large circular depression in western Bavaria and eastern Baden-Württemberg. It is located north of the Danube in the district of Donau-Ries. The city of Nördlingen is located within the depression, a ...

, a meteorite crater in diameter. The town consists of the municipalities of Erlbach, Heuberg, Lehmingen, Niederhofen, Nittingen and Oettingen.

Industry

The

Oettinger Brewery Oettinger Brauerei is a brewery group in Germany. Oettinger was Germany's best selling beer brand between 2004 and 2013 with an annual output of in 2011. Oettinger's headquarters are in Oettingen in Bayern but they also have breweries in Mönch ...

, which make Germany's best-selling brand of beer, has its main brewery and headquarters in Oettingen.

History

Neolithic remains indicate that the region was already settled by around 5000 BC. Archaeologists have also discovered the remains of a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

settlement and a Roman village. The old town centre has a highly unusual aspect; while the eastern side of the main street and market place is baroque, the western side is half-timbered. From 1522 to 1731, the town was split between the Protestant house of

Oettingen-Oettingen The House of Oettingen was a high-rank noble Franconian and Swabian family. It ruled various estates that composed the County of Oettingen between the 12th century and the beginning of the 19th century. In 1674 the house was raised to the rank of ...

and the Roman Catholic house of

Oettingen-Wallerstein The House of Oettingen was a high-rank noble Franconian and Swabian family. It ruled various estates that composed the County of Oettingen between the 12th century and the beginning of the 19th century. In 1674 the house was raised to the rank of ...

, which built the baroque facades. As well as one side of the street being Protestant and the other side being Catholic, one side used the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...

, and the other side used the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

. Each side also had its own synagogue. Unlike nearby

Dinkelsbühl Dinkelsbühl () is a historic town in Central Franconia, a region of Germany that is now part of the state of Bavaria, in southern Germany. Dinkelsbühl is a former free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire. In local government terms, Dinkelsb� ...

, which survived World War II unscathed, Oettingen was severely damaged on 23 February 1945 by an Allied bombing raid, part of

Operation Clarion Operation Clarion was the extensive allied campaign of Strategic bombing during World War II which attacked 200 German communication network targets to open Operation Veritable Operation Veritable (also known as the Battle of the Reichswal ...

, in which 48 aircraft dropped some 500 bombs on the town, killing 199 persons.http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/Home/Lokales/Noerdlingen/Lokalnachrichten/Artikel,-Gedenken-an-den-Bombenangriff-_arid,1495914_regid,14_puid,2_pageid,4504.html">Rieser Nachrichten:Gedenken an den Bombenangriff

Culture and points of interest

Schloss Oettingen

The Oettingen Castle, home to the Princes of Oettingen-Spielberg, is in the center of the city.

Königsturm (King's Tower)

The tower of the lower gate, the so-called King's Tower, is the only one along the city fortifications to have been preserved. The lower outskirts used to be located on the outside, and were secluded by an exterior lower gate. The lower level still exhibits remains of the tower from the 13th century. The city governors together with the citizens constructed a new tower in 1594–96. Cells from the city jail remain on the inside.

Rathaus (City Hall)

The city hall is one of the most outstanding examples of the Swabian Half-timbered (Ger. Fachwerk) style. The stone entry level and portal were built in 1431, while the upper floors and the impressive roof framework come from 1480. The nearby civic house from the 17th century was connected to the city hall during renovations (1986–93). The city hall today is the seat of municipal government and governing body of Oettingen, and the city license bureau is found on the ground floor.

Marktplatz (Marketplace)

The marketplace forms the centre of Oettingen, and the weekly farmers' market takes place here on Fridays. Worth noting is the architectural layout: on the east side, the gables are Baroque, and on the west side, they are half-timbered.

The Storks of Oettingen

Storks have been nesting in Oettingen at least since the time of Count Ludwig XVI (more than 400 years ago), and Ludwig was supposedly a friend of the storks. According to legend, when the count left the town after the

Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (german: link=no, Schmalkaldischer Krieg) was the short period of violence from 1546 until 1547 between the forces of Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (simultaneously King Charles I of Spain), commanded by the Duk ...

, the storks also moved away and did not come back. Much later, in 1563 when the count came back, the storks, too, returned to the town and have remained there to this day.

Altes Gymnasium (Old High School)

The building was built in 1724 under the direction of Albert Ernest II by Johann Christian Lüttich. It accommodated the Latin School which was established in 1563, and served to educate the children of the parish and of the city governors.

Notable people

Rainer Stadelmann Dr. Rainer Stadelmann (24 October 1933 – 14 January 2019) was a German Egyptologist. He was considered an expert on the archaeology of the Giza Plateau. Biography After studying in Neuburg an der Donau in 1933, he studied Egyptology, orienta ...

(1933 – 2019), Egyptologist

References

External links

Jewish Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oettingen In Bayern Historic Jewish communities Donau-Ries