Zwiefalten is a municipality in the district of
Reutlingen
Reutlingen (; Swabian: ''Reitlenga'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the capital of the eponymous district of Reutlingen. As of June 2018, it has a population of 115,818.
Reutlingen has a university of applied sciences, which ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
located halfway between
Stuttgart and
Lake Constance. The former
Zwiefalten Abbey
Zwiefalten Abbey (german: Kloster Zwiefalten, Abtei Zwiefalten or after 1750, ) is a former Benedictine monastery situated at Zwiefalten near Reutlingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
History
The monastery was founded in 1089 at the time of ...
dominates the town. The former monastery is considered one of the finest examples of late
Baroque art.
Geographical location
The name derives from its location in the valleys of
Zwiefalter Aach
The Zwiefalter Aach or Zwiefalter Ach is a river in Reutlingen district and Biberach district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is approximately 9 kilometres long and is a tributary of the Danube near Zwiefalten.
The river is known for the Wimse ...
and the Kessel-Aach and was mentioned first as Zwivaltum in 904.
Neighboring communities
The following cities and towns are bordering to the municipality of Zwiefalten (listed clockwise from the north) and belong to the district of Reutlingen and the Alb-Donau-district¹ and district Biberach²:
Hayingen
Hayingen () is a town in the district of Reutlingen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 32 km southeast of Reutlingen. North of Münzdorf are the remains of the hilltop castle Burgweiler.
History
The first settlement in the ar ...
,
Emeringen
Emeringen () is a town in the Alb-Donau district, in Baden-Württemberg, 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, ...
¹,
Riedlingen
Riedlingen () is a town in the district (''Kreis'') of Biberach, Baden-Württemberg, in the south-west of Germany. It is one of the destinations of the Upper Swabian Baroque Route. Riedlingen has approximately 10,000 inhabitants.
Geography ...
²,
Langenenslingen
Langenenslingen (; Swabian: ''Ẽslenga'') is a municipality in the district of Biberach in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It has a population close to 3,500.
Geography Location
Langenenslingen is located on the northern edge of Upper Swabia ...
² and
Pfronstetten
Pfronstetten is a town in the district of Reutlingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russ ...
.
Municipality arrangement
The municipality Zwiefalten with the municipality parts Baach, Gauingen, Gossenzungen, Hochberg, Mörsingen, Sonderbuch, and Upflamör Zwiefalten include a total of seven villages, one hamlet (Attenhöfen) and three yards (Loretto, Bühlhof, Straubinger).
History
Zwiefalten owes its former value the Benedictine
Zwiefalten Abbey
Zwiefalten Abbey (german: Kloster Zwiefalten, Abtei Zwiefalten or after 1750, ) is a former Benedictine monastery situated at Zwiefalten near Reutlingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
History
The monastery was founded in 1089 at the time of ...
, founded in 1089 by monks from
Hirsau
Hirsau (formerly ''Hirschau'') is a district of the town of Calw in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, located in the south-west portion of the country, about two miles north of Calw and about twenty-four miles west of Stuttgart.
Town
Hi ...
. Until the 15th century the convent succeeded to buy a large territory on the Swabian Jura. However, the peasants looted during the
German Peasants' War 1525 the monastery.
For area of the monastery Zwiefalten were the places
*Aichelau (today Pfronstetten)
*Aichstetten (today Pfronstetten)
*Daugendorf (today Riedlingen)
*Dürrenwaldstetten (today Langenenslingen)
*Geisingen (today Pfronstetten)
*Mörsingen (today Zwiefalten)
*Neuhausen an der Erms (1750, today Metzingen)
*Oberstetten (today Hohenstein)
*Ödenwaldstetten (1750, today Hohenstein)
*Pfronstetten
*Tigerfeld (today Pfronstetten)
*Unlingen
*Upflamör (today Zwiefalten)
*Wilsingen (today Trochtelfingen)
Ceiling painting in Münster
At the secularisation of 1803 the monastery was forcibly dissolved. 1812 the royal Württemberg sanatorium was established in the monastery buildings.
As part of the Nazi euthanasia killings of
Action T4
(German, ) was a campaign of mass murder by involuntary euthanasia in Nazi Germany. The term was first used in post-war trials against doctors who had been involved in the killings. The name T4 is an abbreviation of 4, a street address of t ...
, the State Hospital and Sanatorium Zwiefalten was an intermediate storage for the killing center Grafeneck Castle. At least 1 673 mentally ill women, men, teenagers and children were "relocated" 1939/40 on Zwiefalten in other public institutions or to
Grafeneck
Grafeneck is a small rural village in the German municipality of Gomadingen, south of Stuttgart.
World War II history
Grafeneck Castle, which had previously been an asylum for crippled people, was turned by the Nazis into an extermination fa ...
. The so-called "gray buses" of the
Gemeinnützige Krankentransport GmbH
The Gemeinnützige Krankentransport GmbH (; known as ''"Gekrat"'' or ''"GeKraT"'', commonly translated as "Charitable Ambulance") was a subdivision of the Action T4 organization. The euphemistically named company transported sick and disabled peop ...
(Gekrat) were always in town in this period. The laid between patients and residents came from
Ellwangen
Ellwangen an der Jagst, officially Ellwangen (Jagst), in common use simply Ellwangen () is a town in the district of Ostalbkreis in the east of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is situated about north of Aalen.
Ellwangen has 25,000 inhabitants.
...
, Fußbach, Heggbach,
Kaufbeuren
Kaufbeuren (; Bavarian: ''Kaufbeiren'') is an independent town in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Swabia, Bavaria. The town is an enclave within the district of Ostallgäu.
Districts
Kaufbeuren consists of nine districts:
* Kaufbeuren (town core i ...
,
Konstanz
Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...
, Kork,
Krautheim
Krautheim (East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Graude'') is a town in the Hohenlohe (district), Hohenlohe district of Baden-Württemberg, in south central Germany. It is situated on the river Jagst, 12 km (8 mi) northwest of Kà ...
,
Liebenau,
Maria Berg
Karen Elva Zerby (born July 31, 1946) is the leader of The Family International, originally known as the Children of God. She is also called Maria, Mama Maria, Maria David, Maria Fontaine, and Queen Maria.
Biography
Zerby was raised in evangelic ...
,
Rastatt
Rastatt () is a town with a Baroque core, District of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain on the Murg river, above its junction with the Rhine and has a population of around 50,000 (2011). Rastatt was a ...
,
Sinsheim
Sinsheim (, South Franconian: ''Sinse'') is a town in south-western Germany, in the Rhine Neckar Area of the state Baden-Württemberg about south-east of Heidelberg and about north-west of Heilbronn in the district Rhein-Neckar.
Geography
...
and
Stetten im Remstal. As part of the "euthanasia" -killing action T4, the first transport of 50 women left Zwiefalten on 2 April 1940. Until December 9, 1940 more than 1,000 patients were deported and killed in 22 transports from Zwiefalten to Grafeneck. However, the killing of patients in Zwiefalten was continued with morphine or trional syringe. In 1949 the former director
Martha Fauser (Director 1940-1945) was sentenced to a prison term of only one year and six months for the "crime of manslaughter". A memorial stone in the cemetery commemorates this event.
Today the former monastery is the center of Psychiatry Clinic Münster Zwiefalten.
Baach with Attenhöfen
Incorporated 1938, (535 m above sea level; 260 inhabitants)
Baach is on the road from Riedlingen to Aachtal. Attenhöfen is a hamlet of four farms on a hill above the right bank of
Aach and the southernmost city in the district of Reutlingen.
Gossenzugen
Incorporated 1938, (545 m above sea level; 120 inhabitants)
Gossenzugen is located northwest of Zwiefalten in the valley of Zwiefalter Aach.
Gauingen
Incorporated on 1 January 1975 (738 m above sea level; 140 inhabitants)
Gauingen is on Hochalb on the road to Reutlingen (B 312). A street village that goes down from high surface in a side valley of Zwiefalter Aach.
Hochberg
Incorporated On 1 January 1975. (685 m above sea level; 80 inhabitants)
Hochberg is five kilometers above Zwiefaltens westwards on the edge of the Tobeltal.
Mörsingen
Incorporated on February 1, 1972 (661 m above sea level; 100 inhabitants)
Mörsingen lies in a valley in the Swabian Jura, about 5 km southwest of Zwiefalten.
Sonderbuch
Incorporated on January 1, 1975 (674 m above sea level; 190 inhabitants)
Sonderbuch is lying on the slope of a side valley northeast of Zwiefalten.
Upflamör
Incorporated on 1 January 1974 (740 m above sea level; 90 inhabitants)
Upflamör is the highest hamlet and is located west of Zwiefalten.
See also: Conquest Mountain
Population Development
The population figures are census results (¹) or official updates the State Statistical Office (only primary residences).
*Date Population
*December 1, 1871 ¹ 2045
*December 1, 1900 ¹ 2414
*May 17, 1939 ¹ 2559
*September 13, 1950 ¹ 2879
*6 June 1961 ¹ 3037
*May 27, 1970 ¹ 3000
*May 25, 1987 ¹ 2334
*December 31, 1995 2273
*December 31, 2000 2180
*September 30, 2003 2166
*December 31, 2005 2133
*December 31, 2010 2067
Council
The council of Zwiefalten has after the last election 15 members (2009: 14). The municipal election held on 25 May 2014 led to the following official results. The council consists of the elected honorary councilors and the mayor as chairman. The mayor is entitled to vote in the municipal council.
*CDU / Civil constituency association 72.7% 11 seats (2009: 73.3%, 11 seats)
*Free Voters Zwiefalten / SPD 27.3% 4 seats (2009: 26.7%, 3 seats)
Mayor
The mayor is elected for a term of eight years.
*1962-1990: Karl Ragg (CDU)
*1990-2014: Hubertus-Jörg Riedlinger (SPD)
*2014–2020: Matthias Henne (CDU)
*since 2020: Alexandra Hepp (CDU)
Crest
Blazon: "In Blue superimposed two interlocking silver rings that form three circle segments, in which seven (3: 1: 3). six-pointed golden stars appear"
The colors of the emblem have been established with advice from the Archives Directorate Stuttgart in the council meeting on December 15, 1933. The Landratsamt Reutlingen has awarded the flag on March 9, 1982.
On a blue background there are two interlocking rings that symbolize the confluence of Zwiefalter-Aach and the Kessel-Aach. The seven golden stars are from the arms of the former counts of Achalm.
Twinning
Zwiefalten is twinned with
La Tessoualle
La Tessoualle () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.
See also
*Communes of the Maine-et-Loire department
The following is a list of the 177 communes of the Maine-et-Loire department of France.
The communes coope ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, since August 12, 1973
Things
Abbey Zwiefalten
Zwiefalten is located on the
Upper Swabian Baroque Route
The Upper Swabian Baroque Route (''Oberschwäbische Barockstraße'') is a tourist theme route through Upper Swabia, following the themes of "nature, culture, baroque". The route has a length of about 500 km (approximately 310 miles). It was ...
.
Museums
*Württembergian Psychiatry Museum
[Eckart Roloff und Karin Henke-Wendt: ''Ein Benediktinerkloster als "Staatsirrenanstalt".'' (Württembergisches Psychiatriemuseum) In: ''Visit your doctor or pharmacist. A tour through German museums of medicine and psychiatry.'' Band 2, Süddeutschland. Verlag S. Hirzel, Stuttgart 2015, S. 82-84, ]
*Peterstormuseum: Local museum in the former school building
History
Founded at the confluence of two rivers, ''Zwivaltum'' was mentioned for the first time in a document by
King Ludwig IV dated 15 June 904, but the town's claim to fame is its former
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
monastery, the
Zwiefalten Abbey
Zwiefalten Abbey (german: Kloster Zwiefalten, Abtei Zwiefalten or after 1750, ) is a former Benedictine monastery situated at Zwiefalten near Reutlingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
History
The monastery was founded in 1089 at the time of ...
, which was founded in 1089 by monks from
Hirsau
Hirsau (formerly ''Hirschau'') is a district of the town of Calw in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, located in the south-west portion of the country, about two miles north of Calw and about twenty-four miles west of Stuttgart.
Town
Hi ...
. Counts Luitold von Achalm and Kuno von Wülflingen gave extensive donations the monastery. There was also at one time a convent on the spot, but by the 14th century it was no longer there. Until the 15th century, the monastery was influential, but in 1525 the
German Peasants' War resulted in the monastery being plundered.
In 1750 the abbey was granted the status of ''
Reichsabtei'', which meant that it had the status of an independent power subject only to the
Imperial Crown
An Imperial Crown is a crown used for the coronation of emperors.
Design
Crowns in Europe during the Middle Ages varied in design:
During the Middle Ages the crowns worn by English kings had been described as both closed (or arched) and op ...
and was free of the rule of
Württemberg
Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart.
Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...
. By 1802, however, the monastery was dissolved as part of the
German mediatization. Today it is part of the psychiatric hospital.
as Notre-Dame Cathedral, the church in 1806 secularized
abbey, considered a masterpiece of the German late Baroque. Construction was started in 1739 by brothers Joseph and Martin Schneider and completed by 1765 by Johann Michael Fischer. The rich interior of the church contains a late Gothic miraculous image of 1430 and baroque frescoed ceilings and an altarpiece by Franz Joseph Spiegler, frescoes by Andreas Meinrad von Au, stucco work by Johann Michael Feuchtmayer d. J., also sculptures and a choir of Johann Joseph Christian.
Natural monuments
*
Wimsener Höhle
The Wimsener Höhle (or Wimsen Cave) is Germany´s only water cave, which can be visited by boat. It is located in the municipal area of Hayingen on the Swabian Alb, about three kilometers north of Zwiefalten.
Description
The Wimsener Höhle or ...
(Wimsen cave), a since 1447 well-known sea cave accessible with a boat. The total length is 723 meters, but only 263 m are measured.
*Zwiefaltendorfer Tropfsteinhöhle (Zwiefaltendorf stalactite cave), with a length of 27 meters the smallest show cave in Germany. Zwiefaltendorf is subsite of Riedlingen.
*Aachtopf (Kesselbach) springs in the valley of Dobel valley, similar to the Blautopf in Blaubeuren.
*Heuneburg (Upflamör) is a Celtic rampart in the forest near Upflamör. The site was settled not later than the 7th century BC.
*Schlossberg Sonderbuch with Burgstall Sonderbuch.
Regular events
The Narrenzunft Raelle e. V. operates the
Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht
The Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht, Fasnacht (in Switzerland) or Fasnat/Faschnat (in Vorarlberg) is the pre-Lenten carnival in Alemannic folklore in Switzerland, southern Germany, Alsace and Vorarlberg.
Etymology
Popular etymology often links ' ...
in place.
Economy and infrastructure
Transport
Zwiefalten is located on the main road B 312. This connects the town to the north with Reutlingen and to the south with
Riedlingen
Riedlingen () is a town in the district (''Kreis'') of Biberach, Baden-Württemberg, in the south-west of Germany. It is one of the destinations of the Upper Swabian Baroque Route. Riedlingen has approximately 10,000 inhabitants.
Geography ...
.
The Public transport is ensured by the Verkehrsverbund Neckar-Alb-Donau (NALDO). The community is located in the comb 227.
Facilities
Zwiefalten has the Münster Hospital Zwiefalten as a psychiatric center.
The town was also the seat of the deanery Zwiefalten of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart
The Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Freiburg in Baden-Württemberg, '' Bu ...
, which now belongs to the deanery Reutlingen-Zwiefalten headquartered in Reutlingen.
Education
*Münster School Zwiefalten
*Health and nursing school
Sons and daughters of the town
*Henry (I.) of Zwiefalten (* in the 13th century; †in the 13th century), Benedictine prior of the monastery
Ochsenhausen
Ochsenhausen () is a city in the district of Biberach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located between the city of Biberach and Memmingen. it has a population of 8,916. The mayor of the town is Andreas Denzel.
History
For many centuries, ...
1238-1263
*Carl von Sallwürk (1802-?), Hohenzollern official
*Gustav Werner (1809-1887), a Protestant pastor and founder of the still existing Gustav-Werner-Foundation
Personalities who have worked on site
*Ernest Weinrauch (1730-1793), composer and Benedictine Father in the monastery Zwiefalten
*Conradin Kreutzer (1780-1849), composer and conductor, visited the Benedictine Abbey Zwiefalten school
Others
*Zwiefalter Klosterbrauerei
*Landschulheim Upflamör
References
External links
{{Authority control
Municipalities in Baden-Württemberg
Reutlingen (district)