Dillingen or Dillingen an der Donau (Dillingen at 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 ...

) 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 Swabia,

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 the administrative center of the district of Dillingen. Besides the town of Dillingen proper, the municipality encompasses the villages of Donaualtheim, Fristingen, Hausen, Kicklingen, Schretzheim and Steinheim. Schretzheim is notable for its 6th to 7th century Alemannic cemetery, 630 row graves in an area of 100 by 140 metres.

History

The counts of Dillingen ruled from the 10th to the 13th century; in 1258 the territory was turned over to the Prince Bishops 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 ...

. After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, the prince-bishops of Augsburg moved to the Catholic city of Dillingen and made it one of the centers of the Counter-Reformation. In 1800, during the

War of the Second Coalition The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war on revolutionary France by most of the European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria and Russia, and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, N ...

, the armies of the French First Republic, under command of

Jean Victor Moreau Jean Victor Marie Moreau (, 14 February 1763 – 2 September 1813) was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power, but later became a rival and was banished to the United States. Biography Rise to fame Moreau was born at Morl ...

, fought Habsburg regulars and

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 ...

contingents, under the general command of Pál Kray. Kray had taken refuge in the fortress at

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

; Moreau diverted his army to approach Ulm from the east and, after a small group of men captured a foothold on the northern bank of the Danube, his forces were able to move against the fortress on both sides of the river. At this

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, the culmination of the Danube Campaign of 1800, Moreau forced Kray to abandon Ulm and withdraw into eastern

. A

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

was established in 1549, but was closed by Napoleon in 1804. The philosophical and theological faculties still existed in the 20th century. In 1971, however, it became a part of the Bavarian Center for the Education and Training of Teachers and Personnel Management (Akademie für Lehrerfortbildung und Personalführung). One of the largest employers in the city is Bosch and Siemens Household Appliances, producer of household appliances. Studienkirche Dillingen (Donau)

Local council

The elections in March 2014 had the following results:

Notable people

Heinrich Vogtherr Heinrich Vogtherr (the Elder) (1490 in Dillingen an der Donau – 1556 in Vienna) was an artist, printer, poet and medical author of the Reformation period. Early life Vogtherr was born in Dillingen an der Donau, his father Conrad was an ey ...

(1490-1556), painter *

Max Joseph Oertel Max Joseph Oertel (20 March 1835 – 17 July 1897) was a German physician. He developed a system for the correction of respiratory troubles, and invented the laryngeal stroboscope. Biography Oertel was a native of Dillingen. In 1863 he obtained ...

(1835-1897), university professor and pioneer of medical science Max Oertel

Friedrich Rittelmeyer Friedrich Rittelmeyer (5 October 1872, Dillingen an der Donau, Bavarian Swabia – 23 March 1938, Hamburg) was a Lutheran German minister, theologian and the principal founder and first leader of The Christian Community. Rittelmeyer came to prom ...

(1872-1938), Protestant theologian and co-founder of the Christian Community *

Georg Philipp Wörlen Georg Philipp Wörlen (5 May 1886, Dillingen an der Donau, Bavarian Swabia – 18 April 1954) was a German painter, particularly associated with Passau, Bavaria, Germany. Life Wörlen was born in Dillingen an der Donau. After completing hi ...

(1886-1954), painter and graphic artist Sebastian Kneipp

Matthias Klostermayr Matthias Klostermayr, also known as Bavarian Hiasl (German ''Bayerischer Hiasl'', Austro-Bavarian ''Boarische Hiasl'') (3 September 1736—6 September 1771), was a German outlaw, poacher and social rebel who has come to be described, part ...

(1736-1771), leader of a gang of robbers, convicted in Dillingen and strangled, then smashed, beheaded and quartered. *

Johann Michael Sailer Johann Michael Sailer (17 October 1751, in Aresing – 20 May 1832, in Regensburg) was a German Jesuit theologian and philosopher, and Bishop of Regensburg. Sailer was a major contributor to the Catholic Enlightenment. Biography Sailer was born ...

(1751-1832), a Catholic theologian, professor of ethics and pastoral theology in Dillingen 1821 Domkapitular and 1822 auxiliary bishop with right of succession, in 1829 Bishop of Regensburg * Christoph von Schmid (1768-1854), Catholic theologian *

Sebastian Kneipp Sebastian Kneipp (17 May 1821 – 17 June 1897) was a German Catholic priest and one of the forefathers of the naturopathic medicine movement. He is most commonly associated with the "Kneipp Cure" form of hydrotherapy (often called "Kneipp ther ...

(1821-1897), Catholic priest and hydrotherapist, began in 1848 his studies of

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

in Dillingen. * Heinz Piontek (1925-2003), writer

Twin towns

* Bondeno, Italy *

Brand-Erbisdorf Brand-Erbisdorf () is a small town in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated 5 km south of Freiberg. As of 2020, the town has a population of 9,145. History The town is first mentioned in 1209 as ''Erlwinesberc' ...

, Germany *

Naas Naas ( ; ga, Nás na Ríogh or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 21,393, making it the second largest town in County Kildare after Newbridge. History The name of Naas has been recorded in th ...

, Ireland

References

External links