Eichstätt () 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 o ...

in the federal state 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 l ...

, Germany, and capital of the district of Eichstätt. It is located on the

Altmühl The Altmühl (, la, Alchmona, Alcmana, Almonus)
s.v. is a river in

river and has a population of around 13,000. Eichstätt is also the seat of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Eichstätt The Diocese of Eichstätt is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Bavaria. Its seat is Eichstätt, and it is subordinate to the archbishop of Bamberg. The diocese was erected in 745; from the Middle Ages until 1805, it was a state of the Holy Ro ...

Geography

Location

Eichstätt lies on both sides of the river

Altmühl The Altmühl (, la, Alchmona, Alcmana, Almonus)
s.v. is a river in

in the district of Eichstätt of the Oberbayern region of Bavaria, in the heart of

Altmühl Valley Nature Park The Altmühl Valley Nature Park (german: Naturpark Altmühltal) is a nature park, 2,962 km² in area, in the south German state of Bavaria. The area of the park is almost coextensive with that of the natural region major unit of the Southern ...

Geology

Eichstätt is located in a valley of the Franconian Jura and is famous for the quarries of Solnhofen Plattenkalk (Jurassic limestone). On the Blumenberg the

Berlin specimen ''Archaeopteryx'' fossils from the quarries of Solnhofen limestone represent the most famous and well-known fossils from this area. They are highly significant to paleontology and avian evolution in that they document the fossil record's olde ...

Archaeopteryx ''Archaeopteryx'' (; ), sometimes referred to by its German name, "" ( ''Primeval Bird''), is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs. The name derives from the ancient Greek (''archaīos''), meaning "ancient", and (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather" ...

was found by Jakob Niemeyer.

History

St.

Willibald Willibald (; c. 700 – c.787) was an 8th-century bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria. Information about his life is largely drawn from the Hodoeporicon (itinerary) of Willibald, a text written in the 8th century by Huneberc, an Anglo-Saxon nun fr ...

founded the Diocese of Eichstätt on the site of an old

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

station ( or ) in 741. The city was given walls and chartered in 908. It was ruled by a prince-bishop, and in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

was the seat of the

Bishopric of Eichstätt In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

until

secularization In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses ...

in 1802. In 1806, it became a part of the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German ...

. Eichstätt was included as part of the

Principality of Eichstätt The Principality of Eichstätt was a mediatised principality within the Kingdom of Bavaria that existed between 1817 and 1833 and encompassed an area around Eichstätt with about 24.000 residents. Proprietors of the principality were the Dukes of ...

, which King Maximilian I granted to his son-in-law

Eugène de Beauharnais Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French nobleman, statesman, and military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Through the second ma ...

in 1817 and an episcopal see was reestablished in 1821. It reverted to the Bavarian crown in 1855. In 870, the remains of St. Walpurga were transferred from their original Heidenheim interment to Eichstätt, where in 1035 the newer burial site was enshrined as the Benedictine Abbey of St. Walburga, which continues to this day. In 1943, the painter

Karl Friedrich Lippmann Karl Friedrich Lippmann (also "Carl Fr. Lippmann" and "FK Lippmann"; 27 October 1883, in Offenbach am Main – 30 May 1957) was a German painter of the New Objectivity, known for landscapes and portraits. Life Karl Friedrich Lippmann was o ...

moved to Eichstätt and stayed until 1955. ''

Hortus Eystettensis ''Hortus Eystettensis'' (Garden of Eichstätt) is the short title of a codex produced by Basilius Besler, a Nuremberg apothecary and botanist, in 1613 describing the plants of the garden of the Prince-Bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria. The Ren ...

'' ("Garden at Eichstätt") is the name of an important botanical book first published in 1613 and written by

Basilius Besler Basilius Besler (1561–1629) was a respected Nuremberg apothecary and botanist, best known for his monumental '' Hortus Eystettensis''. Biography Besler was born in Nuremberg, Germany on February 13 1561, the son of Michael Besler. His f ...

World War II

Allied prisoners of war were held at

Oflag VII-B Oflag VII-B was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp for officers (''Offizierlager''), located in Eichstätt, Bavaria, about north of Munich. Camp history The camp was built in September 1939 to house Polish prisoners from the German in ...

in Eichstätt during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Activities carried on by the prisoners there included attempted escapes and the production of plays and musical works. These included

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

and the

Comedy of Errors ''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. It ...

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, the premiere of ''

Post-Mortem An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any d ...

'' by

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

and of the ''Ballad of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard'' by

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

Attractions

The town is dominated by the ''

Willibaldsburg The Willibaldsburg is a spur castle, built around the year 1353, in Eichstätt in Upper Bavaria. Until the middle of the 18th century, it was the representative castle and seat of Eichstätt's prince-bishops. Location This fortified palace ...

''. Besides the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

, Eichstätt also has 12 churches and 10 monasteries.

Mayors

* 1944–1945: Hans Rösch, NSDAP * 1945–1948: Romuald Blei * 1948–1949: Richard Jaeger CSU * 1949–1951: Romuald Blei * 1951–1976: Hans Hutter, CSU * 1976–1994: Ludwig Kärtner, CSU * 1994–2012: Arnulf Neumeyer, SPD * 2012–2020: Andreas Steppberger, FW * 2020–present: Josef Grienberger, CSU

Education

Eichstätt is home to the (KU), the lone Catholic university in Germany. The KU was founded in 1980, and was granted full rights of a university, including Ph.D. and

Habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including ...

degrees by the State of Bavari

Sons and daughters of the town

* Tobias Barnerssoi (born 1969), alpine skier and sports reporter * Erhard Bauer (died 1493), municipal architect of Eger * Erich Emminger (1880–1951), politician (center party), minister of justice from 1923 to 1924 * Anton Fils (1733–1760), composer * Edmund Harburger (1846–1906), Munich draftsman and painter * Johann Philipp Jeningen (1642–1704), catholic priest Max von Widnmann - Maler

Anna Knauer Anna Knauer (born 20 February 1995) is a German former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2014 and 2017 for the and teams. Major results Track ;2011 : National Novices Track Championships ::1st 500m time trial ::1 ...

(born 1995), cyclist * Konrad Kyeser (1366–after 1405), nobleman and war technician of medieval Europe * Jörg Mager (1880–1939), electronic music pioneer and inventor * Caritas Pirckheimer (1467–1532), abbess in Nuremberg during the Reformation *

Willibald Pirckheimer Willibald Pirckheimer (5 December 1470 – 22 December 1530) was a German Renaissance lawyer, author and Renaissance humanist, a wealthy and prominent figure in Nuremberg in the 16th century, imperial counsellor and a member of the governing City ...

(1470–1530), lawyer, author humanist *

Max von Widnmann Max von Widnmann (German nobility, ennobled as Maximilian Ritter von Widnmann; 16 October 1812 – 3 March 1895)Th-B, "Widnmann, Max von, sculptor", ''Dictionary of German Biography'', ed. Walther Killy and Rudolf Vierhaus, with Dietrich von Eng ...

(1812–1895), sculptor and successor of Schwanthaler as professor at the academy of fine arts in Munich (1849–1887)

Personalities connected with the city

Pope Victor II Pope Victor II (c. 1018 – 28 July 1057), born Gebhard of Dollnstein-Hirschberg, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 April 1055 until his death in 1057. Victor II was one of a series of German-born pope ...

(Gebhard von Dollnstein-Hirschberg) (died 1057), fifth German pope 1055–1057 * Gundekar II of Eichstätt (1019-1075), bishop, church politician, (

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Gre ...

in the St. John's Chapel of the Cathedral). * Loy Hering (1484/85–1564), Renaissance sculptor from Kaufbeuren, councilor and mayor in Eichstätt Prinz Max von Sachsen

* Elias Holl (1573–1646), master builder from Augsburg, architect of the Willibaldsburg * Karl Engel, brother of Jakob Engel, carpenter and builder *

Franz Xaver Witt Franz Xaver Witt (February 9, 1834 – December 2, 1888) was a Catholic priest, church musician, and composer. He was a leading figure in the Cecilian movement for the reform of Catholic church music in the second half of the 19th century.Willia ...

(1834–1888), church musician, composer, reformer, founder of the general German Cäcilienvereine, 1870-1871 conductor of Eichstätt * Prince Maximilian of Saxony (1870–1951) (1870–1951), prince of the albertine branch, priestly and chaplain activity in Eichstätt, church researcher *

Cesare Orsenigo Cesare Vincenzo Orsenigo (December 13, 1873 – April 1, 1946) was Apostolic Nuncio to Germany from 1930 to 1945, during the rise of Nazi Germany and World War II. Along with the German ambassador to the Vatican, Diego von Bergen and later Erns ...

(1873–1946 in Eichstätt), from 1930 to 1945 apostolic

Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...

in Germany, successor of

Pius XII Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Pius ...

(Eugenio Pacelli) as Apostolic Nuncio in Germany *

(1883–1957), art painter, ( New Objectivity), 1943–1955 in Eichstätt * Saint Walpurga, also spelled Valderburg or Guibor (AD 710 – 25 February 777 or 779), was an Anglo-Saxon missionary to the Frankish Empire. She was canonized on 1 May c. 870 by Pope Adrian II. Saint Walpurgis Night (or "Sankt Walpurgisnacht") is the name for the eve of her feast day, which coincides with May Day. At Eichstätt, her bones were moved to a rocky niche, which allegedly began to exude a miraculously therapeutic oil, which drew pilgrims to her shrine. Saint Walpurga

References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eichstatt Eichstätt (district)