Donauwörth Kloster Heilig Kreuz 06.JPG
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Donauwörth () is a town and the capital of the Donau-Ries 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, Germany. It is said to have been founded by two fishermen where the rivers Danube (Donau) and
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 ...
meet. The city is part of the scenic route called "Romantische Straße" ( Romantic Road). The city is situated between Munich and Nuremberg, 46 km north of Augsburg.


History

Donauwörth grew up in the course of the 11th and 12th centuries under the protection of the castle of Mangoldstein, became in the 13th century a seat of Duke
Ludwig II Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the ...
of Bavaria, who, however, soon withdrew to Munich to escape from his wife, Duchess Maria of
Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to: Place names in Europe * London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany Belgium * Province of Bra ...
, whom he had there beheaded on an unfounded suspicion of infidelity. The town received the freedom of the Holy Roman Empire in 1308, and maintained its position in spite of the encroachments of Bavaria till 1607, when the interference of the Protestant inhabitants with the abbot of the Heilig-Kreuz called forth an imperial law authorizing the duke of Bavaria to punish them for the offence. It is historically important to Germany as the site of one of the
incidents ''Incidents'' is a 1987 collection of four essays by Roland Barthes. It was published posthumously by François Wahl, Barthes' literary executor. Summary In the first essay, ''La Lumiere du Sud-Ouest'', first published in ''L'Humanité'' in 1977 ...
which led to the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). In 1606, the Lutheran majority barred the Catholic Church residents of the town from holding an annual Markus procession, causing a riot to break out. During the war, it was stormed by
Gustavus Adolphus Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...
(1632) and captured by Ferdinand III (1634). Donauwörth was later the scene of the Battle of Schellenberg (or Battle of Donauwörth) on 2 July 1704, during the War of the Spanish Succession (1702–1713). The battle was named after the village and high ground behind the city. John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, was marching from Flanders to Bavaria and came to the Danube. The French decided to make a crossing of the Danube at Donauwörth, where they were surprised by Marlborough's troops and after heavy fighting pulled back. That allowed Marlborough to capture Donauwörth and cross the Danube without any problem. About 5,000 French troops drowned while trying to escape. Another
battle of Donauwörth The Battle of Donauwörth was the first engagement of Napoleon's 1805 Austrian campaign. French forces under marshals Joachim Murat and Nicolas Soult beat an Austrian army corps under Kienmayer on 7 October at Donauwörth and crossed the Danub ...
on 7 October 1805 opened Napoleon's Ulm campaign.


Notable citizens

*1291–1351
Margareta Ebner Margareta Ebner (1291 – 20 June 1351) was a German professed religious from the Dominican Nuns. Ebner – from 1311 – experienced a series of spiritual visions in which Jesus Christ gave her messages which she recorded in letters and a jour ...
,
German mystic The Friends of God (German: Gottesfreunde; or gotesvriunde) was a medieval mystical group of both ecclesiastical and lay persons within the Catholic Church (though it nearly became a separate sect) and a center of German mysticism. It was founde ...
*1499–1543
Sebastian Franck Sebastian Franck (20 January 1499 Donauwörth, Swabia – c. 1543 Basel, Switzerland) was a 16th-century German freethinker, humanist, and radical reformer. Biography Franck was born in 1499 in Donauwörth, Swabia. Because of this he styled hims ...
, was a 16th-century
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
freethinker, humanist, and radical reformer *1838–1912 Franz Hartmann, theosophist, occultist, geomancer, astrologer and author. *1848–1934 Michael Deffner, philologist and archaeologist *1861–1933 Ferdinand Bonn, stage and film actor *1901–1983 Werner Egk, composer *1942 Werner Schnitzer, actor *1948 Manfred G. Schmidt, professor of political science *1980
Carolin Hingst Carolin Tamara Hingst (born 18 September 1980 in Donauwörth) is a German pole vaulter. She finished 10th at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton, fourth at the 2005 European Indoor Athletics Championships The 2005 European Athletics Indoor ...
, pole vaulter *1980 Sercan Güvenışık, footballer


Twin towns — sister cities

Donauwörth is twinned with: * Perchtoldsdorf, Austria


See also

* Danube


References


External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donauworth Populated places on the Danube Free imperial cities Donau-Ries