Immenstadt im Allgäu () 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 ...

Oberallgäu Oberallgäu is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Unterallgäu and Ostallgäu, the Austrian states Tyrol and Vorarlberg, the district of Lindau, and the state ...

, the southernmost district 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 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 ...

, in the German

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

. First mentioned in a 1275 administrative tract, it was granted town privileges in 1360, which makes it one of the oldest towns in the area. It was the seat of the counts of Königsegg-Rothenfels until 1804.

History

While historians suspect the area to have been settled as early as the

neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

period, nothing is known of the origins of the modern-era town. The oldest datable source is a 1275 administrative tract compiled by the diocese of

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 ...

. Immendorf was granted town (''Stadt'') privileges by the emperor Charles IV. in 1360, thus changing its name to Immenstadt, with an estimated population of 135. Immenstadt was affected by the German Peasants' War of 1525 and lost almost 70 per cent of its population to the plague during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

(1618–48). During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, however, the town also gained economic wealth through the salt and linen trade, and it became the seat of the counts of Königsegg-Rothenfels in 1664. The counts were deposed during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...

, and Immenstadt briefly became Austrian before joining

in 1805. After major town fires in 1805 and 1844, Immenstadt entered the modern era in the 1850s, when the railroad arrived and the town's first factory opened shortly afterward. Immenstadt became a garrison town in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was bombed once in the

Second World War 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, which cost six lives and destroyed several buildings along the railroad tracks. The town has enjoyed quiet prosperity since, with the exception of a flooding of parts of the municipal territory in 1999. The administrative reform of 1972 resulted in the incorporation of six nearby villages.

Town Life

Located at the Northern edge of the German

, Immenstadt has long been a tourist destination. Visitors are drawn to the nearby mountains for hiking and skiing, and to the ''Alpsee'' lakes for swimming and boating. The town hosts a major

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...

event in July of each year. Its local history museum, Hofmühle, resides in a former mill building. A second museum, the Mountain Farmers Museum, is located in the nearby village of Diepolz. A number of historical buildings can be found in the town center, including the town hall, the St. Josef church, and the town castle of the counts of Königsegg-Rothenfels, all of which date from the seventeenth century. Sculptures across the town center commemorate historical trades, especially brewing and mountain farming. Notable historical sites in the municipal area include the Maria Loreto pilgrims' chapel and the ruins of the Rothenfels, Hugofels, Laubenberg, and Werdenstein castles. Among the important annual events in town life are the town festival and the ''Allgäu Triathlon'' in July, the Cheese and Farmers Market in late summer, and the Viehscheid (return of the cattle from the mountains) in September. The town hosts a series of open-air events on its central square, the ''Marienplatz'', during the summer. Immenstadt has a number of schools, including a gymnasium and the district's vocational school. It is the seat of the district newspaper, all-in.de
/ref> and of a Bosch factory that is also the town's biggest employer.

Mayors since 1900

* Georg Burghardt (1900–1911) * Friedrich Kraus (1912–1914) * Dr. Hermann Stenger (1916–1935) * Matthäus Fehr (1935–1942) * Otto Fäßler (1945) * Georg Sigel (1945) * Albert Wehr (1945–1946) * Alfred Frey (1946) * Dr. Karl Huber (1947–1952) * Karl Pfau (1952–1970) * Hubert Rabini (1970–1978) * Gerd Bischoff (1978–2008) * Armin Schaupp (2008-2020) * Nico Sentner (2020-)

Twin cities

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Lillebonne Lillebonne () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in Northern France. It lies north of the Seine and east of Le Havre. In 2019, it had a population of 8,797. History Before the Roman conquest of Gaul, Iuliobon ...

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 ...

Notable people

Dennis Endras Dennis Endras (born 14 July 1985) is a German professional ice hockey goaltender. He is currently playing with Adler Mannheim of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Playing career Endras began playing for EHC Bayreuth in the Oberliga, the third-tier o ...

(1985-), hockey goaltender *

Karin Ertl Karin Ertl, née Specht (born 23 June 1974 in Immenstadt, Bavaria) is a German heptathlete A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and � ...

(1974-), German heptathlete * (1847-1929), painter *

Joseph Edmund Jörg Joseph Edmund Jörg (23 December 1819, Immenstadt, Bavaria – 18 November 1901, Landshut) was a Catholic historian and politician. The son of a subaltern, he first studied theology, then philology and history at Munich. He was a pupil of Ignaz ...

(1819-1901), historian and politician *

Thomas Jörg Thomas Jörg (born December 2, 1981) is a German professional ice hockey forward who currently plays for Augsburger Panther of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey ...

(1981-), professional ice hockey player *

Heini Klopfer Heinrich "Heini" Klopfer (3 April 1918 in Oberstdorf – 18 November 1968) was a German ski jumper and architect. At age 17, Klopfer was selected for trials for the 1936 Winter Olympics, but failed to qualify. After World War II Klopfer, Sepp Weil ...

(1916-1968), architect and ski jumper *

Klaus Nomi Klaus Sperber (January 24, 1944 – August 6, 1983), known professionally as Klaus Nomi, was a German countertenor noted for his wide vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly stage persona. In the 1970s Nomi immersed himself in the East Village ...

(1944-1983), pop and opera singer * (1854-1911), local historian and politician *

Christian Wagner Christian Wagner is an American Film editing, film editor who has edited films such as ''Face/Off'' (1997) and ''Mission: Impossible 2'' (2000). He is also best known collaborating numerous times with film director Tony Scott, from the films ''T ...

(1959-), film director * Uwe Wegmann (1964-), soccer player and coach

References

External links

City of Immenstadt
{{Authority control Oberallgäu Towns in Bavaria