Lichtenstein is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the Tübingen administrative region in

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 ...

. It lies at the foot of the

Swabian Jura The Swabian Jura (german: Schwäbische Alb , more rarely ), sometimes also named Swabian Alps in English, is a mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, extending from southwest to northeast and in width. It is named after the region of ...

(plateau).

History

The municipality of Lichtenstein was created on 1 January 1975 by the merger of Honau, , and Unterhausen (which had in 1930 merged with Oberhausen). By the agreement made before this merger, Unterhausen changed its name to Lichtenstein, after the famous Lichtenstein Castle above the town. The towns of the municipality expanded substantially from 1975 to 1990 thanks to tourism. Lichtenstein expanded the most, first purchasing an old industrial site in 1979 to turn it into a new

town center A town centre is the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town. Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus st ...

Geography

The municipality (''

Gemeinde Gemeinde (; plural: Gemeinden) is a German word translating to "community", "town", "parish", or "municipality". Gemeinde may refer to: * An administrative division encompassing a single village, town, or city: ** Gemeinde (Austria) ** Gemeinde (G ...

'') of Lichtenstein covers of the

Reutlingen district Reutlingen, nicknamed "The Gate to the Swabian Alb" (german: "Das Tor zur Schwäbischen Alb"), is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The former free imperial city (until 1802) reached the limit of 100,000 res ...

, in the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

of the

Federal Republic of 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 between ...

. It is physically located in the middle of the

, on the edge of the in the valley of the river

Echaz The Echaz is a 23 km long river in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, a tributary of the Neckar. It has its source on the Swabian Jura, near Lichtenstein (Reutlingen), Lichtenstein, south of Reutlingen. After flowing through Pfullingen, Reutlingen ...

. Elevation above sea level ranges from to

Normalnull ("standard zero") or (short N. N. or NN ) is an outdated official vertical datum used in Germany. Elevations using this reference system were to be marked (“meters above standard zero”). has been replaced by (NHN). History In 187 ...

. The , , and Federally-protected nature reserves (''

Naturschutzgebiet A ''Naturschutzgebiet'' (abbreviated NSG) is a category of protected area (nature reserve) within Germany's Federal Nature Conservation Act (the ''Bundesnaturschutzgesetz'' or ''BNatSchG''). Although often translated as 'Nature Reserve' in Engli ...

'') are located within the municipality.

Politics

Lichtenstein has been twinned with

Voreppe Voreppe () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration).coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

for Lichtenstein shows a

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

wing on a

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

. This was the coat of arms of the extinct . The pattern was awarded to the municipality by the

Federal Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

on 13 August 1975.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lichtenstein, Baden-Wurttemberg Reutlingen (district)