Süßen (or Süssen) is a town in the
district of Göppingen 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 ...
in southern
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 betwee ...
. It is located on the river
Fils 8 km east of
Göppingen
Göppingen (Swabian: ''Geppenge'' or ''Gebbenga'') is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the district Göppingen. Göppingen is home to the toy company Märklin, and it is the bi ...
, near Stuttgart.
History
Süßen was first mentioned with the name of ''Siezun'' in the
Lorsch codex
The Lorsch Codex (Chronicon Laureshamense, Lorscher Codex, Codex Laureshamensis) is an important historical document created between about 1175 to 1195 AD in the Monastery of Saint Nazarius in Lorsch, Germany. The codex is handwritten in Carol ...
in 1071. Großsüßen (Greater'' Süßen'') was at first in the possession of the count of
Helfenstein, who, in 1382 pledged it to the city of Ulm. Kleinsüßen (Smaller ''Süßen''),though, was in the hands of the family
Pappenheim
Pappenheim is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, 11 km south of Weißenburg in Bayern.
History
Historically, Pappenheim was a statelet within Holy Roman Empire. I ...
. They inherited the land from the landlords of Bubenhofen.
In the
Mediatization in 1802, Großsüßen was given to
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 ...
, but in 1810, the lands were given back, in an exchange contract to
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 ...
. Kleinsüßen, though, was never Bavarian land. After the exchange, both places, Groß- and Kleinsüßen, were assigned under the Head Office of Geislingen.
With the opening of the
Fils Valley Railway
The Fils Valley Railway (german: Filstalbahn, historically ''Filsbahn'' or ''Württembergische Ostbahn''—Württemberg Eastern Railway) designates the Württemberg line from Stuttgart via Göppingen to Ulm. It runs from Plochingen to Geislinge ...
and
Süßen station in 1847, Kleinsüßen was connected to the public transportation.
In 1933, the two townships, Großsüßen and Kleinsüßen, were unified and the settlement Süßen was formed. The war reform in 1938 assigned the town to the region of Göppingen.
On July 1, 1996, Süßen obtained the title of town.
Religion
In 1539, Protestantism was officially introduced in Großsüßen, being part of
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, ...
. Kleinsüßen, owned by the Pappenheims, remained Roman Catholic.
Population
The development of the population
Coat of arms and flag
The official coat of arms contains a black-white part and three red zig-zag lines. This shield became the official coat of arms in 1933. The red zig-zag lines represent the landlords of Bubenhofen, the former landowners. The black-white part represents the connections to Ulm. The red-white flag of the town was given on 13 March 1958 by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Partnerships
Süßen is a partner town of the Hungarian
Törökbálint. This connection was established, when on 26. February 1946 the first Hungarian-Germans (266 of them) arrived from Törökbálint to Süßen, chased away by the Hungarian communists and the arriving Soviets.
Politics
Local council
The local council in Süßen has 18 members. The elections in Baden-Württemberg on 25 May 2014 had these results:
Wahlinformationen des Kommunalen Rechenzentrums Stuttgart
/ref> The Gemeinderat is the elected Gemeinderäte and the mayor as chairman.
Events
* Easter Market
* ''Schützenfest'': on the weekend following June 2
* Town Festival, ''Stadtfest'': on the weekend following July 2
* Christmas market: on Saturday before the second advent
Buildings
* A historic well in the town centre. Not really an "old" well, but it represents the history of Süßen. The well itself was built in 1981, planned by Emil Jo Homolka.
* The Gothic Ulrich Church
* The old Gothic Maria Church
* The new Maria Church in Expressionistic style, built in 1929
* The memorial of the poet Johann Georg Fischer on the Heidenheimer street
References
External links
Official Web site
Official site of the annual local festival
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sussen
Towns in Baden-Württemberg
Göppingen (district)