Thierhaupten is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

in south-central

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 district of Augsburg (district) in the Swabia administrative region 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 ...

, and is located at the

Lech Lech may refer to: People * Lech (name), a name of Polish origin * Lech, the legendary founder of Poland * Lech (Bohemian prince) Products and organizations * Lech (beer), Polish beer produced by Kompania Piwowarska, in Poznań * Lech Poznań, ...

Valley.

Districts

There are 8 town districts (Ortsteile) in Thierhaupten: * Altenbach * Hölzlarn * Königsbrunn * Neukirchen * Ötz * Sparmannseck * Thierhaupten * Weiden

Geography

Thierhaupten is located on the eastern margin of the

Lech (river) The Lech (, ''Licca'') is a river in Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube in length with a drainage basin of . Its average discharge (hydrology), discharge at the River mouth, mouth is . Its source is located in the Austri ...

Valley in the middle between

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...

and

Donauwörth Donauwörth () is a town and the capital of the Donau-Ries district in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is said to have been founded by two fishermen where the rivers Danube (Donau) and Wörnitz meet. The city is part of the scenic route called "Roman ...

. The "lower village" is located in the Lech Valley, so as the villages Ötz and Altenbach. The "upper village" of Thierhaupten and the villages Neukirchen, Weiden, Hölzlarn, Sparmannseck are located in the Old Bavarian Tertiary Hills. The Lech is the western frontier of the town district of Thierhaupten, but it does not touch the town itself. The Friedberger Ach creek goes through Thierhaupten from south to north. The Kühberg (499 m NN) ("cow hill") in the village district of Neukirchen is the highest elevation of Thierhaupten. The Kreuzberg (479 m NN) ("cross hill") dominates the Thierhaupten town itself.

Neighbour Communities

Aindling Aindling is a market town in Aichach-Friedberg district, in Bavaria, southern Germany. Partner cities * Avord, France, since 1977 * Fürstenfeld, Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country i ...

(district of Aichach-Friedberg) * Baar, Swabia (district of Aichach-Friedberg) * Ellgau ( Augsburg (district)) *

Meitingen Meitingen is a market town in the district of Augsburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Lech, south of Donauwörth, and north of Augsburg. History Meitingen was firstly mentioned in a certificate in 1231. Since ...

( Augsburg (district)) * Münster, Bavaria (district of

Donau-Ries Donau-Ries (''Danube-Ries'') is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Ansbach, Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen, Eichstätt, Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, Aichach-Friedberg, Au ...

) *

Pöttmes Pöttmes is a market town and municipality in the district of Aichach-Friedberg in 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 , B ...

(district of Aichach-Friedberg * Todtenweis (district of Aichach-Friedberg)

History

The name "Thierhaupten" is of Germanic origin: there must have been a Germanic settlement, where animal heads were exposed (Tierhaupt = animal head). In the year of 1776 a sandy stone animal head was dug out. This could be a further indication in favour of this theory. After a legend, in the year 750

Tassilo III Tassilo III ( 741 – c. 796) was the duke of Bavaria from 748 to 788, the last of the house of the Agilolfings. The Son of Duke Odilo of Bavaria and Hitrud, the Daughter of Charles Martell. Tassilo, then still a child, began his rule as a Frankis ...

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

(

Agilolfings The Agilolfings were a noble family that ruled the Duchy of Bavaria on behalf of their Merovingian suzerains from about 550 until 788. A cadet branch of the Agilolfings also ruled the Kingdom of the Lombards intermittently from 616 to 712. They ...

dynasty) lost his way in the woods around Thierhaupten and swore to God to build a monastery ( Thierhaupten Abbey) at the place of his rescue. Suddenly a hind appeared and showed him his way back (German hunter's jargon: Tier = hind). Still today a hind is on the Thierhaupten coat of arms. Thierhaupten Abbey was one of the eldest monasteries in

. The abbey was looted by the Hungarians in 955. It was destroyed by the Swabian League in 1504 but re-built, although it was always a small community. Finally it was dissolved in 1803 in the secularisation of Bavaria. The buildings were sold off to a local businessman. The last abbot, Edmund Schmid, remained in Thierhaupten as the parish priest, and succeeded in 1812 in acquiring the former abbey church for use as the parish church. The remaining buildings gradually fell into disrepair, but were bought by the Thierhaupten market town administration in 1983 and renovated.

References

{{Authority control Augsburg (district)