Günzburg is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Swabia,

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Its capital is the town

Günzburg Günzburg (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Genzburg'') is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is a ''Große Kreisstadt'' and the capital of the Swabian Günzburg (district), district Günzburg. This district was constituted in 1972 by combining the city ...

. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Dillingen,

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

Unterallgäu Unterallgäu (, ) is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Neu-Ulm, Günzburg, Augsburg, Ostallgäu, Oberallgäu, and the districts Ravensburg und Biberach in Baden-Württ ...

and Neu-Ulm, and by the state of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, 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 i ...

(districts

Alb-Donau Alb-Donau-Kreis is a (district) in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is bounded by (from the south and clockwise) the districts of Biberach, Reutlingen, Göppingen and Heidenheim, the two Bavarian districts Günzburg and Neu-Ulm, and the city o ...

and Heidenheim).

History

In the early Middle Ages the tiny county of

Burgau Burgau () is a Town#Germany, town in Günzburg (district), the district of Günzburg in Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia, Bavaria. Burgau lies on the river Mindel (river), Mindel and has a population of just under 10,000. History The territory around ...

ruled the region. In 1213 the county was acquired by the lords of Berg; it was then known as Berg-Burgau, but the last ruler of this collateral line died in 1301, and

(now raised to the level of a margraviate) became an exclave of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. In the early 17th century the administrative seat was moved from the town of Burgau to Günzburg, but the margraviate retained its name. When the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

ceased to exist in 1806, the margraviate was dissolved and the region was annexed by

. The district was established in 1972 by merging the former districts of Günzburg and Krumbach.

lost its status as an urban district and became the administrative seat of the new district.

Geography

The

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

river and its tributaries characterise this district. The Danube runs through the northernmost parts of the district, passing the cities of Günzburg and Leipheim. There are several affluents coming from the south, for example Biber, Günz and Mindel. Most of the district's area is covered with forests; the eastern third of the territory is part of the ''Augsburg Western Forests Nature Park''.

Coat of arms

On the right there are the old arms of the margravate of Burgau: red and white with a yellow beam. The eagle is from the arms of the Schwabegg-Ursberg family, which founded two monasteries in the district.

Towns and municipalities

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunzburg (District) Districts of Bavaria Swabia (Bavaria)