Meßkirch (; Swabian: ''Mässkirch'') is a town in the district of

Sigmaringen Sigmaringen ( Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district. Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, Schloss Sigmaringen, ...

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 ...

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 ...

. The town was the residence of the counts of Zimmern, widely known through Count Froben Christoph's ''

Zimmern Chronicle The Zimmern Chronicle (German: ''Zimmerische Chronik'' or ''Chronik der Grafen von Zimmern'') is a family chronicle describing the lineage and history of the noble family of Zimmern, based in Meßkirch, Germany. It was written in a Swabian variety ...

'' (1559–1566).

Geography

The municipality is composed of following villages and hamlets: ♯The Ringgenbach river flows through Dietershofen, then Ringgenbach, before its confluence into the Ablach east of Leitishofen †Heudorf is a location on the

Upper Swabian Baroque Route The Upper Swabian Baroque Route (''Oberschwäbische Barockstraße'') is a tourist theme route through Upper Swabia, following the themes of "nature, culture, baroque". The route has a length of about 500 km (approximately 310 miles). It was ...

‡Menningen-Leitishofen was formerly a stop on the extant

Radolfzell–Mengen railway The Radolfzell–Mengen railway (also called in German the Hegau-Ablachtal-Bahn—Hegau–Ablach Valley Railway) is a branch line in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It runs from Radolfzell via Stockach to Mengen, Germany, Mengen. The line ...

Notable residents

Meßkirch is the birthplace of composer

Conradin Kreutzer Conradin Kreutzer or Kreuzer (22 November 1780 – 14 December 1849) was a German composer and conductor. His works include the operas ''Das Nachtlager in Granada'' and incidental music to ''Der Verschwender'', both produced in 1834 in Vienna. ...

, archbishop

Conrad Gröber Conrad Gröber (1 April 1872 in Meßkirch – 14 February 1948 in Freiburg im Breisgau) was a Catholic priest and archbishop of the Archdiocese of Freiburg. Life Youth and education Gröber was born in Meßkirch in 1872, to Alois and Martin ...

, writer and

Georg Büchner Prize The Georg Büchner Prize () is the most important literary prize for German language literature. The award is named after dramatist and writer Georg Büchner, author of '' Woyzeck'' and '' Leonce and Lena''. The Georg Büchner Prize is awarded an ...

winner Arnold Stadler and, most famously, the philosopher

Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher known for contributions to Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. His work covers a range of topics including metaphysics, art ...

. Also included are the well-known brewers Johann Nepomuk Schalk and his sons Herrmann and Oscar who began the Schalk Brewery in Newark, New Jersey, the first to bring lager beer to New Jersey. The town's name is also connected with a Renaissance painter whose provisional name is Master of Meßkirch. His ''Adoration of the Magi'' can be seen in the church of St. Martin.

Katharina von Zimmern Katharina von Zimmern (1478 – 17 August 1547), also known as the imperial abbess of Zürich and Katharina von Reischach, was the last abbess of the Fraumünster Abbey in Zürich. Early life Katharina von Zimmern was born in 1478 in Mes ...

(1478-1547), the last abbess of the

Fraumünster Abbey The Fraumünster (; lit. in ) is a church in Zürich which was built on the remains of a former abbey for aristocratic women which was founded in 853 by Louis the German for his daughter Hildegard. He endowed the Benedictine convent with the lan ...

in Zürich, was born in Meßkirch.

Culture

The ''

Bodenseesender image:Bodenseesender.jpg, 250px, The facility of Bodenseesender in September 2005. Two of the three mentioned 137 metre tall masts were already demolished. The remaining ≈240 metre ("Direktor") mast can be seen right in the picture. In the left p ...

'' radio transmitter in the nearby village of Rohrdorf was turned off in February 2012.

History

In 1800, the city was the site of a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

of the

French Revolutionary War The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted France against Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and several other countries ...

Campus Galli

Campus Galli Campus Galli is a Carolingian monastic community under construction in Meßkirch, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The construction project includes plans to build a medieval monastery according to the early ninth-century Plan of Saint Gall using ...

is a project to construct an authentic medieval town with a

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

, that is located in woodlands near Meßkirch.

References

External links

*
Old photos of Messkirch and of the Oldtimer car ''Veritas''

Renaissance castle in Messkirch
Sigmaringen (district) Baden {{Sigmaringen-geo-stub