Münsingen (; ) is a town in the district of Reutlingen,

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 ...

. It is situated 23 km southeast of

Reutlingen Reutlingen (; ) is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the capital of the eponymous Reutlingen (district), district of Reutlingen. As of June 2018, it had an estimated population of 116,456. Reutlingen has a Reutlingen University, univ ...

, and 37 km west of

Ulm Ulm () is the sixth-largest city of the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with around 129,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 60th-largest city. Ulm is located on the eastern edges of the Swabian Jura mountain range, on the up ...

History

The name Münsingen is probably derived from Alemannic chief called Munigis, who founded a settlement within the present-day city boundaries. In 775, Münsingen was mentioned for the first time on a deed of gift of

Lorsch Abbey Lorsch Abbey, otherwise the Imperial Abbey of Lorsch (; or ''Laurissa''), is a former Imperial abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about east of Worms, Germany, Worms. It was one of the most important monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ru ...

. The church of Münsingen was first mentioned in 804. The area was under the suzerainty of the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

. Later, the village was under the suzerainty of county of Württemberg-Urach, who sold it to Ulrich I in 1263. In 1339, Münsingen was granted

Town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

. After the partition of Württemberg, it came under the purview of Urach, until the re-unification of the

County of Württemberg The County of Württemberg was a historical territory with origins in the realm of the House of Württemberg, the heart of the old Duchy of Swabia. Its capital was Stuttgart. From the 12th century until 1495, it was a county within the Holy Roman ...

under the auspices of the Treaty of Münsingen in 1482. On October 23, 1654 Münsingen became an administrative center of regional importance. From 1938 to 1973 Münsingen was capital of the

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

of Münsingen. In 1895, the German Empire began the construction of a

proving ground A proving ground is an installation or reservation in which technology such as weapons, military tactics and automobile prototypes are experimented with or tested. Proving grounds can be operated by government bodies or civilian industries. The ...

which later became the Duke-Albrecht-Barracks. On March 31, 2004, the Duke-Albrecht-Barracks was shut down and the ground was converted into a settlement.

Religions

The first mention of church building in Münsingen was in 804 AD. In 1537, the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

reached Münsingen and the surrounding villages of Apfelstetten, Auingen, Böttingen, Buttenhausen, Dottingen, Hundersingen, Rietheim and Trailfingen. The Lutheran Church Order was introduced to the

Duchy of Württemberg The Duchy of Württemberg () was a duchy located in the south-western part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was a Imperial Estate, state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1495 to 1803. The dukedom's long survival for over three centuries was mainly du ...

in 1559. The villages of Bichishausen, Gundelfingen and Bremelau, which are currently administered by Münsingen, used to be part of the

Principality of Fürstenberg Fürstenberg was a county (), and later a principality (''Fürstentum''), of the Holy Roman Empire in Swabia, which was located in present-day southern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Its ruling family was the House of Fürstenberg (Swabia), House o ...

and

Further Austria Further Austria, Outer Austria or Anterior Austria (; , formerly ''die Vorlande'' (pl.)) was the collective name for the early (and later) possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-western Germany, includin ...

and due to this historical reason, the inhabitants are mainly

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. Due to the location of village of Magolsheim on the erstwhile border between Württemberg and

it has both Protestant and Catholic churches to cater to the spiritual needs of the villagers. Münsingen used to be the seat of the Church District of Münsingen of the

Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg () is a Lutheran member church of the Protestant Church in Germany in the German former state of Württemberg, now part of the state of Baden-Württemberg. The seat of the church is in Stuttgart. It ...

until 1 December 2013 when the neighboring district of Bad Urach was amalgamated with the district of Münsingen to form the Church District Bad Urach-Münsingen. The Apostolic Church,

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

and the Biblical faith community are also present in Münsingen. A large

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

community used to exist in the village of Buttenhausen. The Jews of Buttenhausen were fully integrated into the communal life. This became apparent when during the November 1938 pogrom, the SA squad first had to arrest the mayor of Buttenhausen, who had stubbornly resisted the desecration of the

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

. Only after his arrest, the SA were able to burn down the synagogue. The remaining Jewish families were deported in the following period and became victims of the

Shoah The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. At the former site of the synagogue, a memorial stone is present. Additionally, in 1961 a memorial was erected in the centre of Buttenhausen with the names of 45 murdered Jewish inhabitants. The

Jewish cemetery, Buttenhausen The Jewish cemetery of Buttenhausen is a protected heritage site above the village of Buttenhausen, which forms part of the municipality of Münsingen, Germany in the district of Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg, some 37 km west of Ulm. Th ...

, which was in use from 1787 to 1943, also received a memorial stone. Münsingen has a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

which caters to the Turkish-Islamic community. The congregation consists of approximately 70 members as of 2015.

Incorporations

Bichishausen Lauter valley Dürrenstetten was in 1822 united with Gundelfingen. As part of the municipal reform in

the following previously independent municipalities were amalgamated with Münsingen: * July 1, 1971: Auingen, Böttingen and Dottingen * January 1, 1974: Apfelstetten and Gundelfingen * April 1, 1974: Bremelau and Trailfingen * January 1, 1975: Bichishausen, Buttenhausen, Hundersingen, Magolsheim and Rietheim

Politics

Council

The council in Münsingen has after the last election 26 members (2014: 24). The local elections in Baden-Württemberg 2019 on May 26, 2019 resulted in the following official results. The turnout was 57,5% (2014: 50,2%). The council consists of the elected honorary councilors and the mayor as chairman. The mayor is entitled to vote in the municipal council.

Mayor

The

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

is elected for a term of eight years. The term of office of Mike Muenzing ends on 27 November 2021. * Around 1510: Jakob Ilsenbrand * Ludwig Neuffer (his daughter Margaretha married Hans Hawysen) * 1587: Hans Hawysen * - N.N. -(we do not know) * 1900-1922: August Wörner * 1922-1945: Otto Werner * 1945-1949: Eugen Hahn * 1949-1971: Erwin Volz * 1971-1981: Heinz Kälberer * 1981-1997: Rolf Keller * since 1997: Mike Münzing SPD

Arms

The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

coat of arms reads: "In silver a reclining four-ended black deer rod."

Twinning

Münsingen is twinned with the following cities: and maintains friendly relations with:

Tourism

Münsingen is located on the Swabian Poet Route, which passes by many sights.

Music

The musical culture Münsingen is mainly borne by the local music clubs. With the trombone choirs in Münsingen, Auingen, Hundersingen-Buttenhausen and Dottingen, the Stadtkapelle Münsingen and the music clubs Böttingen, Magolsheim and Rietheim many clubs are active in the field of

Brass Band A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting primarily of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands (particularl ...

. There are also several church choirs, as well as the secular singer Communities "Liederkranz Münsingen" Männergesangsverein Apfelstetten, Sängerbund Buttenhausen, Liederkranz Dottingen, Liedertafel Hundersingen, men's glee club Trailfingen and the chorus of EJW district Münsingen.

Buildings

Featured buildings in Münsingen are the historic Old Town Hall from 1550, and its successor, the New Town Hall in timbered house style, which was built in 1935–1937. The "old stock" as a historical site with more than 140 buildings for up to 5200 soldiers. Also worth seeing are the market fountain and the Martin Church, completed in 1495 by Peter of Koblenz. In Buttenhausen district Castle Buttenhausen and also a Jewish Cemetery. In addition, several ruins exist in Lautertal, for example the Castle Hohenhundersingen.

Towers

In the peripheral area of the former military training area Münsingen are four

Towers A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

of Swabian Albverein (Swabian Alp Association), which are all freely accessible (key deposit). * The 42 m high 'Hursch Tower' 'is about 1.5 km southwest of Römerstein-Zainingen and was erected in 1981. * The 20 m high 'Waldgreutturm' 'is 2 km southeast of Römerstein-Zainingen and was erected in 1981. * The 30 m high 'Heroldstatt Tower' 'is about 2 km north-west of

Heroldstatt Heroldstatt is a village in the district of Alb-Donau (district), Alb-Donau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Geography Heroldstatt is located on the Swabian Jura about 25 kilometers west of Ulm. Neighboring communities The municipality borde ...

- Ennabeuren and was erected in 1981. * The 8 m high 'Sternberg Tower' 'is not far northeast of the Münsinger district Böttingen and was erected in 1900 originally as a windmill .

Museums

Münsingen museums are the memorial site

Matthias Erzberger Matthias Erzberger (20 September 1875 – 26 August 1921) was a politician of the Catholic Centre Party, member of the Reichstag and minister of finance of Germany from 1919 to 1920. Erzberger was first elected to the Reichstag of the German ...

in Buttenhausen, the Jewish Museum Buttenhausen, the local history museum in the '' Old Palace '', the museum for former military training area in the "old camp" at Auingen. The museum '' Anton Geiselhart '' and the castle museum are located in Gundelfingen.

Regular events

* On 1 May, regularly organized by Luftsportverein Münsingen, the international vintage and steam engines meeting takes place. Every year there are about 600 motorcycles,

Lanz Bulldog The Lanz Bulldog was a series of tractors manufactured by Heinrich Lanz AG in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Production started in 1921 with the Lanz HL, and various versions of the Bulldog were produced up to 1960, one of them being the L ...

s, steam engines, vintage aircraft and more. * Every summer takes place in the streets of the old town instead of the city festival, which - with musical entertainment - especially thrives on the commitment of numerous Münsingen clubs.

Economy and infrastructure

Established Businesses

The Uralan polymer processing is located in the industrial area West. In addition, the Walter AG and Volksbank Münsingen have a seat here.

Traffic

The Bundesstraße B 465 coming from

Bad Urach Bad Urach () is a town in the district of Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 14 km east of Reutlingen, at the foot of the Swabian Jura (or Swabian Alps), and is known for its spa and therapeutic bath. Neighbouring comm ...

comes through the town and runs to

Ehingen Ehingen (Donau) (; ) is a town in the Alb-Donau (district), Alb-Donau district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, situated on the left bank of the Danube, approx. southwest of Ulm and southeast of Stuttgart. The city, like the entire district o ...

and

Biberach an der Riss Biberach may refer to: *Biberach an der Riß, a town in Upper Swabia, Germany *Biberach (district), which has Biberach an der Riß as its capital * Biberach, Baden, a municipality in the ''Ortenaukreis'', Germany *Biberach is a part of Roggenburg, ...

. The national road 230 runs through the urban area in east–west direction and connects the region to the Federal Highway 8 in Merklingen. The

Public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

is guaranteed by the Verkehrsverbund Neckar-Alb-Donau (NALDO). The community is located in the comb 225. The Münsingen station, is located on the Reutlingen–Schelklingen railway. On Sundays and holidays from early April to late October regional trains and special trains bring mainly hikers and sightseers to their destination. In addition, throughout the year goes from Monday to Friday, some regional trains direction

or direction Gomadingen. Since early 2008 Münsingen is connected with a transition tariff also to the

Donau-Iller-Nahverkehrsverbund The Donau-Iller-Nahverkehrsverbund (German for ''Danube-Iller Local Transport Association'', abbreviated DING, the German word for ''thing'') is a regional transport cooperative that coordinates tickets and fares among all transport operators in ...

(DING).

Media

The daily '' Alb-Bote '', which is part of the

Südwest Presse ''Südwest Presse'' is a German daily newspaper based in Ulm, which is distributed in Ulm, Neu-Ulm, Alb-Donau-Kreis and Landkreis Neu-Ulm. It is also the name of a regional cooperative venture (called a ''Zeitungsverbund'' – newspaper compo ...

in Ulm reports daily on what is happening in and around Münsingen. Also, the '' Reutlinger General Anzeiger '' is represented in Münsingen.

Court

Münsingen has a

District Court District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...

, which belongs to the District Court Tübingen and Higher Regional Court Stuttgart. With the gymnasium Münsingen, the Gustav Mesmer - Realschule, the

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

with

Werkrealschule Werkrealschule is a relatively young branch of German secondary education (e.g. in Baden-Württemberg), which offers pupils additional lessons in grades 8 and 9 and allows them to qualify after ten years with a final exam which is equal to graduatio ...

'' Schillerschule '', the

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

'' primary school at Hardt '' in the district Auingen, primary school Dottingen, primary school '' Lautertalschule '' and the primary school '' Astrid Lindgren school '' all general education forms are represented in the town. Besides, there are the Gustav-Heinemann-School (special school), the Erich Kaestner school, (Sprachheilschule), the Karl-Georg-Haldenwang -School for the mentally handicapped and the branch office of the physically disabled school Mössingen also four special schools. The range is supplemented by the Vocational School Münsingen. For the youngest inhabitants there are seven municipal, five

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

and

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

and two small nurseries.

Sons and daughters of the town

Jacob Lorhard Jacob Lorhard (; 1561 – 19 May 1609) was a German philosopher and pedagogue based in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Biography Lorhard was born in Münsingen, in the Duchy of Württemberg. He studied at the University of Tübingen. In 1603 he be ...

(1561–1609) a German philosopher and pedagogue based in St. Gallen, Switzerland * Johannes Scholl (1827–1916) a German-American woodcarver, known for only using a jackknife and paint * Lehmann Bernheimer (1841-1918) a German antique dealer, who built the Bernheimer-Haus in Munich. * (1869-1943) Württembergian official *

(1875-1921) a German publicist and politician, Reich Minister of Finance 1919-1920 * (1876 or 1879 - 1944 in

Theresienstadt Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...

), educational reformer and victim of the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

Erwin Nestle Erwin Nestle (22 May 1883 in Münsingen, Germany – 21 November 1972 in Ulm, Germany), son of Eberhard Nestle, was a German scholar who continued editing his father's "Nestle Edition" of the New Testament The New Testament (NT) is t ...

(1883-1972) a German scholar, theologian and philologist *

Max Kommerell Max Kommerell (25 February 1902 – 25 July 1944) was a German literary historian, writer, and poet. A member of the Stefan George circle from 1921 to 1930, Kommerell was a prominent literary critic associated with the Conservative Revolutiona ...

(1902-1944), literary scholar and poet * Johannes Hölz (1906–1945) a highly decorated Generalmajor in the Wehrmacht during World War II * (1925-2005), aviation pioneer, fighter pilot and founder of Südflug International * (1929-2012), Evangelical Lutheran theologian and professor of theology * (born 1952), politician, district chief executive of

Alb-Donau-Kreis 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 ...

2005-2016 * Gabriele Rauscher (born 1970) a German freestyle skier * Andreas Glück (born 1975) politician and surgeon German Wiki, Andreas Glück * Dirk Schrade, (born 1978), eventer, gold medallist at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

International relations

Münsingen, Germany is twinned with:

References

External links

French army training camp

Truppenübungsplatz MünsingenOfficial website of Münsingen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munsingen, Germany Towns in Baden-Württemberg Reutlingen (district) Holocaust locations in Germany