Oberallgäu 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 ...

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

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

Ostallgäu Ostallgäu is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts of Oberallgäu, Unterallgäu, Augsburg, Landsberg, Weilheim-Schongau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and by the ...

, the

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 ...

n states

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

and

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest popu ...

, the district of

Lindau Lindau (, ''Lindau am Bodensee''; ; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Lindou'') is a major Town#Germany, town and Lindau (island), island on the eastern side of Lake Constance (''Bodensee'' in German) in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital ...

, and 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 ...

(district Ravensburg). The city of Kempten is enclosed by but does not belong to the district.

History

Human settlement dates back to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, when

Celt The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

ic peoples inhabited the region. The Romans established a military camp which grew to become the city of Cambodunum, the present Kempten. It is consequently sometimes claimed that Kempten is the oldest town in Germany. In medieval times Kempten was a free imperial city, and the surrounding lands became subordinate to the lords of Staufen and the counts of Rothenfels. Both ceased to exist in the beginning of the 19th century, when

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

handed these territories over to Bavaria. The district of Oberallgäu was established in 1972 by merging the former districts of Sonthofen and Kempten.

Geography

Oberallgäu is the southernmost district of Germany. "Oberallgäu" literally means "Upper Allgäu". The term Allgäu is applied to the part of the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

located in Swabia and their northern foothills. In the very south of the district are some of the highest mountains of the Allgäu, culminating in the Hochfrottspitze (2,649 m). Blender, which rises to 1,072 m, is located between the municipalities of Buchenberg and Wiggensbach. The Iller River (a tributary of 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 ...

) runs through the district from south to north.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms displays a mountain symbolising the Allgäu, and three lions from the arms of the Staufen dynasty.

Towns and municipalities

References

External links

Official website
(German)
tourist website
(German)
Orchids in Allgäu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oberallgau Districts of Bavaria Swabia (Bavaria)