Pfronten ( Swabian: ''Pfronte'') is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the district of

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 Austri ...

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 ...

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 ...

Geography

Pfronten is one of a total of 45 towns, markets and municipalities in the district of

. Pfronten is located on the northern edge of the

Allgäu Alps The Allgäu Alps (german: Allgäuer Alpen) are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps, located in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany and Tyrol and Vorarlberg in Austria. The range lies directly east of Lake Constance. Character ...

. The Vils flows through the municipal territory. It is situated at an altitude of 853 m above sea level. NN at the foot of Edelsberg, Kienberg, Breitenberg and Falkenstein. The highest point of the municipality is the summit of the

Aggenstein The Aggenstein is a mountain, 1,986 metres high (according to German survey: ) in the Allgäu Alps on the border Bavaria, Germany and Tyrol, Austria. It is located in the Bavarian part of the Tannheim Mountains, a few kilometres south of Pfronten ...

(1986 m above sea level) on the Tyrolean border, which belongs to the

Tannheim Mountains The Tannheim Mountains Füssen Füssen is a town in Bavaria, Germany, in the district of Ostallgäu, situated one kilometre from the Austrian border. The town is known for violin manufacturing and as the closest transportation hub for the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau cast ...

, the municipality of Eisenberg and the market of

Nesselwang Nesselwang is a municipality in the district of Ostallgäu in Bavaria in 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, a ...

. In

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, the small town of Vils and the Tannheim valley with the communities of

Grän Grän is a municipality in the district of Reutte in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Geography Grän lies near Lake Haldensee in the Tannheim valley, a high mountain valley on the border with Bavaria. It lies on the road to Pfronten Pfronten ( S ...

Tannheim Tannheim (Württemberg) () is a municipality in the district of Biberach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Geography It is located in upper Swabia at the river Iller which forms the border to Bavaria. Sights *Church of St. Martin, built 17 ...

Schattwald Schattwald is a municipality in the district of Reutte in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was hi ...

Zöblen Zöblen is a municipality in the district of Reutte (district), Reutte in the Austrian state of state of Tyrol, Tyrol. The village of Zoeblen is one of five villages in the Tannheim valley. Zoeblen is mostly a tourist area and offers many activiti ...

Nesselwängle Nesselwängle is a municipality in the district of Reutte in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Geography Nesselwängle lies at the entrance to the Tannheim Valley The Tannheimer Tal ("Tannheim valley") is a high valley, at an elevation of about 1 ...

and

Jungholz Jungholz () is a village in the district of Reutte in the Austrian state of Tyrol that is accessible only via Germany. The lack of a road connection to anywhere else in Austria led to Jungholz being included in the German customs area until Austr ...

are located nearby. The municipal territory consists of the districts of Bergpfronten and Steinachpfronten. The settlements Berg, Dorf, Halden, Heitler, Kappel, Kreuzegg, Meilingen, Ösch, Rehbichel, Ried, Röfleuten, Steinach and Weißbach belong to the municipality of Pfronten. Since the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, all these places have surely formed a single parish. This is why we speak of the 13-village community of Pfronten. Pfronten - Berg v N 080814.JPG, Pfronten-Berg Pfronten_-_Breitenberg_-_Ruine_Falkenstein_230912_(retuschiert).jpg, Mountain ''Falkenstein'' (1270 m) with ruins of Falkenstein Castle DSCI0104 Kienberg über Pfronten von Burgruine Falkenstein gesehen, aus Richtung Osten.jpg, Mountain ''Kienberg'' above the roofs of Pfronten, seen from ''Falkenstein'' Pfronten_-_Engetal_-_Aggenstein_v_NW,_Winter_(retuschiert).jpg, Engetal with Aggenstein Pfronten - Vilstal - Schochersäge - Vils Ri O.jpg, Valley of river Vils

History

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

supply road led through Pfronten from the south to Cambodunum (today's

Kempten Kempten (, (Swabian German: )) is the largest Town#Germany, town of Allgäu, in Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. The population was about 68,000 in 2016. The area was possibly settled originally by Celts, but was later taken over by th ...

).Richard Knussert, Das Füssener Land in früher Zeit, p. 40 However, a Roman settlement of the

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

is not secured. With the Christian provincial Romans, who remained in the Ostallgäu, pagan

Alamanni The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...

gradually settled in. Around the year 800, the "Roman" language in the area was extinguished. In the Franconian-Carolingian region, the population was united with

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

and

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. From the early 14th century onwards, all of Pfronten belonged to the Augsburg Monastery, the secular territory of the Augsburg bishops. During the secularization of the monastery, Pfronten came to Bavaria in 1803. In 1818 the municipality was formed.

Transport

The town is served by the

Ausserfern Railway The Ausserfern Railway (german: Außerfernbahn) is a cross-border railway line in the German state of Bavaria and the Austrian state of Tyrol. The single-tracked branch line starts from Kempten in Germany, before crossing into Austria just after p ...

Famous people of Pfronten

Johann Baptist Babel Johann Baptist Babel (25 June 1716 – 9 February 1799) was the preeminent sculptor of Baroque era Switzerland.Beyer: "die hervorragendste Bildhauerpersönlichkeit des schweizerischen Barock". Active mainly in Central Switzerland, he enjoyed an un ...

(1716–1799), sculptor *

Syrius Eberle Syrius Eberle (9 December 1844 – 12 April 1903) was a German sculptor and art professor. Biography Eberle was born in Pfronten, Allgäu, the son of a carpenter.Akademie der Bildenden Künste München''Syrius Eberle, 02256, zweites Matri ...

(1844–1903), sculptor

Nearby

The Falkenstein Castle ruin, located at , is the highest castle ruin in Germany. A planned reconstruction project of

King Ludwig II Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the ...

failed because of his early death.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Ostallgäu