Schongau () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

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 ...

, southern

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 ...

, near 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. ...

. It is located along the Lech, between

Landsberg am Lech Landsberg am Lech (Landsberg at the Lech (river), Lech) is a Town#Germany, town in southwest Bavaria, Germany, about 65 kilometers west of Munich and 35 kilometers south of Augsburg. It is the capital of the district of Landsberg (district), Lands ...

and Füssen. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. Schongau has a well-preserved old wall around the center.

History

Schongau originated from the town currently known as Altenstadt (lit.: old town). In the 13th century, a large number of the inhabitants moved only a few kilometres into a new settlement founded on the Lech and took the name Schongau with them. The hillside was far better situated to defend it. The town of Schongau is located in close proximity to the former Roman road to

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 ...

, Via Claudia Augusta (47 AD), and got its name from the Romans. In the Middle Ages, it was an important hub and commercial centre on the Verona-Augsburg-Nuremberg route and on the salt road from Berchtesgadener Land into the Allgäu. Lechrain, populated by the Alemanni, was under the rule of the Swabian Welfs until the 12th century. After the death of

Welf VI Welf VI (111515 December 1191) was the margrave of Tuscany (1152–1162) and duke of Spoleto (1152–1162), the third son of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, and a member of the illustrious family of the Welf (also known as the House of Guelph). ...

in 1191, the Welf territories in

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

changed hands to the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

. Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

gave it to the Hohenstaufen. When the last Staufer ruler

Conradin Conrad III (25 March 1252 – 29 October 1268), called ''the Younger'' or ''the Boy'', but usually known by the diminutive Conradin (, ), was the last direct heir of the House of Hohenstaufen. He was Duke of Swabia (1254–1268) and nominal King ...

moved to Italy in 1267 to defend his power against

Charles of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou or Charles d'Anjou, was King of Sicily from 1266 to 1285. He was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the House of Anjou-Sicily. Between 1246 a ...

, his ally Duke Ludwig II of Bavaria unexpectedly denied his help and demanded the payment of debts, which is why Conradin had to give away a large part of his possessions as the Duke of Swabia (called the Konradinian donation). In this way, the Bavarian dukes of

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

, who were ambitious to extend their influence into the Alamannian settlements up to Lech, came to rule the Lechrain in 1268. Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian had given Schongau the right to mint in 1331.Georg Paula, Stefanie Berg-Hobohm: ''Landkreis Weilheim-Schongau: Denkmäler in Bayern.'' Volume 2, Lipp Verlag, München 2003, , p 372. Duke Christoph der Starke liked to stay in the city.Sigfrid Hofmann: ''Geschichte der Stadt Schongau.'' In: ''Schongau Herzstück des Pfaffenwinkels.'' p 46. Christophstrasse in the historic centre of the town is named after him. On 22 May 1493, a devastating fire destroyed large parts of the Oberstadt (upper town) and the ducal palace; it was not until 1514 that reconstruction was completed. Schongau was involved several times in martial conflicts and was often a transit camp for friendly and hostile troops. Through trade and the diligence of its citizens, Schongau experienced a period of prosperity until the time of the European discovery of the Americas, which resulted in the relocation of the great trade routes. As a result, the city became so poor that significant buildings such as the castle and balehouse fell into partial decay or were demolished. After the Second World War, the city and the surrounding area gained a considerable number of residents due to refugees and developed into a district with relatively low unemployment due to the prosperous middle class. The city had the first railroad connection with the

railway line to Schongau on 16 November 1886. The railway connection in the direction of Weilheim was opened on January 12, 1917, with the section from Peissenberg to Schongau on the railway line Weilheim-Schongau. The Kaufbeuren-Schongau railway line existed from 1923 to 1977; it was built because of mining in Peiting. Schongau used to be a county of the same name. Due to the Bavarian district reform in 1972, it merged with the Weilheim district into today's Weilheim-Schongau county. In the town there are still some institutions from the county authority, and the name Altlandkreis Schongau (lit.: old county of Schongau) is still occasionally used.

Transport

The town has a railway station, , on the Schongau–Peißenberg line.

Popular culture

Schongau and the nearby area is the setting of the

Oliver Pötzsch Oliver Pötzsch (born 20 December 1970) is a German author of popular fiction. He was among the first writers to achieve bestselling status by publishing e-books. His works include '' The Hangman's Daughter'' (), the first book in the series of th ...

novel ''

The Hangman's Daughter ''The Hangman's Daughter'' (original title in ) is a novel by Oliver Pötzsch. First published in Germany by Ullstein Verlag in 2008, it was translated into English and issued digitally under the AmazonCrossing imprint in 2010. A paper editio ...

''.

Twin towns

Schongau is twinned with the following towns: *

Colmar Colmar (; ; or ) is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Alsace region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is the seat of the prefecture of the Haut-Rhin department ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, since 1962 *

Lucca Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, since 1962 *

Sint-Niklaas Sint-Niklaas (; , ) is a Belgium, Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sin ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, since 1962 * Abingdon,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, since 1970 * Gogolin,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, since 1996

Mayor

Since May 1, 2014, the mayor of Schongau has been Falk Sluyterman van Langeweyde (SPD). He was elected in March 2014 with 50.3% of the votes. His predecessor was Karl-Heinz Gerbl (SPD); he was in office from 2008 to 2014.

People

* Reinhold Bocklet (born 1943), CSU politician * Michael Kreitl (born 1975), ice hockey player * Franz Rupp (1901-1992), pianist * Stefan Schauer (born 1983), ice hockey player

References

Weilheim-Schongau {{WeilheimSchongau-geo-stub