Schwabach () is a German

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

of about 40,000 inhabitants near

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

in the centre of the region of

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

in the north of

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 ...

. Together with the neighboring cities of

Fürth Fürth (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is the Franconia#Towns and cities, s ...

and

Erlangen Erlangen (; , ) is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 119,810 inhabitants (as of 30 September 2024), it is the smalle ...

, Schwabach forms one of the three metropolitan areas in Bavaria. The city is an autonomous administrative district (''kreisfreie Stadt''). Schwabach is also the name of the river which runs through the city prior to joining the Rednitz. Schwabach is famous for its crafts made of

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

, particularly gold foil. In 2004, Schwabach celebrated this tradition with an anniversary festival, marking "500 years gold foil in Schwabach". Around 1500, a local typesetter developed the "

Schwabacher The German language, German word Schwabacher (pronounced ) refers to a specific style of blackletter typefaces which evolved from Gothic Blackletter#Textualis, Textualis (''Textura'') under the influence of Humanist minuscule, Humanist type desi ...

" font. This font was used for printing the first Bible in German, which had been worked out by

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

Etymology

The name derives from the old

n name ''Suapaha'' (later ''Suabaha'', then ''Villa Suabach'') which translates as "Schwaben-Bach" in modern German, which means " Swabian

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

", the first part of the name was given by the Franconians who came to the area about a millennium after the

Hallstatt culture The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western Europe, Western and Central European archaeological culture of the Late Bronze Age Europe, Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallst ...

to the people living on the banks of that stream, which were perceived as " Swabians" by them, while the second part of the name is a reference to the stream which flows through the city.

Timeline

*750 BC–AD 500: Archaeological evidence of settlement. *600–700: Name Schwabach first used to refer to the settlement and the river. *1346: City wall built. *1371: Municipal law established. *1469: Town church built (still in use). *1500: (ca.) Schwabacher font invented. *1528: City hall built (still in use). *1633: First needle factory established in Schwabach. *1723: Schwabach river flooded to highest point ever. Markings of the flood are still visible. *1768: The landmark ''Old

Linden Tree ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperateness, temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Great Bri ...

'' planted (still there). *1792: Schwabach became part of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

. *1797:

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

stayed overnight in Schwabach. *1806: Schwabach became part of Bavaria. *1849: Railway station built. *1941: Schwabach bombed in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

*1945: American military base established in Schwabach. *1953: City coat-of-arms introduced. *1972: Schwabach became an autonomous administrative district. *1980: Schwabach receives the European Union prize for cultural heritage. *1992: US Army to be withdrawn from Schwabach and surrounding areas. *2004: 500-year anniversary celebration of the gold foil industry.

Companies

* Apollo-Optik, optics company

Twin towns – sister cities

Schwabach is twinned with: * Les Sables-d'Olonne, France (1975) *

Kemer Kemer is a seaside resort, municipality and district of Antalya Province, Turkey. Its area is 412 km2, and its population is 49,383 (2022). It is on the Mediterranean coast, west of the city of Antalya, on the Turkish Riviera. Kemer is o ...

, Turkey (1998) *

Kalabaka Kalabaka (, ''Kalabáka'', alternative transliterations are ''Kalambaka'' and ''Kalampaka'') is a town and seat of the municipality of Meteora (municipality), Meteora in the Trikala (regional unit), Trikala regional unit, part of Thessaly in G ...

, Greece (2002) * Coronel Suárez, Argentina (2018)

Notable people

* Jean-Philippe Baratier (1721 - 1740), german scholar, child prodigy * Johann Gottfried Zinn (1727–1759), anatomist and botanist * Adolf von Henselt (1814–1889), composer and pianist * Hans Schuberth (1897–1976), politician (CSU), Federal Minister for affairs of telecommunication * Matthias Volz (1910–2004), artistic gymnast, Olympic champion * Manfred Ritschel (born 1946), football player * Walter Zimmermann (born 1949), composer * Ralf Baumeister (born 1961), professor of bioinformatics and molecular genetics * Bernhard Grill (born 1961), electrical engineer, MP3 format developer

References

External links

* {{Authority control Historic Jewish communities Urban districts of Bavaria Districts of Middle Franconia