Aalen is a
townA town is a type of settlement ranging from a few hundred to several thousand inhabitants, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas; the precise meaning varies between countries and is not always a matter of legal definition...
in the
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
state of
Baden-WürttembergBaden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine—but one which has some of its major cities straddling the banks of the Neckar River...
. It is the seat of the
OstalbkreisThe Ostalbkreis is a district in the east of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on the border to Bavaria. Neighboring districts are Schwäbisch Hall, Ansbach, Donau-Ries, Heidenheim, Göppingen and Rems-Murr.- History :...
district, and its largest town.
Aalen is situated on the upper reaches of the river
KocherThe Kocher is a 182 km long right tributary of the Neckar in the north-eastern part of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The name "Kocher" originates from its Celtic name "cochan" and probably means winding, meandering river. The Kocher rises in the eastern foothills of the Swabian Alb from two karst...
, at the foot of the
Swabian AlbThe Swabian Alb or Swabian Jura is a low mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, extending 220 km from southwest to northeast and 40 to 70 km in width. It is named after the region of Swabia....
to the south and south east and close to the hilly landscape of the Ellwanger Berge to the north. The
Aal is a small river stretching only on the town's territory. Aalen is at about 70 kilometres east of
StuttgartStuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
and 48 kilometres (30 miles) north of
UlmUlm is a city in the German Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and traditions...
.
From about 150 / 160
AD , abbreviated as AD or A.D., and Before Christ, abbreviated as BC or B.C., are designations used to number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
a
RomanThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
fort housed the
cavalryCavalry were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat. Cavalry were historically the second oldest and most mobile of the combat arms...
unit
AlaAla , and its derivatives, Alares and Alarii, were used in different or at least modified senses at different periods.-Mid-Republic:...
II Flavia milliaria at the site of present-day Aalen.
Discussion
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Aalen is a
townA town is a type of settlement ranging from a few hundred to several thousand inhabitants, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas; the precise meaning varies between countries and is not always a matter of legal definition...
in the
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
state of
Baden-WürttembergBaden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine—but one which has some of its major cities straddling the banks of the Neckar River...
. It is the seat of the
OstalbkreisThe Ostalbkreis is a district in the east of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on the border to Bavaria. Neighboring districts are Schwäbisch Hall, Ansbach, Donau-Ries, Heidenheim, Göppingen and Rems-Murr.- History :...
district, and its largest town.
Geography
Aalen is situated on the upper reaches of the river
KocherThe Kocher is a 182 km long right tributary of the Neckar in the north-eastern part of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The name "Kocher" originates from its Celtic name "cochan" and probably means winding, meandering river. The Kocher rises in the eastern foothills of the Swabian Alb from two karst...
, at the foot of the
Swabian AlbThe Swabian Alb or Swabian Jura is a low mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, extending 220 km from southwest to northeast and 40 to 70 km in width. It is named after the region of Swabia....
to the south and south east and close to the hilly landscape of the Ellwanger Berge to the north. The
Aal is a small river stretching only on the town's territory. Aalen is at about 70 kilometres east of
StuttgartStuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
and 48 kilometres (30 miles) north of
UlmUlm is a city in the German Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and traditions...
.
History
From about 150 / 160
AD , abbreviated as AD or A.D., and Before Christ, abbreviated as BC or B.C., are designations used to number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
a
RomanThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
fort housed the
cavalryCavalry were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat. Cavalry were historically the second oldest and most mobile of the combat arms...
unit
AlaAla , and its derivatives, Alares and Alarii, were used in different or at least modified senses at different periods.-Mid-Republic:...
II Flavia milliaria at the site of present-day Aalen. The location was strategically important at the time, in the direct vicinity of the
Rhaetian LimesThe Limes Germanicus was a remarkable line of frontier forts that bounded the ancient Roman provinces of Germania Superior and Raetia, and divided the Roman Empire and the unsubdued Germanic tribes, from the years 83 to 260...
. The unit being 1000 soldiers strong, the fort was the greatest fort of
auxiliariesAuxiliaries formed the standing non-citizen corps of the Roman army of the Principate , alongside the citizen legions...
along the border to unoccupied
GermaniaGermania was the Latin exonym for a geographical area of land on the east bank of the River Rhine , which included regions of Sarmatia as well as an area under Roman control on the west bank of the Rhine...
. A civilian settlement was adjacent on the south and the east. Around 260, the Romans gave up the fort as they withdrew their frontier to Germania back to the
RhineThe Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe, at , with an average discharge of more than ....
and
DanubeThe Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg rivers which join at the German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows...
rivers, and the
AlamanniThe Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic tribes located around the upper Main river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Roman Emperor Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211–17 and claimed thereby to be their...
took over the region. It has been suggested that the name of Aalen traces back to the Roman fort, but this was disproved by later research.
The first time Aalen was mentioned in the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
was in an inventory list of
EllwangenEllwangen an der Jagst, officially Ellwangen , in common use simply Ellwangen is a town in the district of Ostalbkreis in the east of Baden-Württemberg in Germany...
, dated ca. 1136, as the village
Alon. Aalen was probably granted
town privilegesGerman town law or German municipal concerns concerns town privileges used by many cities, towns, and villages throughout Central and Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages.- Town law in Germany :...
in the 13th century, though it is not certain whether by the Staufians or by the counts of Oettingen. It was first mentioned in written records in the 14th century when it was subject to the counts of Oettingen. Aalen was an
Imperial City-Places:* Imperial City, Beijing, the central section of Beijing* Free imperial city, city formally responsible only to the emperor in the Holy Roman Empire,.* Imperial City , a walled fortress and palace in the former capital of Vietnam....
(often misreferred to as Imperial Free City) from 1360 to 1803, when it was annexed to
WürttembergWürttemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
. It suffered a severe fire in 1634. It then became the seat of an Oberamt from which the district (
Kreis) Aalen emerged in 1938. The latter merged with the district of
Schwäbisch GmündSchwäbisch Gmünd is a town in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 62,000, the town is the second largest in the Ostalbkreis and the whole region of East Württemberg after Aalen...
to the newly formed
OstalbkreisThe Ostalbkreis is a district in the east of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on the border to Bavaria. Neighboring districts are Schwäbisch Hall, Ansbach, Donau-Ries, Heidenheim, Göppingen and Rems-Murr.- History :...
in 1973, though Aalen remained the district seat. In 1975, Wasseralfingen, a town with a third of the population of Aalen, was merged into Aalen.
Economy
In the early 20th century the population was 10,000. Wool and linen goods were manufactured, there were ribbon looms and tanneries in the town, and a large iron works in the neighbourhood. The economy of Aalen is today dominated by metal processing. Besides machine construction, the optical sector plays an important role, as well as the textile and paper industries. There are several microbreweries, of which the one in Wasseralfingen is the most popular with a beer called
Wasseralfinger.
Its church of
Saint NicholasSaint Nicholas is the common name for Nicholas of Myra, a saint and Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker...
dates back to 1765; the town hall dates back even further, to 1636. In addition to its historical sites, Aalen's Limesmuseum of Roman relics was opened in 1964.
Aalen is a health resort, with the
Limes-Thermen (German: “Limes ThermaeThe terms balnea or thermae were the words the ancient Romans used for the buildings housing their public baths.Most Roman cities had at least one, if not many, such buildings, which were centers of public bathing and socialization. Baths were extremely important for Romans. They stayed there for...
”) hot springA hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are hot springs all over the earth, on every continent and even under the oceans and seas.-Definitions:...
s. The
Tiefer Stollen (German: “deep aditAn adit is a type of entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal. Adits are usually built into the side of a hill or mountain, and often occur when a measure of coal or an ore body is located inside the mountain but above the adjacent valley floor or coastal plain...
”) mine, where ore was once mined for the iron works in Wasseralfingen, now offers therapy for
asthmaAsthma is a predisposition to chronic inflammation of the lungs in which the airways are reversibly narrowed. Asthma affects 7% of the population of the United States, and 300 million worldwide...
and has a mining museum open for visitors. A mine railway takes visitors deep into the Braunenberg mountain.
Transport
Aalen is located directly on the
AutobahnAutobahn is the German word for a major high-speed road restricted to motor vehicles capable of driving at least 60 km/h and having full control of access, similar to a motorway or freeway in English-speaking countries.In most countries, it usually refers to the German autobahn specifically...
A7is the longest German Autobahn and the longest national motorway in Europe at 963 km . It splits the country almost evenly from north to south. In the north, it starts at the border to Denmark as an extension of the Danish E 45. In the south, it ends at the Austrian border...
and is also well connected to the network of federal roads (
BundesstraßeBundesstraßen are German and Austrian federal highways. One distinguishing characteristic between German Bundesstraßen and the world-famous Autobahnen is that there is a general 100 km/h speed limit on federal highways, as opposed to the "recommended" limit of 130 km/h in unmarked sections of...
n).
The Aalen train station is a regional railway hub, with
InterCityInterCity is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe...
trains running
KarlsruheKarlsruhe is a city in the south west of Germany, in the Bundesland Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border....
–
StuttgartStuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
–Aalen–Nürnberg, and
regional trainsThe term Regional-Express denotes a type of regional train in Germany and Austria .It is best compared to a semi-fast train, as it calls at fewer stations than Regionalbahn or S-Bahn trains, but stops more often than InterCity services...
connecting with Stuttgart,
UlmUlm is a city in the German Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and traditions...
,
CrailsheimCrailsheim is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, 32 km east of Schwäbisch Hall, 40 km southwest of Ansbach in the Schwäbisch Hall district, incorporated in 1338....
and
DonauwörthDonauwörth is a city in the German State of Bavaria , in the region of Swabia . It is said to have been founded by two fisherman where the Danube and Wörnitz rivers meet...
.
The local bus system is of high quality; its
double-decker busA double-decker bus is a bus that has two levels. While double-decker long-distance coaches are in widespread use around the world, double-decker city buses are less common. Double-decker buses are popular in some cities of Europe and in parts of Asia, usually in former British colonies...
es are among the few in use in Germany.
Windpark Waldhausen
Windpark Waldhausen began operating in early 2007. It consists of seven
REpowerREpower is a German wind turbine company founded in 2001. Its product range comprises several types of turbines with rated outputs of between 1.5 and 5 megawatts. It created the world's largest wind turbine, the 5M, in 2005. This has since been superseded by the Enercon E-126.REpower's 1.5-megawatt...
MM92 wind turbines with a nameplate capacity of 2 MW each. The hub height of each wind turbine is , with a rotor diameter of .
Sport
Aalen has several sport teams.
The Scholz Arena is the home stadium of the
VfR AalenVfR Aalen is a German football club based in Aalen, Baden-Württemberg.-History:The club was founded on 8 March 1921 out of the football department of the gymnastics club MTV Aalen and has led a largely unremarked existence as a lower division side...
football club.
Aalen's wrestling team
KSV Aalen is one of the top clubs in all of Germany, so is the wrestling division of the
TSV Dewangen, resident in Aalen's borough of Dewangen.
Boroughs of Aalen
- Dewangen
- Ebnat
- Fachsenfeld
- Unterkochen
- Waldhausen
Waldhausen is a municipality in the district of Zwettl, in Lower Austria, Austria....
- Wasseralfingen
Twin towns
Aalen is
twinnedSister cities, also known as town twinning, is an agreement between towns, cities and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties...
with:
Saint-LôSaint-Lô is a commune in north-western France, the capital of the Manche department in Normandy.-History:Originally called Briovère , the town is built on and around ramparts. Originally it was a Gaul fortified settlement...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
(since 1978)
ChristchurchChristchurch is a borough and town in Dorset on the English Channel coast, adjoining Bournemouth in the west, with the New Forest to the east. Historically in Hampshire, it is the most easterly borough in Dorset...
,
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
(since 1981)
TatabányaTatabánya is a city of 70,636 inhabitants in north-western Hungary, in the Northern Transdanubian region. It is the capital of the county Komárom-Esztergom.- Location :...
,
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
(since 1987)
AntakyaAntakya is the seat of the Hatay Province in southern Turkey, near the border with Syria. In ancient times the city was known as Antioch and has historical significance for Christianity, being the place where the followers of Jesus Christ were called Christians for the very first time...
,
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
(since 1995)