Erbach an der Donau
Encyclopedia
Erbach an der Donau is a town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

 on the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

 River in Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. Located in the Alb-Donau
Alb-Donau (district)
Alb-Donau-Kreis is a district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Biberach, Reutlingen, Göppingen and Heidenheim, the two Bavarian districts Günzburg and Neu-Ulm, and the city of Ulm.- History :...

 District, Erbach lies between Ulm
Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state 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...

 and Ehingen an der Donau
Ehingen
Ehingen is a town in the Alb-Donau district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, situated on the left bank of the Danube, approx. 25 km southwest of Ulm and 67 km southeast of Stuttgart.-Statistics:...

 on the southern edge of the Swabian Alb
Swabian Alb
The Swabian Alps 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....

.

History

Erbach was first mentioned in the Konstanz
Konstanz
Konstanz is a university city with approximately 80,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south-west corner of Germany, bordering Switzerland. The city houses the University of Konstanz.-Location:...

 Tithe Book in 1275 as a parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

 called Irlebach, although findings dating from the Neolithic Age indicate the area around Erbach was settled earlier. Erbach received town privileges
Town privileges
Town privileges or city rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium.Judicially, a town was distinguished from the surrounding land by means of a charter from the ruling monarch that defined its privileges and laws. Common privileges were related to trading...

 on 1 August 2002.

In 1972 the community Ringingen was incorporated into Erbach. In the course of community reforms in 1974 the communities Bach, Dellmensingen, Donaurieden and Ersingen were also incorporated into Erbach.

Politics

The mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of Erbach is elected for eight-year terms.
The election of 13 June 2004 gave the following division of electoral seats:
  • CDU
    Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
    The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...

     - 41,9% (+1,2) - 12 seats(+2)
  • FW - 32,3% (-6,4) - 9 seats (-1)
  • SPD
    Social Democratic Party of Germany
    The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...

     - 18,2% (-2,4) - 5 seats (=)
  • the Greens
    Alliance '90/The Greens
    Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir...

     7,6% (+7,6) - 2 seats (+2)

Town twinning

Erbach is twinned
Town twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

 with Wolkersdorf im Weinviertel
Wolkersdorf im Weinviertel
Wolkersdorf im Weinviertel is a town in the district of Mistelbach in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is situated in the Weinviertel, about 15 km north of Vienna, on the main road from Vienna to Brno . The municipality consists of the subdivisions Wolkersdorf, Riedenthal, Pfösing,...

 in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 since 1981 and Thorigny sur Marne in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 since 1982.

Infrastructure

Erbach lies on the Bundesstraße 311 road between Ulm and Ehingen. It is also located on a rail line of the Württembergian South Rail between Ulm and Lindau
Lindau
Lindau is a Bavarian town and an island on the eastern side of Lake Constance, the Bodensee. It is the capital of the Landkreis or rural district of Lindau. The historic city of Lindau is located on an island which is connected with the mainland by bridge and railway.- History :The name Lindau was...

. Erbach is part of the Danube-Iller
Iller
The Iller is a river in Bavaria, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube, 147 km in length.The source is located near Oberstdorf in the Allgäu region of the Alps, close to the Austrian border. From there it runs northwards, passing the towns of Sonthofen, Immenstadt, and Kempten...

 Traffic Network, in whose tariff region the South Rail between Ulm and Bad Schussenried
Bad Schussenried
Bad Schussenried is a town in Upper Swabia in the district of Biberach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.It lies on the Upper Swabian Baroque Route.Schussenried Abbey, a former monastery founded in 1183, is located in Bad Schussenried...

 belongs to. Erbach has an airfield used by many private pilots from Ulm.

Sights

Erbach is located on the Upper Swabian Baroque Route
Upper Swabian Baroque Route
The Upper Swabian Baroque Route is a touristic theme route through Upper Swabia, following the themes of "nature, culture, baroque". The route has a length of about 500 km . It was established in 1966, being one of the first theme routes in Germany...

 as well as the Way of St. James
Way of St. James
The Way of St. James or St. James' Way is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried....

. The most prominent sight is the Renaissance
Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...

 Erbach Castle
Erbach Castle
Erbach Castle is a patrician Renaissance castle situated on a hillside close to the ciy of Erbach an der Donau in the state of Baden Württemberg, Germany. The current owner is Baron zu Ulm-Erbach.- History :...

, dating from the early 16th century. The castle was the residence of the Freiherr
Freiherr
The German titles Freiherr and Freifrau and Freiin are titles of nobility, used preceding a person's given name or, after 1919, before the surname...

en
of Ulm in Erbach. Next to the castle is the Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...

 Church of St. Martin
Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...

 from 1767.

Dellmensingen Castle
Dellmensingen Castle
Dellmensingen Castle is an early Baroque castle in the Upper Swabian village of Dellmensingen, now part of the city of Erbach, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany.- Appearance :...

 is an early Baroque castle in Dellmensingen.

Personalities

  • Joseph von Egle (1818–1899), architect, builder of the polytechnical school and the Church of St. Mary in Stuttgart
    Stuttgart
    Stuttgart 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 ....

  • Joseph Eberle, missionary in Africa
  • Phillip Roth, honorable town speaker

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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