Günzburg
Encyclopedia
Günzburg is a Große Kreisstadt
and capital of the district of Günzburg
in Swabia
, Bavaria
. This district was constituted in 1972 by combining the city of Günzburg—which had not previously been assigned to a Kreis
(district)—with the district of Günzburg and the district of Krumbach
.
Günzburg lies where the river Günz
enters the Danube
, and has a population of about 19,800.
to defend the borders of their land along the Danube
; it was known as Castellum
Guntia, Gontia or Contia. The name comes from that of a Celt
ic moon goddess (Góntia
). It consisted of a fort, later replaced by at least one other on the same site, a fairly large civilian settlement and most likely an important bridge over the Danube.
After the Romans left in the 5th century, the Alamanni
tribe settled there. In around 700 the nearby castle of Ricinis was mentioned by the Cartographer of Ravenna as one of the five most important castles of Alemannia. In 1065 first documentary evidence appears of the town itself as Gunceburch.
In 1301 the town became part of the Habsburg
house
and was developed into the centre of the margraviate of Burgau
; for a time it was even the capital of all Further Austria
. In 1806 the town became part of Bavaria
.
Very near Günzburg is the site where the "Leipheim
Horde" was defeated by the Swabia
n army in 1525 during the German Peasants' Revolt. The same site saw the first flight by a Messerschmitt Me 262
in 1942.
Günzburg is the birthplace of Dr. Josef Mengele, the chief medical officer of the Auschwitz concentration camp, alleged to be personally responsible for almost a million deaths as well as torture during the Holocaust. In the 1970s, the townspeople of Günzburg earned the attention of the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Federal Republic of Germany and that of the world community when Mengele (at that time the most wanted Nazi war criminal in the world) returned there from Paraguay in order to attend his father's funeral and stayed in the town for six weeks without having been reported to authorities. Despite a televised public statement by the nation's Chief Prosecutor expressing his firm belief that hundreds of citizens of Günzburg had knowingly and willingly contributed to a criminal conspiracy aiming to conceal evidence from local and federal police as well as to United Nations authorities while actively harbouring and abetting a Nazi war criminal, Günzburg has since bounced back from criticism and flourished, boasting a thriving downtown shopping area, scenic views of the nearby historic castle, and one of the top five Legoland theme parks in Germany. It is also home of the soccer player Stefano Celozzi.
) built by Dominikus Zimmermann
, the margrave
s' castle (the only Habsburg castle built in Germany), the Reisensburg fort, today the congress centre of the University of Ulm
and the nearly-intact old town centre.
In 2002 Legoland
built a theme park near the town.
Große Kreisstadt
Große Kreisstadt is a term in the German municipal law. In some German federal states the term is used as a special legal status for district-affiliated cities or towns with additional competences in comparison with other municipalities or towns of the district. The title is based on souvereign...
and capital of the district of Günzburg
Günzburg (district)
Günzburg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Dillingen, Augsburg, Unterallgäu and Neu-Ulm, and by the state of Baden-Württemberg ....
in Swabia
Swabia (administrative region)
Swabia is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany.- Geography :Swabia is located in southwest Bavaria. It was formed out of the part of the historic region of Swabia which was annexed by Bavaria in 1803. It was once formally ruled by dukes of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. During...
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
. This district was constituted in 1972 by combining the city of Günzburg—which had not previously been assigned to a Kreis
Districts of Germany
The districts of Germany are known as , except in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein where they are known simply as ....
(district)—with the district of Günzburg and the district of Krumbach
Krumbach (Swabia)
Krumbach is a town with about 12.500 residents in the district Günzburg in the Bavarian administrative region Swabia, Germany...
.
Günzburg lies where the river Günz
Günz
The Günz is a river in Bavaria, Germany, right tributary of the Danube. It is formed near Lauben by the confluence of its two source rivers: the Östliche Günz and the Westliche Günz . It is approx. 90 km long . It flows generally north through the small towns Babenhausen, Deisenhausen,...
enters 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....
, and has a population of about 19,800.
History
Günzburg was founded in about 70 BC by the RomansAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
to defend the borders of their land along 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....
; it was known as Castellum
Castellum
A castellum is a small Roman detached fort or fortlet used as a watch tower or signal station. The Latin word castellum is a diminutive of castra , which in turn is the plural of castrum ; it is the source of the English word "castle".The term castellum was also used to refer to a settling or...
Guntia, Gontia or Contia. The name comes from that of a Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic moon goddess (Góntia
Góntia
Góntia , also known as Guntia, was a Celtic goddess. Her name may be etymologically related to the Celtic word condate . She may have been the tutelary deity of the river Günz, which is near Günzburg in Germany. She also appears to be connected with the Belgian city Ghent....
). It consisted of a fort, later replaced by at least one other on the same site, a fairly large civilian settlement and most likely an important bridge over the Danube.
After the Romans left in the 5th century, the Alamanni
Alamanni
The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic tribes located around the upper Rhine river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Roman Emperor Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211 to 217 and claimed thereby to be...
tribe settled there. In around 700 the nearby castle of Ricinis was mentioned by the Cartographer of Ravenna as one of the five most important castles of Alemannia. In 1065 first documentary evidence appears of the town itself as Gunceburch.
In 1301 the town became part of the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
house
Royal House
A royal house or royal dynasty consists of at least one, but usually more monarchs who are related to one another, as well as their non-reigning descendants and spouses. Monarchs of the same realm who are not related to one another are usually deemed to belong to different houses, and each house is...
and was developed into the centre of the margraviate of Burgau
Burgau
Burgau is a town in the district of Günzburg in Swabia, Bavaria. Burgau lies on the river Mindel, and has a population of just under 10,000.- History :The territory around Burgau was originally part of the stem duchy of Swabia...
; for a time it was even the capital of all Further Austria
Further Austria
Further Austria or Anterior Austria was the collective name for the old possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-western Germany, including territories in the Alsace region west of the Rhine and in Vorarlberg, after the focus of the Habsburgs had moved to the...
. In 1806 the town became part of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
.
Very near Günzburg is the site where the "Leipheim
Leipheim
Leipheim is a town in the district of Günzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the Danube, 5 km west of Günzburg, and 17 km northeast of Ulm. The village Riedheim and the hamlet Weissingen are districts of Leipheim...
Horde" was defeated by the Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
n army in 1525 during the German Peasants' Revolt. The same site saw the first flight by a Messerschmitt Me 262
Messerschmitt Me 262
The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. Design work started before World War II began, but engine problems prevented the aircraft from attaining operational status with the Luftwaffe until mid-1944...
in 1942.
Günzburg is the birthplace of Dr. Josef Mengele, the chief medical officer of the Auschwitz concentration camp, alleged to be personally responsible for almost a million deaths as well as torture during the Holocaust. In the 1970s, the townspeople of Günzburg earned the attention of the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Federal Republic of Germany and that of the world community when Mengele (at that time the most wanted Nazi war criminal in the world) returned there from Paraguay in order to attend his father's funeral and stayed in the town for six weeks without having been reported to authorities. Despite a televised public statement by the nation's Chief Prosecutor expressing his firm belief that hundreds of citizens of Günzburg had knowingly and willingly contributed to a criminal conspiracy aiming to conceal evidence from local and federal police as well as to United Nations authorities while actively harbouring and abetting a Nazi war criminal, Günzburg has since bounced back from criticism and flourished, boasting a thriving downtown shopping area, scenic views of the nearby historic castle, and one of the top five Legoland theme parks in Germany. It is also home of the soccer player Stefano Celozzi.
Main sights
The attractions of Günzburg include the Church of Our Lady (FrauenkircheFrauenkirche
Frauenkirche is a common dedication for churches in German-speaking countries.Specifically, Frauenkirche may refer to:*Dresden Frauenkirche, a Protestant church in Dresden, Germany...
) built by Dominikus Zimmermann
Dominikus Zimmermann
Dominikus Zimmermann was a German Rococo architect and stuccoist.-Life:Dominikus Zimmermann was born in Gaispoint near Wessobrunn in 1685 and became a Baumeister and a stuccoist. His older brother Johann Baptist Zimmermann was an architect and a frescoist...
, the margrave
Margrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
s' castle (the only Habsburg castle built in Germany), the Reisensburg fort, today the congress centre of the University of Ulm
University of Ulm
The University of Ulm is a public university in the city of Ulm, in the South German state of Baden-Württemberg. The university was founded in 1967 and focuses on natural sciences, medicine, engineering sciences, mathematics, economics and computer science...
and the nearly-intact old town centre.
In 2002 Legoland
Legoland
Legoland is a chain of Lego-themed theme parks. They are not fully owned by Lego Group itself; rather they are owned and operated by the British theme park company Merlin Entertainment.The chain currently consists of:* Legoland Billund...
built a theme park near the town.
Famous people
- Stefano CelozziStefano CelozziStefano Celozzi is a German footballer of Italian descent who plays as a defender for VfB Stuttgart.-Club career:...
, footballer for Karlsruher SCKarlsruher SCKarlsruher SC is a German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg. KSC rose out of the consolidation of a number of predecessor clubs. They currently play in the 2... - Diana DamrauDiana DamrauDiana Damrau is a German lyric coloratura soprano of the operatic stage.-Biography:Diana Damrau was born in 1971 in Günzburg, Bavaria, Germany, and began her operatic studies with Carmen Hanganu at the Musikhochschule in Würzburg. After graduating from music conservatory she worked in Salzburg...
, opera singer - Johann EckJohann EckDr. Johann Maier von Eck was a German Scholastic theologian and defender of Catholicism during the Protestant Reformation. It was Eck who argued that the beliefs of Martin Luther and Jan Hus were similar.-Life:...
, Reformation theologian - Johann Eberlin von GünzburgJohann Eberlin von GünzburgJohann Eberlin von Günzburg was a German theologian who became prominent as the author of reformist flysheets and pamphlets.-Life:...
, reformist preacher and author, was born in the town around 1470. - Petra KellyPetra KellyPetra Karin Kelly was a German politician and activist. She was instrumental in founding the German Green Party, the first Green party to rise to prominence worldwide.- Early life :...
, peace activist and GreenAlliance '90/The GreensAlliance '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...
politician - Josef MengeleJosef MengeleJosef Rudolf Mengele , also known as the Angel of Death was a German SS officer and a physician in the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. He earned doctorates in anthropology from Munich University and in medicine from Frankfurt University...
, the SSWaffen-SSThe Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
officier and Auschwitz phyisician was born in Günzburg; on 8 March 2005 a monument to his victims was erected in the town. - Franz Xaver SchwarzFranz Xaver SchwarzFranz Xaver Schwarz was a German politician who served as Reichsschatzmeister of the Nazi Party during most of the Party's existence.-Early life:...
, Nazi politician