Rottweil is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the middle of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. It is part of the Schwarzwald-Baar-Heuberg region in the

Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald (french: Arrondissement de Brisgau-Haute-Forêt-Noire) is a (district) in the southwest of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Fifty towns and municipalities with 133 settlements lie within the district. The district itself belon ...

regional district. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise)

Freudenstadt Freudenstadt (Swabian: ''Fraidestadt'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is capital of the district Freudenstadt. The closest population centres are Offenburg to the west (approx. 36 km away) and Tübingen to the eas ...

, Zollernalbkreis,

Tuttlingen Tuttlingen ( Alemannic: ''Duttlinga'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, capital of the district Tuttlingen. Nendingen, ''Möhringen'' and ''Eßlingen'' are three former municipalities that belong to Tuttlingen. Tuttlingen is located in Swabia ea ...

, Schwarzwald-Baar and Ortenaukreis.

History

The district dates back to the ''Oberamt Rottweil'', which was created in 1806/08 when the previously free imperial city Rottweil became part of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...

. In 1934 it was renamed to ''Landkreis'' (district). 1938 the two neighboring districts Sulz and Oberndorf were dissolved, and most of the district Oberndorf and a small part of Sulz was added to the district Rottweil. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, a series of

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as con ...

, collectively known as KZ Schörzingen-Rottweil-Zepfenhan, were located in the area. In 1973 in another communal reform several municipalities from the districts Horb, Wolfach, Hechingen and Villingendorf were added.

Geography

The district covers part of the mountains of the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is ...

and the

Swabian Alb The Swabian Jura (german: Schwäbische Alb , more rarely ), sometimes also named Swabian Alps in English, is a mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, extending from southwest to northeast and in width. It is named after the region of ...

. The Neckar River bisects the district from south to north as it flows towards the

Rhine River ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

Economy

Today, the economy of Rottweil is predominantly medium-sized. The town of

Rottweil Rottweil (; Alemannic: ''Rautweil'') is a town in southwest Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Rottweil was a free imperial city for nearly 600 years. Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alps, Rottweil has nearly 25,00 ...

, the oldest town in Baden-Württemberg, used to be a flourishing

imperial city In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...

during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. The annual average unemployment rate in Rottweil was 3.4 Percent in 2019.

Coat of arms

The imperial eagle in the coat of arms derives from the coat of arms of the free imperial city Rottweil. Below the eagle is a deer antler, the symbol of Württemberg, as part of the district belonged to the kingdom Württemberg well before Rottweil itself became part of it. The shield on the breast of the eagle show the colors of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, symbolizing the area around the city of Oberndorf which was acquired by Austria in 1381.

Cities and towns

References

External links

Official website

History and territory of the former Reichsstadt Rottweil
{{coord, 48.17, N, 8.63, E, source:dewiki_region:DE-BW_type:adm2nd, display=title Freiburg (region) Districts of Baden-Württemberg