Wangen im Allgäu ( Low Alemannic: ''Wãnge'') is a historic city in southeast

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. It lies north-east of Lake Constance in the

Westallgäu Westallgäu is the western part of the Allgäu in Germany. It contains large parts of the districts of Lindau in the south west of the region, Swabia in Bavaria and the district of Ravensburg in the south east of Baden-Württemberg. Westallgäu ex ...

. It is the second-largest city (Population: 26,927 in 2020) in the Ravensburg district and is a

nexus NEXUS is a joint Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection-operated Trusted Traveler and expedited border control program designed for pre-approved, low-risk travelers. Members of the program can avoid waits at border ...

for the surrounding communities. From 1938 to 1972, Wangen was the county seat of the Wangen rural district.

Geography

Wangen in Allgäu lies on the north bank of the Obere Argen. The Untere Argen flows past northwest Wangen and unites southwest of the city with the Obere Argen. The city today is shaped by its historical town center as well as by numerous nearby districts.

Neighboring municipalities

Several settlements border Wangen. Their names are as follows: Amtzell,

Vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

Kißlegg Kißlegg (''Kisslegg'') is a town in the district of Ravensburg in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Kißlegg is not far from the village of Vogt. It has a beautiful church, rich in culture and beauty. Culture and attractions * Castle ''Altes Schlo ...

, Argenbühl, and Achberg (Ravensburg district), Hergatz and Hergensweiler (

Lindau Lindau (german: Lindau (Bodensee), ''Lindau am Bodensee''; ; Low Alemannic: ''Lindou'') is a major town and island on the eastern side of Lake Constance (''Bodensee'' in German) in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the county (''Landkreis' ...

district), and Neukirch (

Bodensee Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Lak ...

district).

History

The city was first mentioned in 815 under the name "Wangun" in a monastery document. In 1217, Emperor Fredrick II declared in a document that Wangen should remain in royal hands. In 1286, King Rudolph I granted Wangen the status of

free 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 late

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 city's growth was amplified by its central location at the crossroads between Ravensburg,

, Leutkirch, and Isny and the growing trade through the Alps. Wangen's production and export of manufactured goods, particularly scythes and canvas, gave the city a tremendous positive

trade balance The balance of trade, commercial balance, or net exports (sometimes symbolized as NX), is the difference between the monetary value of a nation's exports and imports over a certain time period. Sometimes a distinction is made between a balance ...

. This surplus money was used to acquire lands outside of the city walls, thus giving Wangen a safeguard against economic fluctuations. During the

German Mediatisation German mediatisation (; german: deutsche Mediatisierung) was the major territorial restructuring that took place between 1802 and 1814 in Germany and the surrounding region by means of the mass mediatisation and secularisation of a large number ...

, in 1802, Wangen lost its status as a Free City and was incorporated into the Kingdom of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

; it later changed hands in 1810 to the Kingdom 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 1936, the city was officially named "Wangen in Allgäu". From 1938 up unto its dissolution and integration into the Ravensburg district in 1972, Wangen was the capital of the Wangen rural district. In 1973, Wangen was officially designated by the Baden-Württemberg state government to Großen Kreisstadt (large district town) due to its population having reached 20,000. In 1999, the largest flood in the most recent 50 years of Wangen's history completely flooded the lower city. The city was again flooded in 2006 by the Obere Argen. During the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

, the national team of

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

stayed in Wangen.

Main sights

Despite several major fires in 1539, 1793, and 1858, the old part of the town remains a juxtaposition of architectural elements ranging from those of the early

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 ...

to those of the late baroque era. The ''Oberstadtkirche St. Martin'' ("St Martin's Upper City Church") is one of Wangen's oldest buildings. The church was already present in the 9th century; it was renovated numerous times in the following years. It contains both Romanesque and

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It ...

. The Ravensburg Gate is the city's prime landmark. It was first mentioned in 1472, but was probably changed to its current appearance in 1608. The building is decorated with Renaissance-era artwork. Similarly aged relics of the old city include the

Gate and the Pfaffenturm tower. The local history museum, ''Heimatmuseum in der Eselmühle'', was opened in 1974 in a former mill acquired by the city in 1969. The museum displays the original mechanisms of the mill in addition to a collections from various spans of the city's history.

Population growth

¹ Census

Politics

Local council

The elections in May 2014 showed the following results: * SPD = 5 seats * CDU = 15 seats * FW (Free voters) = 8 seats * GOL (Green open list) = 8 seats * Total: 36 seats

Mayors since 1804

* 1804–1810: Franz Josef von Bentele * 1811–1819: Mathias Tschugg * 1819–1826: Rudolf Salis * 1826–1829: Martin Schnitzer * 1829–1847: Christian Nepomuk Weber * 1847–1859: Leopold Wocher * 1860–1894: Jacob Trenkle * 1894–1922: Rudolf Trenkle * 1922–1933: Fritz Geray * 1933: Gottlob Pfeiffer (provisional) * 1933–1939: Dr Friedrich Wilhelm Erbacher * 1939: Heinrich Fischer (provisional) * 1939–1942: Carl Speidel (on behalf of Heinrich Fischer) * 1942–1945: Max Steinegger (provisional) * 1945: Karl Geiger (provisional) * 1945: Franz Büchele (provisional) * 1945–1946: Josef Max Kraus (provisional) * 1945–1968: Wilhelm Uhl * 1968–2001: Dr Jörg Leist (born 1935) * since 2001: Michael Lang (born 1965)

Twin towns – sister cities

Wangen im Allgäu is twinned with: *

La Garenne-Colombes La Garenne-Colombes () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from Notre Dame de Paris which is the center of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. Name The city used to be p ...

, France * Prato, Italy

Economics and infrastructure

Wangen was once a center of the German

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry. Industry process Cotton manufacturi ...

before the decline of German textile manufacturing.

Inter-city transport

Wangen lies on the A96

Autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track' ...

between

and

Memmingen Memmingen (; Swabian: ''Memmenge'') is a town in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is the economic, educational and administrative centre of the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the river that marks the Baden-W� ...

, in addition to federal highways 18 and 32. The town is part of the

Aulendorf Aulendorf () is a town in the district of Ravensburg, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated southwest of Biberach an der Riß, and north of Ravensburg. Aulendorf exists of the town itself along with the incorporated villages Tannha ...

–

– Wangen - Hergatz –

and

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

–

– Wangen – Hergatz –

train lines. It lies on the bus route between Ravensburg and Isny. The city also belongs to the Bodensee–Oberschwaben public transportation association.

Education

Wangen has a Gymnasium
Rupert-Neß-Gymnasium
, a

Realschule ''Realschule'' () is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), ...

Johann-Andreas-Rauch-Realschule
, a

Hauptschule A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...

(Hauptschule Karsee), a Werkrealschule
Anton-von-Gegenbaur-Schule
and a special school (Martinstorschule), three combined secondary and elementary schools (GHS Niederwangen, Praßberg-Schule and Freie Waldorfschule Wangen) (http://www.fws-wangen.de/start.html), and six elementary schools (Berger-Höhe-Schule, Deuchelried, Grundschule im Ebnet, Leupolz, Neuravensburg, and Schomburg). The Wangen district has two vocational schools
Friedrich-Schiedel-Schule
an
Kaufmännischen Schule Wangen
, in addition to th
Heinrich-Brügger-Schule
medical school.

Media

Wangen is serviced by the ''

Schwäbische Zeitung ''Schwäbische Zeitung'' (eng. "Swabian Times") is a daily newspaper published by Medienhaus Schwäbisch Media, Schwäbischer Verlag GmbH & Co. KG Drexler, Gessler in Ravensburg, Germany. It was first published in Leutkirch im Allgäu on December ...

'' newspaper as well as the local Regio TV television station.

Governmental

Wangen is the seat of a local tax office. It has a district court, which belongs to the Ravensburg regional court district, which in turn belongs to the Stuttgart court district.

Other

* From 1943 to 1945, Wangen served as the backdrop for the propaganda movie ''Quax in Fahrt'' * From April 14 to May 13, 2004, the city and its surrounding areas served as a setting for the ''

Tatort ''Tatort'' ("Crime scene") is a German language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with some 30 feature-length episodes per year, which makes it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed b ...

'' television series. * The Wangen ''Juze Tonne e. V'' is the oldest autonomously run youth center in Germany. * The ''Jugendmusikschule in Wangen'' is the largest school of music in

Notable people

Roland Bader Roland Bader (born 24 August 1938) is a German choral conductor and music director. He is the principal guest conductor of the Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra and the Opera Krakowska, officially authorized as representative for their guest perfor ...

(born 1938), conductor * Janik Haberer (born 1994), footballer *

Ernst Jakob Henne Ernst Jakob Henne ( – ) was a German motorcycle racer and racecar driver. Henne was born in the village of Weiler, near Wangen im Allgäu. His father was a saddlemaker. In 1919 Henne was apprenticed to a become a motor vehicle mechanic. H ...

(1904–2005), motor cycle racer and world land speed record holder *

Melanie Leupolz Melanie Leupolz (born 14 April 1994) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Women's Super League club Chelsea and the Germany national team. Club career Leupolz started her career with TSV Ratzenried and TSV Tettn ...

(born 1994), soccer player * Frank Natterer (born 1941), mathematician * Ivana Rudelic (born 1992), footballer ( Bayern Munich) *

Franz Joseph Spiegler Franz Joseph Spiegler (5 April 1691 – 15 April 1757) was a German Baroque painter. He is best known for his frescoes, which decorate many of the churches and monasteries along the Upper Swabian Baroque Route. The frescoes in the Zwiefalten ...

(1691–1757), painter * Patricia Watson-Miller (born 1965), motorcycle rally raid driver * Sigrid Wille (born 1969), cross-country skier

References

External links

*
http://www.wangen.de/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wangen Im Allgau 1802 disestablishments States and territories established in 1286 Ravensburg (district) Swabian League Former states and territories of Baden-Württemberg Württemberg