Kellmünz ''(official: Kellmünz a.d.Iller)'' is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the district of

Neu-Ulm Neu-Ulm (, ; Swabian: ''Nej-Ulm'') is the seat of the Neu-Ulm district and a town in Swabia, Bavaria. Neighbouring towns include Ulm, Senden, Pfaffenhofen an der Roth, Holzheim, Nersingen and Elchingen. The population is 58,978 (31 Decembe ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Geographic location

Kellmünz is located in Upper Swabia at the river Iller, approximately 30 km south of Ulm and 15 km north of

Memmingen Memmingen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Memmenge'') is a town in Swabia (Bavaria), 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 ...

History

Kellmünz gets attention among the many settlements in the Iller valley due to its uncommon name, which points to a pre-Germanic past. The name derivates from "Caelius Mons" (engl. Heaven's Mountain). In 15 B.C. the Romans occupied the land between the Alps and the Danube and the province of Raetia was established. The legionaries renamed an initially Celtic settlement to Caelius Mons, probably referring to the

Caelian Hill The Caelian Hill ( ; ; ) is one of the famous seven hills of Rome. Geography The Caelian Hill is a moderately long promontory about long, to wide, and tall in the park near the Temple of Claudius. The hill overlooks a plateau from wh ...

in Rome. After the fall of the Limes in the face of Alemannic pressure, the Romans changed their strategy to protect the Alpine foothills. Instead of a rampage at the border they built forts in the back-up area, so called "castellums". One of the most famous stood around 300 AD on the Caelius Mons. It was surrounded by a massive stonewall in the fourfold, 100 m long and 100 m wide with many towers. The castellum could accommodate 300 men. At the place, where the church stands today, was an equally large hall with an apse and a portico. That building was oriented to the south, while the church points to the east. The hall served mainly the administration, the jurisdiction and the cult.

World War II

Near the end of the war, on 25 April 1945, the bridge over the Iller was destroyed by the Wehrmacht, in order to prevent the allied troops the passing to Bavaria. After that combat actions took place, in which tanks of the U.S. Army shot into the village. Thirty-three estates were destroyed.

Politics

Local council

The local council consists of twelve members. All mandates are held by the

Free Voters Free Voters (, FW) is a political party in Germany. It originates as an umbrella organisation of several Free Voters Associations (), associations of people which participate in an election without having the status of a registered party. These a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kellmunz Neu-Ulm (district)