Ratshausen is a municipality the

Zollernalbkreis The Zollernalbkreis () is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The district is located in the Swabian Alb, and contains the second highest elevation of this range, the high '' Oberhohenberg''. In the south-e ...

district, in

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, 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 i ...

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 ...

History

In 1805, Ratshausen, previously a possession of the Austrian County of Hohenberg, was annexed by the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806. Geogr ...

. Ratshausen was assigned to , and remained in that district until it was dissolved into in 1938. The town transformed after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

from a rural and agricultural town to a commercial center. Residential space was added to the southwest in the 1950s. As part of the , the district of Balingen was dissolved and Ratshausen reassigned to the newly created district of Zollernalb. Further development took place in the 1990s in the north and south.

Geography

The municipality ('' Gemeinde'') of Ratshausen is located in the Zollernalb district of

, one of the 16

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

of the

Federal Republic of 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 constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...

. It is located at the southwest end of the district and borders

Tuttlingen district Tuttlingen is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the south of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Rottweil, Zollernalbkreis, Sigmaringen, Constance and Schwarzwald-Baar. History The district dates back to the ...

to the south. Ratshausen is physically located primarily in the , in the valley of the

Schlichem Schlichem is a river of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It passes through Schömberg and flows, away, into the Neckar in Epfendorf. Geography Course Its source is located north of Tieringen (district of Meßstetten) at an elevation of 880 m ...

, which flows through Ratshausen itself. Elevation above sea level in the municipal area ranges from a high of

Normalnull ("standard zero") or (short N. N. or NN) is an outdated official vertical datum used in Germany. Elevations using this reference system were to be marked (“meters above standard zero”). has been replaced by (NHN). History In 187 ...

(NN) at the top of the

Plettenberg Plettenberg (; Westphalian: ''Plettmert'') is a town in the Märkischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Plettenberg is located to the west of the Sauerland hills. The highest elevation of the town area is in the Ebbe Mount ...

to a low of NN on the Schlichem. A portion of the Federally-protected Ortenberg, , and

nature reserves A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...

is located in Ratshausen's municipal area.

Coat of arms

Ratshausen's coat of arms depicts a

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

trowel upon a

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

. This pattern is derived from a

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

used in the 19th century by the local

Schultheiß In medieval Germany, the ''Schultheiß'' () was the head of a municipality (akin to today's office of mayor), a '' Vogt'' or an executive official of the ruler. As official (''villicus'') it was his duty to order his assigned village or county ( ...

that portrayed an oval shield with a wreath and a trowel upon it. The tool itself is a reference to the compulsory labor inhabitants of Ratshausen were expected to perform in the summer, usually the laying of bricks. The

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

, a reference to the County of Hohenberg, was decided by the provisional post-WWII

Württemberg-Hohenzollern Württemberg-Hohenzollern was a West Germany, West German state created in 1945 as part of the French Allied Occupation Zones in Germany, post-World War II occupation zone. Its capital was Tübingen. In 1952, it was merged into the newly founded ...

government that awarded this coat of arms to Ratshausen on 27 March 1950. A corresponding flag was issued by the Zollernalb district office on 21 May 1991.

Transportation

Local public transportation is provided by the .

Notable people

* Michael Reitz, accused witch burned at the stake in 1580. * Barbara Hengstallerin, accused witch burned at the stake in 1618.

References

External links

* (in German) {{Authority control Zollernalbkreis