Swabia (, Swabian: ''Schwaabe'', ) is one of the seven administrative regions of

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 ...

. It consists of ten districts and 340 municipalities (including four cities) with

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

being the administrative capital.

Governance

The county of Swabia is located in southwest

. It was annexed by Bavaria in 1803, is part of the historic region of Swabia and was formerly ruled by dukes of the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

dynasty. During the Nazi period, the area was separated from the rest of Bavaria to become the Gau Swabia. It was re-incorporated into Bavaria after the war. The Regierungsbezirk is subdivided into 3 regions (''Planungsregionen''): Allgäu, Augsburg, and Donau-Iller. Donau-Iller also includes two districts and one city of

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 ...

. * Part of the Swabian Keuper Land

Districts and district-free towns before the regional reorganization in 1972

Population

Historical population of Swabia: *1939: 934,311 *1950: 1,293,734 *1961: 1,340,217 *1970: 1,467,454 *1987: 1,546,504 *2002: 1,776,465 *2005: 1,788,919 *2006: 1,786,764 *2008: 1,787,995 *2010: 1,785,875 *2015: 1,846,020 *2019: 1,899,442

Economy

The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was € 74.8 billion in 2018, accounting for 2.2% of German economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was € 36,500 or 121% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 101% of the EU average.

History

The Bavarian administrative region of Swabia is the eastern part of the Duchy of Swabia. After the execution of the Swabian duke Conradin in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

in 1268, his uncle, the Bavarian duke Louis, inherited some of Conradin's possessions in Swabia. In 1803, with the German Mediatisation, Bavaria acquired the further East Swabian territories, which were merged with Palatinate-Neuburg. After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria, the state was totally reorganised and, in 1808, divided into 15 administrative districts (), in Bavaria called . They were created in the fashion of the French departements, quite even in size and population, and named after their main rivers. In the following years, due to territorial changes (e.g. the loss of Tyrol, the addition of the Palatinate), the number of districts was reduced to 8. The Swabian territories were merged with Palatinate-Neuburg and the new district was called (Upper Danube District). In 1837, king Ludwig I of Bavaria renamed all the districts after historical territorial names and tribes of the area. This also involved some border changes or territorial swaps. Thus the name changed to Swabia. In 1945, the town of Lindau was detached from Bavaria by France, but it was reunited with the district of Swabia in 1955. In 1972, the former Swabian city Neuburg an der Donau was reunited with the district of Upper Bavaria.

Main sites

Major attractions include the capital

; several other old cities including Donauwörth, Nördlingen,

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 ...

, Mindelheim, Kaufbeuren and Kempten; the Ottobeuren Abbey and the scenic attractions of the River

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

in the north; the Allgäu in the south; the Allgäu Alps and Oberstdorf; and the royal castles of Hohenschwangau, Neuschwanstein and Füssen. With the district of Lindau, Bavarian Swabia has access to Lake Constance.

Food and drink

Swabian cuisine is down-to-earth and rather simple. Noodle products are very important. * Brenntar * Spätzle * Maultaschen * Bergkäse * Schupfnudel * Alb-Leisa 2015 0718 Käsespätzle Sölden.jpg, Cheese Spätzle File:Musmehl.jpg, ''Musmehl'', main ingredient of Brenntar File:Schupfnudeln mit Sauerkraut.jpg, Schupfnudel with sauerkraut

Notable people

* Michael Bredl (1916–1999), a singer and collector of traditional Swabian Volksmusik * Ludwig Aurbacher (1784–1847), famous for his stories about The Seven Swabians * Ludwig Ganghofer (1855–1920), writer and inventor * Sebastian Kneipp (1821–1897), inventor of Kneipp-Kur known as Water-Doctor of

Hydrotherapy Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy and also called water cure, is a branch of alternative medicine (particularly naturopathy), occupational therapy, and Physical therapy, physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and ...

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Swabia NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union History of Swabia Government regions of Germany Regions of Bavaria