Welden is a community in the Augsburg district 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 ...

, in

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 ...

, and is the seat of the commune of Welden. Since the local government reform in 1978 it comprises Welden, Reutern and Ehgatten.

Geography

Welden lies at the centre of the ''Holzwinkel'' landscape in Augsburg-West forestry natural park. Welden and Ehgatten are situated on the Laugna which supplies the

Zusam The Zusam () is a river in Bavaria, Germany and a right tributary of the Danube. Its source is just north of the village of Könghausen, in the Unterallgäu district of Bavaria. It flows north for approximately 97 km, before converging into ...

. Reutern is on a hill between the Zusam and Laugna vallies.

History

Welden was first mentioned in 1156. It was seat of the Lords of Welden who took their fief from the marquesses of

Burgau Burgau () is a Town#Germany, town in Günzburg (district), the district of Günzburg in Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia, Bavaria. Burgau lies on the river Mindel (river), Mindel and has a population of just under 10,000. History The territory around ...

. In 1402 the village became a "market". In 1597 the

Fugger The House of Fugger () is a German family that was historically a prominent group of European bankers, members of the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg, international mercantile bankers, and venture capitalists. ...

family acquired the estate which remained in the hand of the ''Fugger-Wellenburg'' branch until it extinguished in 1764, followed by the counts and princes of ''Fugger-Babenhausen''. In 1806 Welden became part of the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

. The monastery is still owned by the Fugger family foundation. During the local government reform of 1978, the commune of Reutern was added to Welden as was Ehgatten, which belonged to the commune of Streitheim (now belonging to

Zusmarshausen Zusmarshausen is a municipality in the district of Augsburg, Bavaria, 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 ...

community). Before 1978, Ehgatten's parish and school was governed by Welden.

Politics

Mayor

Mayors since the local government reform of 1978: Since 2002, Gerhard Groß (FWV) has been the deputy mayor.

Local Council

Local council elections since the 1978 reform:

Culture and Places of Interest

* St. Thekla church * Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary contains early

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es by 18th century painter

Matthäus Günther Matthäus Günther (also Mathäus Günther) (7 September 1705 – 30 September 1788) was an important German painter and artist of the Baroque and Rococo era. Günther, who was born in Peissenberg (at that time: Tritschengreith), helped d ...

Notable citizens

The author

Ludwig Ganghofer Ludwig Ganghofer (7 July 1855 – 24 July 1920) was a German writer. He has been called the "most-adapted author in the history of German cinema", as many of his novels were turned into films. Biography Ganghofer was born in Kaufbeuren, Bavaria, ...

spent a significant part of his childhood (1859–1865) in Welden.

References

External links

{{Authority control Augsburg (district)