Ansbach
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Ansbach (disambiguation).
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| Country | Germany |
| State | Bavaria |
| Administrative region | Mittelfranken |
| District | urban district |
| Population | 40,723 (2004) |
| Area | 99.92 km² |
| Population density | 407 /km² |
| Elevation | 409 m |
| Coordinates | 49°18′ N 10°35′ E |
| Postal code | 91522 |
| Area code | 0981 |
| Licence plate code | AN |
| Mayor | Ralf Felber (SPD) |
| Website | ansbach.de |
Ansbach, or Anspach, originally Onolzbach, is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is situated 25 miles southwest of Nuremberg and 90 miles north of Munich, on the Fränkische Rezat, a tributary of the Main river. Population: 40.723 (2004).
The city has five schools. It is connected by motorway A6 and routes B13 and B14.
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[edit] History
A Benedictine monastery at the place was founded around 748 by a Franconian noble, Gumbertus, who was later canonized. In the following centuries the monastery and the adjoining village (Onoldsbach) grew to become the town of Ansbach (called a town in 1221 for the first time).
The counts of Oettingen ruled over Ansbach until the Hohenzollern burgraves of Nuremberg took over in 1331. The Hohenzollerns made Ansbach the seat of their dynasty until their acquisition of the electorate of Brandenburg in 1415. However, after the death of Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg in 1440 the Franconian cadet branch of the family was not politically united with the main Brandenburg line, remaining independent as "Brandenburg-Ansbach."
Margrave George the Pious introduced the Protestant Reformation to Ansbach in 1528, leading to the secularization of St. Gumbertus Abbey in 1563.
In 1792 Ansbach was annexed by the Hohenzollerns of Prussia. In 1796 the Duke of Zweibrücken, Maximilian Joseph, the posterior Bavarian king Max I. Joseph was exiled to Ansbach after Zweibrücken had been taken by the French. In Ansbach Maximilian von Montgelas wrote an elaborate concept for the future political organisation of Bavaria, which is known as the "Ansbacher Mémoire". In 1806 Prussia ceded Ansbach and the principality of Ansbach to Bavaria in exchange for the Bavarian duchy of Berg.
At the end of the 17th century, the margraves' palace at Ansbach was rebuilt in Baroque style.
Since 1970, Ansbach has enlarged its municipal area by incorporating adjacent communities.
Ansbach was a small town largely by-passed by the Industrial Revolution, an administrative and cultural center. Although all bridges were destroyed, the historical center of Ansbach was spared during World War II and it has kept its baroque character.
Ansbach hosts several units of the U.S. armed forces, associated with German units under NATO. There are three separate U.S. installations: Shipton Kaserne, home to 6th Bn., 52nd Air Defense Artillery; Katterbach Kaserne, where the 1st Infantry Division's 4th Combat Aviation Brigade resides, associated with Bismarck Kaserne, where the post exchange, etc. are located, and Barton Barracks, home to the USAG Ansbach.
[edit] Boroughs
- Eyb, part of Ansbach since October 1, 1970
- Bernhardswinden, part of Ansbach since July 1, 1972
- Brodswinden, part of Ansbach since July 1, 1972
- Claffheim, part of Ansbach since July 1, 1972
- Elpersdorf bei Ansbach, part of Ansbach since July 1, 1972
- Hennenbach, part of Ansbach since July 1, 1972
- Neuses bei Ansbach, part of Ansbach since July 1, 1972
- Strüth
- Wasserzell
- Schalkhausen, part of Ansbach since July 1, 1972
- Geisengrund
- Dornberg
- Neudorf
- Steinersdorf
[edit] Sister cities
[edit] Famous people
Albert of Prussia, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order and the first duke of Prussia.
In the late sixteenth century, the physician to margrave Georg Friedrich was the famous botanist, Leonhart Fuchs.
Ansbach was home of the astronomer Simon Marius, who observed Jupiter's moons from the castle's tower. Later he claimed to be the discoverer of the moons, which led to a dispute with the true discoverer, Galileo Galilei.
Ansbach was the birthplace of the early chemist, Georg Ernst Stahl.
Queen Caroline of Great Britain was born in Ansbach in 1683.
Two poets, Johann Peter Uz (1720-1796) and August Graf von Platen (1790-1835), were also born there.
John James Maximilian Oertel, (1811-1882), born in Ansbach, was a Lutheran clergyman who later converted to Roman Catholicism, became a professor of German at Fordham University, and later edited and founded several newspapers, including one that would become the leading German-language newspaper in the county, Baltimore's Kirchenzeitung. [1]
Kaspar Hauser lived in Ansbach from 1830 to 1833. He was murdered in the palace gardens.
Hermann Fegelein was a great admirer of his birthplace, Ansbach.
[edit] Sights
- Castle of the Margraves of Brandenburg-Ansbach
- Margrave museum
- Kaspar Hauser Monument
- St. Gumbertus and St. Johannis churches, both fifteenth century
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
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- ^ (1963) Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who.
[edit] External links
- Official Website (German, English, French)
- Ansbach information
- US Army Garrison Ansbach - Ansbach Military Community
