Aalen

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Aalen


Country	Germany
State	Baden-Württemberg
Administrative region	Stuttgart
District	Ostalbkreis
Population	66,339 source (2007-03-01)
Area	146.624 km²
Population density	452.44 /km²
Elevation	430 m
Coordinates	48°50′ N 10°6′ E
Postal code	73430-73434
Area code	07361/-66/-67
Licence plate code	AA
Mayor	Martin Gerlach
Website	www.aalen.de

Aalen (pronounced [ˈaːlən]) is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is the seat of the Ostalbkreis district.

Aalen is twinned with:

Saint-Lô, France

Christchurch, England

Tatabánya, Hungary

Antakya, Turkey

1 Geography
2 History
3 Economy and transport
4 Boroughs of Aalen
5 References

[edit] Geography

Aalen is situated on the river Kocher, at the foot of the Swabian Alb to the south and south east and close to the hilly landscape of the Ellwanger Berge to the north. Aalen is at about 70 kilometres east of Stuttgart and 48 kilometres^[1] (30 miles) north of Ulm.

[edit] History

From about 150/160 AD a Roman fort housed the equestrian unit Ala II Flavia miliaria at the site of present-day Aalen. The location was strategically important at the time, in the direct vicinity of the Rhaetian Limes. It has been suggested that the name of Aalen traces back to the Roman fort, but this was disproved by later research. Today's town of Aalen did not emerge until more than a millennium later.

Aalen was probably founded in the 13th century, though it is not certain whether by the Staufians or by the counts of Oettingen. It was first mentioned in written records in the 14th century when it was subject to the counts of Oettingen. Aalen was an Imperial City (often misreferred to as Imperial Free City) from 1360 to 1802, when it was annexed to Württemberg.It suffered a severe fire in 1634.^[1] It then became the seat of an Oberamt from which the district (Kreis) Aalen emerged in 1938. The latter merged with the district of Schwäbisch Gmünd to the newly formed Ostalbkreis in 1973, though Aalen remained the district seat. In 1975, Wasseralfingen, a town with a third of the population of Aalen, was merged into Aalen.^[1]

[edit] Economy and transport

In the early 20th century the population was 10,000. Wool and linen goods were manufactured, there were ribbon looms and tanneries in the town, and a large iron works in the neighbourhood. The economy of Aalen is today dominated by metal processing. Besides machine construction, the optical sector plays an important role, as well as the textile and paper industries. There are several micro-breweries, of which the one in Wasseralfingen is the most popular with a beer called Wasseralfinger.

Its church of Saint Nicholas dates back to 1765; the town hall dates back even further, to 1636. In addition to its historical sites, Aalen's Limesmuseum of Roman relics was opened in 1964.^[1]

Aalen is a health resort, with hot springs and an old mine which now offers therapy for asthma. A mine railway takes visitors deep into the Braunenberg mountain, where ore was once mined for the iron works, but now is in use solely for asthma therapy.

Aalen has several sports teams; its wrestling team is one of the top clubs in all of Germany.

Aalen is located directly on the Autobahn A7 and is also well connected to the network of federal roads (Bundesstraßen). It is a regional railway hub, with frequent service to Stuttgart Hbf (Central), Nürnberg Hbf (Central), and Ulm Hbf (Central). Inter-regional trains run direct to Karlsruhe and Dresden. The local bus system is of high quality; its double-decker buses are among the few in use outside of the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Hong Kong.