Schwäbisch Gmünd

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The title of this article contains the following characters: ä and ü. Where they are unavailable or not desired, the name may be given as Schwaebisch Gmuend.

Coordinates: 48°48′N 9°48′E

Schwäbisch Gmünd


Country	Germany
State	Baden-Württemberg
Administrative region	Stuttgart
District	Ostalbkreis
Population	61,428 (2004)
Area	113.78 km²
Population density	540 /km²
Elevation	321 m
Coordinates	48°48′ N 9°48′ E
Postal code	73501-73529
Area code	07171
Licence plate code	AA
Mayor	Wolfgang Leidig
Website	schwaebisch-gmuend.de

Schwäbisch Gmünd is a town in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 62,000, the town is the second largest in the Ostalbkreis and the whole region of East Württemberg after Aalen. The town is a Große Kreisstadt, a chief town under district administration; it was the chief town of its own rural district until the district reform on January 1, 1973. The rural district was called Schwäbisch Gmünd and it had the car license key GD.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Economics
4 Famous people
5 Twin towns
6 Trivia
7 External links

[edit] Geography

Schwäbisch Gmünd lies on the Rems river about 50 kilometers east of Stuttgart, the capital of Baden-Württemberg. It also lies at the northern foot of the Swabian Jura Mountains.

[edit] History

The first settlement in this area was around the 2nd century AD, when the Roman soldiers settled the nearby Limes. In the 3rd century the border lines were assaulted and taken by the Alemans, who settled down in the areas the Romans had abandoned.

In the 8th century a false document in the name of Karl the Great, in the Monastery of St Denis near Paris mentioned a monk's cell called Gamundias built by Abbot Fulrad of St Denis. Whether or not this refers to Gmünd is highly uncertain. There are no archaeological indications for a cell of this type in Gmünd.

Schwäbish Gmünd was founded in the mid-12th century. It was a free imperial city from 1268 until 1803, when it passed to Württemberg.

From 1963 to 1991, the US Army's 56th Field Artillery, Pershing was headquartered at Hardt Kaserne.

[edit] Economics

From the 17th century until today Schwäbisch Gmünd have been producers of gold and silver handicrafts. In the city is the Forschungsinstitut für Edelmetalle und Metallchemie, which is an institute for precious metal work. The industries prevailent in this town are the automotive industry and manufacturers of machinery and glass.

[edit] Famous people

Peter Parler (1330 - 1399) architect and builder
Hans Ratgeb (circa 1480 - 1526) painter
Hans Baldung (1484/85 - 1545) painter
Hans Judenkönig (died 1526) orator

[edit] Twin towns

Schwäbish Gmünd is twinned with:

[edit] Trivia

The town of Schwäbisch Gmünd became world wide known on November 7, 1992, when German swimming star Franziska van Almsick set a world record in the 50m freestyle in the local pool, clocking 24.75. Schwäbisch Gmünd hosts the annual Swabian Alb Marathon, which is part of the European Ultramarathon Cup.