Singen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Singen
Singen from the Hohentwiel

Coat of arms
Singen
Coordinates: 47°45′46″N 8°50′24″E / 47.76278°N 8.84000°E / 47.76278; 8.84000Coordinates: 47°45′46″N 8°50′24″E / 47.76278°N 8.84000°E / 47.76278; 8.84000
Country Germany
State Baden-Württemberg
Admin. region Freiburg
District Konstanz
Subdivisions 7
Government
  Mayor Oliver Ehret (CDU)
Area
  Total 61.75 km2 (23.84 sq mi)
Elevation 429 m (1,407 ft)
Population (2012-12-31)[1]
  Total 45,355
  Density 730/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 78224
Dialling codes 07731
Vehicle registration KN
Website www.singen.de

Singen is an industrial city in the very south of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany and just north of the German-Swiss border.

Location

Singen is an industrial city situated in the very south of Baden-Württemberg in Germany close to Lake Constance just north of the German-Swiss border and is the most important city in the Hegau area.

Landmarks

Hohentwiel

The most famous landmark of Singen is Hohentwiel, a volcanic stub on which there are the ruins of a fortress destroyed by French troops during the Napoleonic Wars.

World War 2 'Singen route'

Singen is notable in military history for the Singen route in World War II. This route into Switzerland was discovered by Dutch naval lieutenant Hans Larive in 1940 on his first escape attempt from an Oflag (prisoner's camp for officers) in Soest. After being captured at the Swiss border near Singen, the interrogating Gestapo officer was so confident the war would soon be won by Germany that he told Larive the safe way across the border. Larive did not forget and many prisoners later escaped using this route - that included Larive himself, Francis Steinmetz, Anthony Luteyn, Airey Neave, Pat Reid and Howard Wardle in their escapes from Colditz Castle when Colditz was used in the war as Oflag IV-C.[2]

References

  1. [Statistisches Bundesamt – Gemeinden in Deutschland mit Bevölkerung am 31.12.2012 (XLS-Datei; 4,0 MB) (Einwohnerzahlen auf Grundlage des Zensus 2011) "Gemeinden in Deutschland mit Bevölkerung am 31.12.2012"]. Statistisches Bundesamt (in German). 12 November 2013. 
  2. Larive; the man who came in from Colditz, Leo de hartog; officieren achter prikkeldraad 1940-1945

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.