Landsberg am Lech

Landsberg am Lech
Lech River in Landsberg
Coat of arms
Landsberg am Lech
Location of Landsberg am Lech within Landsberg am Lech district
Coordinates: 48°02′52″N 10°53′56″E / 48.04778°N 10.89889°E / 48.04778; 10.89889Coordinates: 48°02′52″N 10°53′56″E / 48.04778°N 10.89889°E / 48.04778; 10.89889
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Oberbayern
District	Landsberg am Lech
Government
• Lord Mayor	Mathias Neuner (CSU)
Area
• Total	57.89 km2 (22.35 sq mi)
Elevation	585-630 m (−1,482 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)[1]
• Total	28,708
• Density	500/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	86899
Dialling codes	08191 08246 (Ellighofen)
Vehicle registration	LL
Website	www.landsberg.de

Landsberg am Lech (Landsberg on the river Lech) is a town in southwest Bavaria, Germany, about 65 kilometers west of Munich and 35 kilometers south of Augsburg. It is the capital of the district of Landsberg am Lech.

Overview

The historic old town

Bayertor, the gate to Munich

Landsberg is situated on the Romantic Road and is the center of the Lechrain region, the boundary region between Swabia and Bavaria. It is noted for its picturesque historic center.

Landsberg am Lech developed where a major historic salt road crossed over the Lech river. To protect the bridge, Duke Henry the Lion ordered a castle to be built, Castrum Landespurch, incorporating an older settlement and castle named Phetine. Soon a greater settlement evolved, which received its town charter as early as the 13th century.

In 1315 the town burned down, but was rebuilt because of its important location. In 1320 Landsberg was permitted to collect salt duties, bringing considerable wealth to the town. In 1419 a river tax added a further source of income.

The town is noted for its prison where Adolf Hitler was incarcerated in 1924. During this incarceration Hitler wrote/dictated his book Mein Kampf together with Rudolf Hess. His cell, number 7, became part of the Nazi cult and many followers came to visit it during the German Nazi-period. Landsberg am Lech was also known as the town of the Hitler Youth. Following World War II it was the location for one of the largest Displaced Person (DP) camps for Jewish refugees and the place of execution for more than 150 war criminals after 1945.

It is the birthplace of the Nobel laureate Erwin Neher.

Lech weir and the historic centre of Landsberg am Lech

Geography

Town areas

The town comprises three main areas. The historic old town centre of Landsberg, which lies between the river Lech and its easterly elevated bank. The area to the west of the river Lech (Katharinenvorstadt, Neuerpfting, Weststadt, Schwaighofsiedlung – today by far the biggest part of the town) and the area on the easterly elevated bank (Bayervorstadt) developed since the early 19th century.

Also belonging to Landsberg are the hamlets of Sandau and Pössing as well as the former independent boroughs of Ellighofen, Erpfting (with Friedheim, Geratshof and Mittelstetten), Pitzling (with Pöring) and Reisch (with Thalhofen).

Landsberg Concentration Camp and displaced person camp

The Landsberg camp began as a Nazi concentration camp. By October 1944, there were more than 5,000 prisoners in the camp.

The camp was liberated on April 27, 1945 by the 12th Armored Division of the United States Army. Upon orders from General Taylor, the American forces allowed news media to record the atrocities, and ordered local German civilians and guards to reflect upon the dead and bury them bare-handed. After the liberation of the camp it became a displaced person (DP) camp. Consisting primarily of Jewish refugees from the Soviet Union and the Baltic states, it developed into one of the most influential DP camps in the Sh'erit ha-Pletah. It housed a Yiddish newspaper (the Yiddishe Zeitung), religious schools, and organizations to promote Jewish religious observance. Tony Bennett was one of the soldiers who liberated the camp.

A dramatization of the discovery and liberation of the camp was presented in Episode 9: Why We Fight of the Band of Brothers mini-series.

A number of prominent leaders emerged from the camp, including Samuel Gringauz, who became the chairman of the Council of the Central Committee of Liberated Jews in the U.S. zone. The camp also served as the headquarters for the Jewish education and training organisation ORT.

The camp closed on October 15, 1950.

Notable people

• Samuel Bak - Artist
• Johnny Cash - (1932-2003), American singer/songwriter stationed here in the early 1950s while serving in the U.S. Air Force.
• Sir Hubert von Herkomer - Artist, film and theatre director
• Adolf Hitler - (1889-1945), German Dictator (was in prison in Landsberg 1923/24)
• Ignaz Kögler - Jesuit missionary and mathematician
• Lanspergius - Carthusian monk and ascetical writer
• Erwin Neher - Biologist
• Edith Raim - Writer and historian
• Siegfried Rauch - Film and television actor
• Luise Rinser - (1911-2002), German Writer and politician
• Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb - (1876-1956), World War II field marshal and war criminal
• Alois Wolfmüller - (1864-1948), German Inventor and aeronautical engineer
• Dominikus Zimmermann - Architect

Twinnings

• Hudson, OH, United States (1984)
• Saint-Laurent-du-Var, Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France (1986)
• Bushey, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom (1989)
• Rocca di Papa, Rome, Lazio, Italy (1989)
• Waldheim, Saxony, Germany (1990)
• Siófok, Hungary (2002)
• Failsworth, Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom (1974 - 2008)

Sports

Landsberg is home to the following sports clubs:

Sources

• Burgett, Daniel R. (2001). Beyond the Rhine. New York: Dell Publishing. pp. 119–134. 
• Thomas Raithel, Die Strafanstalt Landsberg am Lech und der Spöttinger Friedhof (1944-1958). Eine Dokumentation im Auftrag des Instituts für Zeitgeschichte München-Berlin (München: Oldenbourg 2009).

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Landsberg am Lech.

• „DP Camp Landsberg This article traces the origin and history of the DP-camp Landsberg between 1945 and 1952.
• „Landsberg: The City of Youth
• Original movie of the U.S. Army: liberation of the concentration camp Kaufering IV (by Landsberg Lech), in April 1945: This film and the photos, made by the U.S. Army, served as a template for Part 9 "Band of Brothers." These documents were given to the team of director and producer Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks by the European Holocaust Memorial (Landsberg).
• „European Holocaust Memorial

Towns and municipalities in Landsberg
Apfeldorf Denklingen Dießen am Ammersee Eching am Ammersee Egling an der Paar Eresing Finning Fuchstal Geltendorf Greifenberg Hofstetten Hurlach Igling Kaufering Kinsau Landsberg am Lech Obermeitingen Penzing Prittriching Pürgen Reichling Rott Scheuring Schondorf Schwifting Thaining Unterdießen Utting Vilgertshofen Weil Windach