Weingarten (German for wine garden) is a city in Württemberg, in the district Ravensburg, in the valley of the Schussen river. Together with the southern neighbour city Ravensburg and Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance, it forms one of 14 upper centers in Baden-Württemberg. The town is seat of the University of Applied Sciences Fachhochschule Ravensburg-Weingarten and of the teachers' college Pädagogische Hochschule Weingarten.

Contents

1 History 2 City Partnerships 3 Places of interest 4 Events 4.1 Fasnet 4.2 "Blutritt" procession 5 Weblinks

History

The town formerly known as Altdorf has been renamed Weingarten in 1865. Before that Weingarten was only the name of the Imperial Abbey Weingarten on the Martinsberg hill above the town.

Near the old town, an alemanian burial place was excavated in 1954-1957, dating from the 5th century. In the 8th century the region became part of the Frankian Empire. In the middle of the 9th century the Welfs became counts of the Schussengau and established their seat in Altdorf. The name "Altdorf" is deduced from the Frankian "alach" for church. So "Altdorf" means village with the parish church.

In 1056 Welf IV transferred the ancestral seat of the Welfs to the newly edified castle of Ravensburg. He founded a new Benedictine abbey at the Martinsberg (hill of St. Martin) in Altdorf; this abbey was named Weingarten.

By a contract of inheritance the Hohenstaufen Frederick Barbarossa acquired 1191 the ownership of the Schussengau (including Altdorf, Weingarten and Ravensburg) from Welf VI, Duke of Spoleto and uncle of both Frederick Barbarossa and Henry the Lion.

About 70 years later, with the death of Conradin 1268 in Naples the line of the Hohenstaufen became extinct. Their former estates were confiscated as imperial property of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation. While the small town of Altdorf was reigned by the "Reichslandvogt" (imperial bailiff) of Swabia, the abbey of Weingarten obtained the status of an "Imperial Abbey" with privileges similar to those of a Imperial Free City.

The bailiff's seat was first located at the castle of Ravensburg (mostly named "Veitsburg" to distinct it from the Imperial City of Ravensburg) until, in 1647, Swedish troops destroyed the castle and the bailiff moved to a palace in Altdorf.

The abbey of Weingarten became one of the wealthiest monasteries in southern germany, owning about 306 km² of rich estates, before it was confiscated during the secularization following the Reichsdeputationshauptschluß bill in 1803. Weingarten was first alloted to the house of Nassau, Altdorf to the dukedom of Württemberg. In 1806 Weingarten, too, was incorporated to Württemberg.

During the 19th century several barracks were placed in Altdorf-Weingarten, making the city an important military site. Like in neighboring Ravensburg, a significant engineering industry evolved during the second half of the century.

In 1922, monks from the arch abbey of Beuron (on the Danube) and the abbey of Erdington (in Birmingham) founded a new Benedictine abbey that leased some of the former abbey rooms.

During Nazi Germany Weingarten was incorporated into Ravensburg; after the end of the war the both rivaling cities were separated again.

Since 1949, most of the former abbey buildings are occupied by a teachers college. A smaller part of the main building is leased to the catholic diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart which is running a "Catholic Academy" for adult education in there. New buildings were erected in the neighboorhood by the University of Applied Sciences Ravensburg-Weingarten.

During the "communal reforms" of the 1970s, a renewed attempt to fusion Ravensburg and Weingarten failed due to the massive resistance of the citizens of Weingarten.

City Partnerships

• Blumenau (Brasilia)
• Brest, Belarus
• Bron (France)
• Burgeis (Mals/South Tyrol)
• Grimma (Saxony)
• Mantua (Italy)

Places of interest

• The Abbey Church of St. Martin and Oswald, also known as Münster or Basilika, is the largest Baroque church north of the Alps. It is approximately half as long as St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and hence sometimes referred to as "Swabian St. Peter". The church features a baroque organ by Joseph Gabler with nearly 7000 pipes.
• The surrounding convent and other abbey buildings are also built in Baroque style.
• The Alemans Museum displays archaelogical finds from an alemanian burial place of the early Middle Ages. It is one the largest museums specializing in the history of the Alemans.
• The "Schlössle" ("small palace") was erected around 1550 as the administrative seat of the Austrian bailiwick of Swabia. In the 18th century it was used as residence of the imperial judge, in the 19th and 20th century as a domicile of higher-ranking military officers. Since 2001 it is home to the municipal museum.

Events

Fasnet

The local tradition of the "Swabian-Alemannic carnival" called Fasnet can be traced back to 1348. At that time "town-hall dances" are reported, celebrating the end of a pest epidemy.

Every year, the Fasnet season starts with the Gumpige Dunnschdig (Jumpy Thursday) a week before Ash Wednesday. In the evening, the Hemedglonkerumzug (from "hemed" = nightgown in local dialect) takes place, so everybody runs through the streets in pyjamas or nightshirts. This custom symbolizes the awakening of carnival fools.

The main pageant takes place at Sunday. Typical carnival characters of Weingarten are the Plätzler (in a red and white costume, first depicted in 1868), the Lauratal ghosts and the Bockstallnarren ("buck stable fools"). In addition to these local groups, many other carnival groups from the region take part in the pageant.

"Blutritt" procession

On the Friday following Ascension, Roman-Catholics from Weingarten and from most parts of Upper Swabia take part in the annual Blutritt, a huge equestrian procession. The procession of about 3.000 riders and dozens of local music bands leads through the town centre and some surrounding villages to bless houses, farms and fields with a relic of the holy blood of Jesus Christ. During the rest of the year, the relic is on display in the Weingarten abbey church.

Weblinks

Template:Commons

• official site (http://www.weingarten-online.de/)
• University of Applied Sciences Ravensburg-Weingarten (http://www.fh-weingarten.de/)
• teacher training college Weingarten (http://www.ph-weingarten.de/)
• Plätzlerzunft Altdorf-Weingarten 1348 e.V. (http://www.plaetzlerzunft.de/)de:Weingarten (Württemberg)

pl:Weingarten (Wirtembergia)