Gunzenhausen

Gunzenhausen

Protestant St. Mary's Church

Coat of arms
Gunzenhausen

Coordinates: 49°06′53″N 10°45′15″E / 49.11472°N 10.75417°E / 49.11472; 10.75417Coordinates: 49°06′53″N 10°45′15″E / 49.11472°N 10.75417°E / 49.11472; 10.75417
Country Germany
State Bavaria
Admin. region Mittelfranken
District Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen
Government
  Mayor Joachim Federschmidt (SPD)
Area
  Total 82.73 km2 (31.94 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)[1]
  Total 16,222
  Density 200/km2 (510/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 91710
Dialling codes 09831
Vehicle registration WUG, GUN
Website www.gunzenhausen.de

Gunzenhausen is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, 19 kilometres (12 mi) northwest of Weißenburg in Bayern, and 45 kilometres (28 mi) southwest of Nuremberg. Gunzenhausen is a nationally recognized recreation area.

History

Numerous excavations within the city of Gunzenhausen document that the area was occupied and there was a settlement in pre-historic time. In the year 90 the Romans expelled the Celts, occupied the inhabited areas north of the Donau River and expanded into the Gunzenhausen area. In the year 241 the Alemanni invaded the area and destroyed the fortress. A document from the year 823 supplies the first reliable written reference to Gunzenhausen.

Emperor Ludwig der Fromme conveyed the monastery "Gunzinhusir" to the High-monastery of Ellwangen. Later the "Truhendinger" and the "Oettinger" families became Lords of Gunzenhausen, and in 1368 Gunzenhausen came to the House of Hohenzollern. So the city received the right of holding fairs and was allowed to build city walls, towers and moat, as well as a large church. Gunzenhausen had a big Jewish community and a "Moorish" synagogue, built in 1882; the latter was gradually mutilated during the Hitler regime, and by 1939 the town was declared Judenrein (free of Jews).[2]

In the 1970s eighteen municipalities were combined resulting in the city growing to about 17,000 inhabitants.

International relations

Gunzenhausen is twinned with:

Local notables

References

  1. "Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes". Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik und Datenverarbeitung (in German). 31 December 2013.
  2. "The Synagogue of Gunzenhausen 1882 - 1938" Jüdisches Leben En Gunzenhausen website
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