Gestratz is a municipality

Municipalities of Germany

Municipalities are the lowest level of territorial division in Germany. This may be the fourth level of territorial division in Germany, apart from those states which include Regierungsbezirke , where municipalities then become the fifth level.-Overview:With more than 3,400,000 inhabitants, the...

 in the district of Lindau

Lindau (district)

Lindau is a Landkreis or rural district in Bavaria, Germany; its capital is the city of Lindau. It is bounded by the district of Oberallgäu, Austria , Lake Constance and the state of Baden-Württemberg .-History:The city of Lindau became a Free Imperial City in the 13th century; it was...

 in Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

Geography

Gestratz is located in the Allgäu

Allgäu

The Allgäu is a southern German region in Swabia. It covers the south of Bavarian Swabia and southeastern Baden-Württemberg. The region stretches from the prealpine lands up to the Alps...

 region.
Smaller hamlets like Brugg, Thalendorf, Altensberg, Horben, Kenners, Zwirkenberg, Altenburg, Rutzen, Rauen, Ried, Schweineburg, Ackers and Erhafts also belong to Gestratz.

History

Before becoming part of Bavaria, Gestratz belonged to Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

. In that time it was part of the Austrian authority of Bregenz-Hohenegg. Since the signing of the peace treaties of Brünn and Preßburg

Bratislava

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...

 in 1805, the town belongs to Bavaria. In the course of the administrative reforms in Bavaria the contemporary municipality was formed by the "Gemeindeedikt" of 1818.

Population development

In 1970 1,043, in 1987 1,028 and in 2000 1,160 inhabitants were living in the municipality of Gestratz.

Politics

Johannes Buhmann (Freie Wähler) is mayor of the town. He was elected in 2002 as successor of Josef Kimpfler (Freie Wähler).

The revenue from the municipal tax added up to 441,000 € in 1999, of which the net business tax amounted to 72,000 €.

Economy, agriculture and forestry

According to the official statistics, in 1998 there were neither employees who were subject to social insurance contribution in the industrial sector, nor in the sector of trade and transport at place of work. At place of domicile there were 668 employees altogether. In the industrial sector there were nine, in the main construction trade eight businesses. Moreover, there were 64 agricultural businesses in 1999 with a total area of 1,072 ha.

Education

In 1999 there were the following institutions:

• Kindergartens: 50 kindergarten places and 48 children
• An elementary school with nine teachers and 210 students

Notable people

• Anna Maria Wehinger (* 2 June 1853, daughter of Augustin Kirchmann „Bei Franzebube im Ried“; † 4 May 1922 in Dornbirn
  Dornbirn
  Dornbirn is a city in Vorarlberg, Austria. It is the administrative center of the district Dornbirn, which also includes the city of Hohenems, and the market town Lustenau....
  
  ). Wehinger was in charge of one of the first domestic science schools in the German-speaking area (since 1889) and published the legendary "Dornbirner Kochbuch". During the 25 years she was working in Dornbirn, she provided 82 courses of several weeks and 70 evening courses. In 1924, two years after her death, the last issue of the "Dornbirner Kochbuch", which already contained about 1000 recipes, was published by her son. Her cookery and cookbooks still have more than just a historical value. The recipes are not only contemporary witnesses of the life of the time of the turn of the century, but also mostly delicious recipes for the modern cooking. A reissue will be released in 2007.

• Michael Kitzelmann
  Michael Kitzelmann
  Michael Kitzelmann was a lieutenant in the German Army during World War II, who was executed for undermining military strength....
  
   (* 1916 in the Horben district; executed 11 June 1942 by an execution commando in Russia), member of the resistance against the Nazi regime.