Pfullendorf
Encyclopedia
Pfullendorf is a small historic city in the district of Sigmaringen
in Baden-Württemberg
in Germany
.
, 25 km north of Lake Constance
and south of the Danube
valley and therefore on the continental divide between the watersheds of the Rhine and the Danube. The area is known as the Linzgau
.
The surrounding towns are Wald
, Herdwangen-Schönach
, Meßkirch
, Ostrach
, Illmensee
, Krauchenwies
, Heiligenberg
, and Deggenhausertal
.
tribe and named Dorf am Phoul (Pfuol), meaning village on the Phoul. It was made a Free imperial city
in the Holy Roman Empire
on June 2, 1220 by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
.
Starting in 1383, Pfullendorf governed itself with a democratic guild constitution, with annual election of the mayor. With brief interruptions, this guild constitution remained in force until 1803 and was a model for other cities.
At the Council of Constance
in 1415, King Sigismund
gave the city the right of higher judgment, that is, the right of execution at a blood court
. This meant that Pfullendorf was answerable only to God and the Emperor.
Although the Protestant Reformation
, the German Peasants' War
, the Thirty Years' War
, the French Revolution
and the Black Death
left their marks on the region, Pfullendorf was able to avoid major destruction.
In 1803, Pfullendorf became part of Baden
, and it remained an administrative center in the upper Linzgau until 1936. It then became part of the district of Überlingen
, and has been a part of the district of Sigmaringen
since 1973.
From 1972 to 1976, the neighboring villages of Aach-Linz, Denkingen, Gaisweiler, Tautenbronn, Großstadelhofen, Mottschieß, Otterswang, and Zell-Schwäblishausen became part of Pfullendorf.
's Special Operations Training Centre is located in Pfullendorf, as was the NATO International Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol
School following its move from Weingarten
to its closure in 1999. In 2001 the United States Army took command of the I-LRRP School in Pfullendorf and the name was changed to the International Special Training Centre (ISTC). ISTC is the International Wing (I-Wing) of the German Ausbildungszentrum Special Operations.
Sigmaringen (district)
Sigmaringen is a district in the south of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Reutlingen, Biberach, Ravensburg, Bodensee, Constance and Zollernalbkreis.-History:...
in Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
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
Its location is in the district of SigmaringenSigmaringen (district)
Sigmaringen is a district in the south of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Reutlingen, Biberach, Ravensburg, Bodensee, Constance and Zollernalbkreis.-History:...
, 25 km north of Lake Constance
Lake Constance
Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...
and south of the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
valley and therefore on the continental divide between the watersheds of the Rhine and the Danube. The area is known as the Linzgau
Linzgau
Linzgau is a region in southern Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg north of Lake Constance and south of the Danube valley. It is bounded by Lake Constance on the south, the Hegau on the west, the Danube valley on the north, and the Schussen River on the east.It reaches east as far as...
.
The surrounding towns are Wald
Wald, Baden-Württemberg
Wald is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
, Herdwangen-Schönach
Herdwangen-Schönach
Herdwangen-Schönach is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.The municipality lies 15 kilometers north of the Bodensee, in the upper Linzgau, between the cities Pfullendorf in the north and Überlingen in the south. With the municipality reform of 1974 the...
, Meßkirch
Meßkirch
Meßkirch is a town in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.Meßkirch was the residence of the counts of Zimmern, widely known through Count Froben Christoph's Zimmern Chronicle ....
, Ostrach
Ostrach
Ostrach is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.-Geography:Ostrach lies between the Danube and Lake Constance, about halfway between Sigmaringen and Ravensburg. It lies on the brook of the same name, which passes through a narrow pass between the glacial...
, Illmensee
Illmensee
Ilmensee is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
, Krauchenwies
Krauchenwies
Krauchenwies is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.-Geography:Krauchenwies lies about 10 km south of Sigmaringen and 25 km north of Lake Constance...
, Heiligenberg
Heiligenberg
Heiligenberg is a municipality and a village in the Bodensee district in Baden-Württemberg, about seven kilometres north of Salem, in Germany.-Location and climate:...
, and Deggenhausertal
Deggenhausertal
Deggenhausertal is a commune in the district of Bodensee in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
.
History
Pfullendorf was founded by the AlamanniAlamanni
The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic tribes located around the upper Rhine river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Roman Emperor Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211 to 217 and claimed thereby to be...
tribe and named Dorf am Phoul (Pfuol), meaning village on the Phoul. It was made a Free imperial city
Free Imperial City
In the Holy Roman Empire, a free imperial city was a city formally ruled by the emperor only — as opposed to the majority of cities in the Empire, which were governed by one of the many princes of the Empire, such as dukes or prince-bishops...
in the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
on June 2, 1220 by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
.
Starting in 1383, Pfullendorf governed itself with a democratic guild constitution, with annual election of the mayor. With brief interruptions, this guild constitution remained in force until 1803 and was a model for other cities.
At the Council of Constance
Council of Constance
The Council of Constance is the 15th ecumenical council recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418. The council ended the Three-Popes Controversy, by deposing or accepting the resignation of the remaining Papal claimants and electing Pope Martin V.The Council also condemned and...
in 1415, King Sigismund
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund of Luxemburg KG was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387 to 1437, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411...
gave the city the right of higher judgment, that is, the right of execution at a blood court
Blood court
Blood Court or high justice in the Holy Roman Empire referred to the right of a Vogt to hold a criminal court inflicting bodily punishment, including the death penalty.Not every Vogt held the blood court...
. This meant that Pfullendorf was answerable only to God and the Emperor.
Although the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, the German Peasants' War
German Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt was a widespread popular revolt in the German-speaking areas of Central Europe, 1524–1526. At its height in the spring and summer of 1525, the conflict involved an estimated 300,000 peasants: contemporary estimates put the dead at 100,000...
, the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
left their marks on the region, Pfullendorf was able to avoid major destruction.
In 1803, Pfullendorf became part of Baden
Margraviate of Baden
The Margraviate of Baden were a historical territory in the Holy Roman Empire. It was already named so in 1112 and existed until the division in 1535 and lived with the reunion back in 1771, until the Electorate of Baden came up in 1803...
, and it remained an administrative center in the upper Linzgau until 1936. It then became part of the district of Überlingen
Überlingen
Überlingen is a city on the northern shore of Lake Constance . After the city of Friedrichshafen, it is the second largest city in the Bodenseekreis , and a central point for the outlying communities...
, and has been a part of the district of Sigmaringen
Sigmaringen
Sigmaringen is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district....
since 1973.
From 1972 to 1976, the neighboring villages of Aach-Linz, Denkingen, Gaisweiler, Tautenbronn, Großstadelhofen, Mottschieß, Otterswang, and Zell-Schwäblishausen became part of Pfullendorf.
Culture
The German ArmyGerman Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
's Special Operations Training Centre is located in Pfullendorf, as was the NATO International Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol
Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol
Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols, or LRRPs , were special small four to six-man teams in the Vietnam War on highly dangerous special reconnaissance missions deep into enemy territory....
School following its move from Weingarten
Weingarten (Baden)
Weingarten is a municipality in the district of Karlsruhe in southwestern Germany, situated at the transition from the Kraichgau to the Rhine valley. Its name means vine garden in German...
to its closure in 1999. In 2001 the United States Army took command of the I-LRRP School in Pfullendorf and the name was changed to the International Special Training Centre (ISTC). ISTC is the International Wing (I-Wing) of the German Ausbildungszentrum Special Operations.
Twin towns
- AllschwilAllschwilAllschwil is a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland.-Prehistoric Allschwil:The region around Allschwil has been occupied since at least the Middle Paleolithic. Archeological finds from the municipality include a few scattered Middle Paleolithic...
in SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
since April 13, 1984 - Saint-Jean-de-BrayeSaint-Jean-de-BrayeSaint-Jean-de-Braye is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France.-References:*...
in FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
since May 1, 1987
Notable Pfullendorfers
- Daniel SchuhmacherDaniel SchuhmacherDaniel Schuhmacher is a German singer. He is known most notably for winning the sixth season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar, the German edition of Pop Idol.-Personal life:...
, DSDSDeutschland sucht den Superstar (Season 6)Deutschland sucht den Superstar Season 6 was the sixth season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar which is airing on the RTL network. This season's winner, Daniel Schuhmacher, was awarded a contract with Sony-BMG. The judges in this season are Dieter Bohlen, Nina Eichinger, and Volker Neumüller....
winner for Season 6.