Scheidegg, Bavaria
Encyclopedia
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...
and a licensed Kneipp cure
Sebastian Kneipp
Sebastian Kneipp was a Bavarian priest and one of the founders of the Naturopathic medicine movement...
spa and air health resort.
Geography
Located in the WestallgäuWestallgäu
Westallgäu is the western part of the Allgäu in Germany. It contains large parts of the districts of Lindau in the south west of the region, Swabia in Bavaria and the district of Ravensburg in the south east of Baden-Württemberg. Westallgäu extends to the north to, amongst others, the towns of...
region, the municipality of Scheidegg consists of the town of Scheidegg and the districts of Scheffau and Lindenau. On the west and south, the municipality borders on Bregenzerwald
Bregenzerwald
Bregenzerwald is one of the main regions in the state of Vorarlberg, Austria. Geologically, the Bregenzerwald is a mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps, specifically the northern flysch zone. It is the drainage basin of the Bregenzer Ach river....
, which is part of the 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...
n state of Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg is the westernmost federal-state of Austria. Although it is the second smallest in terms of area and population , it borders three countries: Germany , Switzerland and Liechtenstein...
.
History
The settlement of the area around Scheidegg started most likely in the 6th and 7th century 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...
. Until 1481 it belonged to Weiler
Weiler-Simmerberg
Weiler-Simmerberg is a market town in the Swabian Lindau district.-Geography:Being located in the Westallgäu, the market town is bordering on the region of the Bregenzerwald, which already belongs to the Austrian administrative region of Vorarlberg...
and was - as a result of the loss of the document - first mentioned in 1255 in St. Gallen
St. Gallen
St. Gallen is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on the service sector for its economic...
. The imperial abbey of Benedictines St. Gallen promoted christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and culture. In 1296 abbot Wilhelm sold Scheidegg to Count Hugo of Bregenz
Bregenz
-Culture:The annual summer music festival Bregenzer Festspiele is a world-famous festival which takes place on and around a stage on Lake Constance, where a different opera is performed every second year.-Sport:* A1 Bregenz HB is a handball team....
(Montfort). The area, which Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
had purchased in 1571, stayed a part of Vorarlberg until the Treaty of Pressburg in 1805 (Napoleon) and later became a part of 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...
.
The tradition of Scheidegg as a spa and recreation area goes back to the turn of the century (to the 20th century). When the first summer visitors came to Scheidegg after the construction of the railway line from Röthenbach
Röthenbach (Allgäu)
Röthenbach is a municipality in the administrative region of Swabia Lindau district and seat of the municipal association Röthenbach.-Geography:...
to Scheidegg, the first attempt to organize the tourism was made by founding the association for transport and beautification in 1902. When in 1912 the construction of the Prinzregent-Luitpold-Kinderklinik (a paedriatic clinic) began, this was the cornerstone for the development of Scheidegg to a spa. In 1936 Scheidegg became a licensed air health resort. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
a new start had to be made. The necessity to qualify as a spa was soon acknowledged and hence the first licensed kneippism business formed in 1964.
In the year 1972 the municipalities of Scheidegg und Scheffau were merged in the course of the municipal reform in Bavaria.
Tourism
Scheidegg has a capacity of about 3.200 guests. Every year about 450,000 accommodations are registered. Consequently Scheidegg belongs to the 10 largest spas and tourist resorts in the area of Allgäu/Bavarian-Swabia.Culture and sights
The Catholic parish church St. Gallus with paintings of Ludwig Glötzle from MunichMunich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and the evangelic resurrection church with an accessible maze can be found in the centre of the town. Scheidegg has 13 chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
s in its proximity, among them one ecumenical
Ecumenism
Ecumenism or oecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice...
. All the chapels are connected with the churches mentioned above and the Kreuzberg by the small and large ecumenical chapel route, which is unique 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...
. Scheidegg is located at the Westallgäuer Käsestraße (Westallgäu cheese route) and the local alpine dairy in the district of Böserscheidegg can be visited, including a tasting (amongst others Allgäuer Emmentaler
Emmental (cheese)
Emmental or Emmentaler is a cheese from Switzerland. It is sometimes known as Swiss cheese in North America, Australia and New Zealand, although Swiss cheese does not always imply Emmentaler....
). Also worth seeing: the reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
zoo, the museum of local history and the Scheidegger Wasserfälle (Scheidegg waterfalls). There are the "Original Scheidegger Wasserfälle", with service and parking lot, as well as the surrounding waterfalls: Hasenreuter Wasserfälle, Schwedenhöhle, Rickenbachfälle.