Sigmaringen
Encyclopedia
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
.
Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, Schloss Sigmaringen
, which was the seat of the Vichy
government-in-exile during the closing months of the Second World War.
around 40 km away from the Lake of Constance.
The surrounding towns are on the north, Winterlingen
(in the district of Zollernalb) and Veringenstadt
, on the east, Bingen
, Sigmaringendorf
, and Scheer
, on the south, Mengen
, Krauchenwies
, Inzigkofen
, and Meßkirch
, and on the west, Leibertingen
, Beuron
, and Stetten am kalten Markt
.
The city is made up from the following districts: Sigmaringen (inner-city), Gutenstein, Jungnau
, Laiz
, Oberschmeien and Unterschmeien.
until 1850, after which it became a province of Prussia
's Province of Hohenzollern
.
On September 7, 1944, following the Allied
invasion of France
, Philippe Pétain
and members of the Vichy government
cabinet were relocated to Germany. A city-state
ruled by the government in exile
headed by Fernand de Brinon
, was established at Sigmaringen. There were three embassies in the city-state, all were Vichy-France's allies Germany, Italy and Japan.
Pétain returned to France in April 1945. French writers Céline
, Lucien Rebatet
and Roland Gaucher
, fearing for their lives because of their political and anti-Semitic writings, fled along with the Vichy government to Sigmaringen. Céline
's novel D'un château l'autre (English: Castle to Castle
) describes the fall of Sigmaringen. The city was taken by the French army on April 22, 1945.
Roman Catholic Church
Evangelische Landeskirche in Württemberg
Evangelische Militärkirchengemeinde
Freie Christengemeinde
Jehovah's Witnesses
New Apostolic Church
Three railroads currently meet in Sigmaringen, the Danube Valley Railway
leading from Donaueschingen
to Ulm
, the Zollern Valley Railway from Tübingen
to Aulendorf
and the line operated by the Hohenzollerische Landesbahn from Sigmaringen to Hechingen
.
Public transport is organized by Verkehrsverbund Neckar-Alb-Donau (NALDO).
in Switzerland and Ferdinand of Romania, King of Romania
. It was one of the residences of deceased Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, the late representative of the house, who was the first in the line of succession
to the throne of Romania, by Salic law. Frederick Miller
, founder of the Miller Brewing Company
, was living in Sigmaringen during the start of his brewing career.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in southern 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...
, in the state of 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...
. Situated on the upper 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....
, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district
Sigmaringen (district)
Sigmaringen is a district in the south of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Reutlingen, Biberach, Ravensburg, Bodensee, Constance and Zollernalbkreis.-History:...
.
Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, Schloss Sigmaringen
Schloss Sigmaringen
Sigmaringen Castle was the princely castle and seat of government for the Princes of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. Situated in the Swabian Alb region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, this castle dominates the skyline of the town of Sigmaringen...
, which was the seat of the Vichy
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
government-in-exile during the closing months of the Second World War.
Geography
Sigmaringen lies in the Danube valley, surrounded by wooded hills in the south of the Swabian AlbSwabian Alb
The Swabian Alps or Swabian Jura is a low mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, extending 220 km from southwest to northeast and 40 to 70 km in width. It is named after the region of Swabia....
around 40 km away from the Lake of Constance.
The surrounding towns are on the north, Winterlingen
Winterlingen
Winterlingen is a town in the Zollernalbkreis district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.- References :...
(in the district of Zollernalb) and Veringenstadt
Veringenstadt
Veringenstadt is a town in the district of Sigmaringen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 10 km north of Sigmaringen.- Municipality :...
, on the east, Bingen
Bingen, Baden-Württemberg
Bingen is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.-Points of interest:* Hornstein Castle Ruin, first noted in 1271, a former Reichsfestung. Between 1818 and 1869 the castle served as an asylum and prison. It was partly demolished in 1879. The castle's chapel...
, Sigmaringendorf
Sigmaringendorf
Sigmaringendorf is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
, and Scheer
Scheer, Germany
Scheer is a town in the district of Sigmaringen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the Danube, 6 km east of Sigmaringen....
, on the south, Mengen
Mengen, Germany
Mengen is a town in the district of Sigmaringen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 9 km southeast of Sigmaringen....
, 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...
, Inzigkofen
Inzigkofen
Inzigkofen is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Historically, it is part of the Swabian north Alpine foreland basin.It consists of three districts:...
, and 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 ....
, and on the west, Leibertingen
Leibertingen
Leibertingen is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.- Geographical location :Leibertingen is located 600 to 850 meters above sea level directly over the Danube valley in the Heuberg region, a plateau at the southern bound corner of the Swabian Alb, with a...
, Beuron
Beuron
Beuron is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Beuron is known for the Beuron Archabbey and the Beuron Art School for religious art.Beuron is divided into subdistricts :* Hausen im Donautal* Langenbrunn* Neidingen...
, and Stetten am kalten Markt
Stetten am kalten Markt
Stetten am kalten Markt is a municipality in the Sigmaringen district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany.-Towns:The towns of Nusplingen, Frohnstetten, Storzingen and Glashütte are part of Stetten am kalten Markt.-History:...
.
The city is made up from the following districts: Sigmaringen (inner-city), Gutenstein, Jungnau
Jungnau
Jungnau is a village in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is part of the City Sigmaringen....
, Laiz
Laiz
Laiz is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France.-Population:...
, Oberschmeien and Unterschmeien.
History
Sigmaringen was first documented in 1077 and was in the principality of Hohenzollern-SigmaringenHohenzollern-Sigmaringen
-Noble jurisdictions:Prince Karl Eitel of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, and descendants of his nephew Ferdinand ruled over the Kingdom of Romania, as Karl Eitel did not have children...
until 1850, after which it became a province of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
's Province of Hohenzollern
Province of Hohenzollern
Hohenzollern was a de facto province of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was created in 1850 by joining the principalities of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Hohenzollern-Hechingen after both formerly independently ruling Catholic princely lines of the House of Hohenzollern had handed over their...
.
Vichy French enclave (1944-1945)
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
invasion of France
France
The 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...
, Philippe Pétain
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
and members of the Vichy government
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
cabinet were relocated to Germany. A city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
ruled by the government in exile
Government in exile
A government in exile is a political group that claims to be a country's legitimate government, but for various reasons is unable to exercise its legal power, and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usually operate under the assumption that they will one day return to their...
headed by Fernand de Brinon
Fernand de Brinon
Fernand de Brinon, Marquis de Brinon was a French lawyer and journalist who was one of the architects of French collaboration with the Nazis during World War II...
, was established at Sigmaringen. There were three embassies in the city-state, all were Vichy-France's allies Germany, Italy and Japan.
Pétain returned to France in April 1945. French writers Céline
Louis-Ferdinand Céline
Louis-Ferdinand Céline was the pen name of French writer and physician Louis-Ferdinand Destouches . Céline was chosen after his grandmother's first name. He is considered one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century, developing a new style of writing that modernized both French and...
, Lucien Rebatet
Lucien Rebatet
Lucien Rebatet was a French author, journalist and intellectual, an exponent of fascism and virulent antisemite.-Early life:...
and Roland Gaucher
Roland Gaucher
Roland Gaucher was the pseudonym of Roland Goguillot, a French far-right journalist and politician. One of the main thinkers of the French far-right, he had participated in Marcel Déat's fascist party Rassemblement National Populaire under the Vichy regime...
, fearing for their lives because of their political and anti-Semitic writings, fled along with the Vichy government to Sigmaringen. Céline
Louis-Ferdinand Céline
Louis-Ferdinand Céline was the pen name of French writer and physician Louis-Ferdinand Destouches . Céline was chosen after his grandmother's first name. He is considered one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century, developing a new style of writing that modernized both French and...
's novel D'un château l'autre (English: Castle to Castle
Castle to Castle
Castle to Castle is the English title of the 1957 novel by Louis-Ferdinand Céline, titled in French D'un château l'autre. The book was written about his experiences in exile at Sigmaringen, Germany, with the Vichy French government towards the end of World War II.-Legacy:Castle to Castle was...
) describes the fall of Sigmaringen. The city was taken by the French army on April 22, 1945.
Religions
The following religions are present in Sigmaringen:Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
Evangelische Landeskirche in Württemberg
Evangelische Militärkirchengemeinde
Freie Christengemeinde
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
New Apostolic Church
New Apostolic Church
The New Apostolic Church is a chiliastic church, converted to Protestantism as a free church from the Catholic Apostolic Church. The church has existed since 1879 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands...
Infrastructure
Traffic and public transportationThree railroads currently meet in Sigmaringen, the Danube Valley Railway
Danube Valley Railway (Baden-Württemberg)
The Danube Valley Railway in Baden-Württemberg in south-western Germany is a 164-kilometer-long railway running from the city of Ulm to Donaueschingen, which is largely single-tracked and for the most part not electrified...
leading from Donaueschingen
Donaueschingen
Donaueschingen is a German town in the Black Forest in the southwest of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg in the Schwarzwald-Baar Kreis. It stands near the confluence of the two sources of the river Danube ....
to Ulm
Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
, the Zollern Valley Railway from Tübingen
Tübingen
Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
to Aulendorf
Aulendorf
Aulendorf is a town in the district of Ravensburg, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 20 km southwest of Biberach an der Riß, and 19 km north of Ravensburg....
and the line operated by the Hohenzollerische Landesbahn from Sigmaringen to Hechingen
Hechingen
Hechingen is a town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated about south of the state capital of Stuttgart and north of Lake Constance and the Swiss border.- City districts :...
.
Public transport is organized by Verkehrsverbund Neckar-Alb-Donau (NALDO).
Notable residents
Sigmaringen was the birthplace of Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen, a Roman Catholic martyr of the Counter-ReformationCounter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
in Switzerland and Ferdinand of Romania, King of Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. It was one of the residences of deceased Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, the late representative of the house, who was the first in the line of succession
Line of succession to the Romanian throne
The succession order to the throne of Romania depends on the interpretation of the applicable laws, either the Romanian kingdom's last democratic constitution, that of 1923, or the new Statute of the Royal House of Romania, named Fundamental Rules of the Romanian Royal House, privately enacted by...
to the throne of Romania, by Salic law. Frederick Miller
Frederick Miller
Frederick Edward John Miller was a brewery owner who founded the Miller Brewing Company at the Plank Road Brewery in 1855. He learned the brewing business in Sigmaringen.Miller was born in Germany, and was married to Josephine Miller in Friedrichshafen, Germany on June 7, 1853...
, founder of the Miller Brewing Company
Miller Brewing Company
The Miller Brewing Company is an American beer brewing company owned by the United Kingdom-based SABMiller. Its regional headquarters are located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the company has brewing facilities in Albany, Georgia; Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; Eden, North Carolina; Fort Worth, Texas;...
, was living in Sigmaringen during the start of his brewing career.