Thierhaupten
Encyclopedia
Thierhaupten is a market town
in south-central Germany
in the district of Augsburg (district)
in the Swabia
administrative region
of Bavaria
, and is located at the Lech river
valley.
valley in the middle between Augsburg
and Donauwörth
. The "lower village" is located in the Lech river
valley, so as the villages Ötz and Altenbach. The "upper village" of Thierhaupten and the villages Neukirchen, Weiden, Hölzlarn, Sparmannseck are located in the Old Bavarian Tertiary Hills.
The Lech river
is the western frontier of the town district of Thierhaupten, but it does not touch the town itself. The Friedberger Ach creek goes through Thierhaupten from south to north.
The Kühberg (499 m NN) ("cow hill") in the village district of Neukirchen is the highest elevation of Thierhaupten. The Kreuzberg (479 m NN) ("cross hill") dominates the Thierhaupten town itself.
origin: there must have been a Germanic
settlement, where animal heads were exposed (Tierhaupt = animal head). In the year of 1776 a sandy stone animal head was dug out. This could be a further indication in favour of this theory.
After a legend, in the year 750 Tassilo III, Duke
of Bavaria
(Agilolfings
dynasty) lost his way in the woods around Thierhaupten and swore to God to build a monastery (Thierhaupten Abbey
) at the place of his rescue. Suddenly a hind appeared and showed him his way back (German hunter's jargon: Tier = hind). Still today a hind is on the Thierhaupten coat of arms.
Thierhaupten Abbey
was one of the eldest monasteries in Bavaria
. The abbey was looted by the Hungarians in 955. It was destroyed by the Swabian League in 1504 but re-built, although it was always a small community. Finally it was dissolved in 1803 in the secularisation of Bavaria.
The buildings were sold off to a local businessman. The last abbot, Edmund Schmid, remained in Thierhaupten as the parish priest, and succeeded in 1812 in acquiring the former abbey church for use as the parish church. The remaining buildings gradually fell into disrepair, but were bought by the Thierhaupten market town administration in 1983 and renovated.
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
in south-central 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 district of Augsburg (district)
Augsburg (district)
Augsburg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the city of Augsburg and the districts of Aichach-Friedberg, Landsberg, Ostallgäu, Unterallgäu, Günzburg, Dillingen and Donau-Ries...
in the Swabia
Swabia (administrative region)
Swabia is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany.- Geography :Swabia is located in southwest Bavaria. It was formed out of the part of the historic region of Swabia which was annexed by Bavaria in 1803. It was once formally ruled by dukes of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. During...
administrative region
Regierungsbezirk
In Germany, a Government District, in German: Regierungsbezirk – is a subdivision of certain federal states .They are above the Kreise, Landkreise, and kreisfreie Städte...
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...
, and is located at the Lech river
Lech River
The Lech is a river in Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube in length with a drainage basin of .Its source is located in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, where the river rises from lake Formarinsee in the Alps at an altitude of...
valley.
Districts
There are 8 town districts (Ortsteile) in Thierhaupten:- Altenbach
- Hölzlarn
- Königsbrunn
- Neukirchen
- Ötz
- Sparmannseck
- Thierhaupten
- Weiden
Geography
Thierhaupten is located on the eastern margin of the Lech riverLech River
The Lech is a river in Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube in length with a drainage basin of .Its source is located in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, where the river rises from lake Formarinsee in the Alps at an altitude of...
valley in the middle between Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
and Donauwörth
Donauwörth
Donauwörth is a city in the German State of Bavaria , in the region of Swabia . It is said to have been founded by two fisherman where the Danube and Wörnitz rivers meet...
. The "lower village" is located in the Lech river
Lech River
The Lech is a river in Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube in length with a drainage basin of .Its source is located in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, where the river rises from lake Formarinsee in the Alps at an altitude of...
valley, so as the villages Ötz and Altenbach. The "upper village" of Thierhaupten and the villages Neukirchen, Weiden, Hölzlarn, Sparmannseck are located in the Old Bavarian Tertiary Hills.
The Lech river
Lech River
The Lech is a river in Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube in length with a drainage basin of .Its source is located in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, where the river rises from lake Formarinsee in the Alps at an altitude of...
is the western frontier of the town district of Thierhaupten, but it does not touch the town itself. The Friedberger Ach creek goes through Thierhaupten from south to north.
The Kühberg (499 m NN) ("cow hill") in the village district of Neukirchen is the highest elevation of Thierhaupten. The Kreuzberg (479 m NN) ("cross hill") dominates the Thierhaupten town itself.
Neighbour Communities
- AindlingAindlingAindling is a market town in Aichach-Friedberg district, in Bavaria, southern Germany.- External links :* - Official site...
(district of Aichach-FriedbergAichach-FriedbergAichach-Friedberg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Augsburg, Donau-Ries, Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, Pfaffenhofen, Dachau, Fürstenfeldbruck and Landsberg, as well as by the city of Augsburg....
) - Baar, Swabia (district of Aichach-FriedbergAichach-FriedbergAichach-Friedberg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Augsburg, Donau-Ries, Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, Pfaffenhofen, Dachau, Fürstenfeldbruck and Landsberg, as well as by the city of Augsburg....
) - EllgauEllgauEllgau is a municipality in the district of Augsburg in Bavaria in Germany....
(Augsburg (district)Augsburg (district)Augsburg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the city of Augsburg and the districts of Aichach-Friedberg, Landsberg, Ostallgäu, Unterallgäu, Günzburg, Dillingen and Donau-Ries...
) - MeitingenMeitingenMeitingen is a market town in the district of Augsburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Lech, south of Donauwörth, and north of Augsburg....
(Augsburg (district)Augsburg (district)Augsburg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the city of Augsburg and the districts of Aichach-Friedberg, Landsberg, Ostallgäu, Unterallgäu, Günzburg, Dillingen and Donau-Ries...
) - Münster, BavariaMünster, Bavaria-Geography:Münster is located between Rain and Thierhaupten. The village is separated in a lower an a higher part, because it's built on the Lechrain.-Coat of arms:...
(district of Donau-RiesDonau-RiesDonau-Ries is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Ansbach, Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen, Eichstätt, Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, Aichach-Friedberg, Augsburg and Dillingen, and by the state of Baden-Württemberg .-History:From Palaeolithic times on the Nördlinger Ries was a very...
) - PöttmesPöttmesPöttmes is a municipality in the district of Aichach-Friedberg in Bavaria in Germany....
(district of Aichach-FriedbergAichach-FriedbergAichach-Friedberg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Augsburg, Donau-Ries, Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, Pfaffenhofen, Dachau, Fürstenfeldbruck and Landsberg, as well as by the city of Augsburg.... - TodtenweisTodtenweisTodtenweis is a municipality in the district of Aichach-Friedberg in Bavaria in Germany....
(district of Aichach-FriedbergAichach-FriedbergAichach-Friedberg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Augsburg, Donau-Ries, Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, Pfaffenhofen, Dachau, Fürstenfeldbruck and Landsberg, as well as by the city of Augsburg....
)
History
The name "Thierhaupten" is of GermanicGermanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
origin: there must have been a Germanic
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
settlement, where animal heads were exposed (Tierhaupt = animal head). In the year of 1776 a sandy stone animal head was dug out. This could be a further indication in favour of this theory.
After a legend, in the year 750 Tassilo III, Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
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...
(Agilolfings
Agilolfings
The Agilolfings were a family of either Frankish or Bavarian nobility that ruled the Duchy of Bavaria on behalf of their Merovingian suzerains from about 550 until 788...
dynasty) lost his way in the woods around Thierhaupten and swore to God to build a monastery (Thierhaupten Abbey
Thierhaupten Abbey
Thierhaupten Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Thierhaupten in Bavaria, Germany.-History:The monastery, dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, was founded in the 8th century by Tassilo III, Duke of Bavaria, last of the Agilolfings...
) at the place of his rescue. Suddenly a hind appeared and showed him his way back (German hunter's jargon: Tier = hind). Still today a hind is on the Thierhaupten coat of arms.
Thierhaupten Abbey
Thierhaupten Abbey
Thierhaupten Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Thierhaupten in Bavaria, Germany.-History:The monastery, dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, was founded in the 8th century by Tassilo III, Duke of Bavaria, last of the Agilolfings...
was one of the eldest monasteries 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...
. The abbey was looted by the Hungarians in 955. It was destroyed by the Swabian League in 1504 but re-built, although it was always a small community. Finally it was dissolved in 1803 in the secularisation of Bavaria.
The buildings were sold off to a local businessman. The last abbot, Edmund Schmid, remained in Thierhaupten as the parish priest, and succeeded in 1812 in acquiring the former abbey church for use as the parish church. The remaining buildings gradually fell into disrepair, but were bought by the Thierhaupten market town administration in 1983 and renovated.