Göppingen (district)
Göppingen is a Districts of Germany in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Rems-Murr, Ostalbkreis, Heidenheim, Alb-Donau, Reutlingen and Esslingen.
History
In 1817, Württemberg was divided into four kreise, the southeastern one of which was named Donaukreis. The four kreise were in turn divided into oberämter. In Donaukreis, the most northern of the oberämter were Göppingen and to its east Geislingen. In 1938, the four kreise were abolished, and Geislingen was merged with Göppingen. During the communal reform of 1973 the district was not changed much, with only a few municipalities from the districts Schwäbisch Gmünd and Ulm were added.The district is sometimes called Stauferkreis because the Staufen family had their roots in the area. However, when the family had no more heirs, it became part of Württemberg in the 14th century.