Schelklingen


Schelklingen is a town in the district of Alb-Donau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is situated 10 km north of Ehingen, and 20 km west of Ulm. Schelklingen and 82% of its territory form part of the Swabian Jura Biosphere Reserve.

Geography

The town centre of Schelklingen is located in the prehistoric valley of the Danube at the feet of the Swabian Alb or Swabian Jura. The villages of Hausen ob Urspring, Justingen, and Ingstetten are located on the table land of the Swabian Alb. In the Schmiech valley are located the villages of Schmiechen, Hütten, Gundershofen, and Sondernach.

Neighbouring municipalities

To the north of Schelkingen is the town of Heroldstatt, to the east the town of Blaubeuren, to the south-east the town of Erbach, to the south are Altheim and Allmendingen, and to the west are Mehrstetten and the town of Münsingen, the latter both belonging to the county of Reutlingen.

Municipal structure

The borough of Schelklingen has the following municipal subdivisions: the villages of Schmiechen, Hausen ob Urspring, Justingen, Ingstetten, Hütten, Gundershofen and Sondernach. Within the borough are the municipalities of Schmiechen, Hausen ob Urspring, Justingen, Ingstetten, Hütten, Gundershofen and Sondernach. Also within the borough are smaller hamlets, individual farms, old corn mills, castles and an old monastery: Muschenwang Farm, Oberschelklingen Farm, the hamlet of Sotzenhausen, the corn mill hamlet of Springen, the Riedmühle mill, the hamlet of Talsteußlingen and Neusteußlingen Castle, the hamlet of Teuringshofen and the old monastery of Urspring.

Rivers and lakes

  • The little river of Urspring begins near the former monastery of Urspring and discharges after approximately 500 m into the river Ach.
  • The Ach originates near Urspring and empties into the Blau at Blaubeuren.
  • The Schmiech has its source in Springen and discharges into the Danube at Ehingen.
  • The Sondernach stream originates in the Sondernach valley and empties into the Schmiech near the Riedmühle mill.

    Landmarks

  • The Hohle Fels is a huge limestone rock in the Ach valley, its interior almost completely excavated by water. The cave was inhabited at least during the Stone Age. In September 2008, the Venus of Hohle Fels, the earliest known figurine in the world was discovered in the cave. Visits are possible.
  • The Schmiechener See or Schmiecher See is a remnant from the ice age, and today forms part of a nature reserve.
  • The Sirgenstein, like the Hohle Fels a huge limestone rock, but located on the opposite side of the Ach valley. During the Stone Age this cave was inhabited as well. During the Middle Ages a castle was built on the top of the rock. Some remains are still visible.
  • The karst springs of the rivers Urspring, Ach and Schmiech.

    History

Middle Ages and early modern times

Castro et villae Schälkalingen were first mentioned in an 1127 deed. The first owners were the Swabian edelfrei Lords of Schelklingen, three brothers: Rüdiger, Adalbert and Walter, who donated property to the newly established Benedicitne abbey of Urspring nearby. In the early 13th century, by the way of purchase, marriage or inheritance, the Schelklingen territory was acquired by the Swabian counts of Berg. Descending from Berg Castle near Ehingen, Count Henry III, also Margrave of Burgau, appeared as the holder of Schelklingen from 1234 onwards, at the time when for the first time the settlement was called a town. His son and heir Ulrich II adopted the title of a Count of Berg-Schelklingen in 1248. In 1343, the last Count of Berg-Schelklingen, Conrad, sold the estates to the Habsburg dukes of Austria and received it back as fief. When he died three years later, the territory of Schelklingen fell to the Austrian dukes as a reverted fief.
Schelklingen was later administered within Further Austria and remained with the Habsburg monarchy until 1806. The Peace of Pressburg of 1805 brought Schelklingen to the Electorate of Württemberg as reward for the military help given to Napoleon by the Württemberg rulers.
The permanent shortage of money on the side of the Dukes of Austria and the high prestige connected with an own dominion on the side of the landed gentry were the reasons why the territory of Schelklingen most of the time was mortgaged and given away as a fief. While during the period from 1346 to the end of the 15th century the masters of the mortgage changed fast, the situation became more stable afterwards. Up to 1568 the territories of Ehingen, Schelklingen and Berg were possessed by the following persons respectively families:
  • John the Rich of Stadion and his inheritants
  • Ludwig of Freyberg, residing in Öpfingen
  • Konrad of Boyneburg
In 1568, the town of Ehingen was able to free herself from a new mortgage, while paying a large sum of money to the Austrian rulers residing in Innsbruck. This way, the direct aristocratic rule ended, and the territories of Ehingen, Schelklingen and Berg in future were administered by Austrian governors, most of the time noblemen. In 1680 the Count of the Empire and bishop of Eichstätt Marquard Schenk von Castell reminded the German Emperor of his merits and services. Thus, thanks to his efforts, the family Schenk von Castell first received the territories of Schelklingen and Berg first as a mortgage and finally in 1732 as a personal fief. The feudal rule of this family over Schelklingen and Berg lasted until the middle of the 19th century when the last obligations were abolished. Franz Ludwig Schenk von Castell, a prosecutor of criminals, was the most influential owner of the two territories during the 18th century.
In 1806, Schelkingen was acquired by Württemberg, and the King of Württemberg was busy to end feudal rule in his new Kingdom. Mediatization ended the rule of the Schenk von Castell family in Schelklingen, and the counts step-by-step sold their properties there.

19th and 20th century

During the 19th century Schelklingen evolved from a town of artisans and peasants towards an industrial town. In 1806 the monastery of Urspring was secularized. High costs of maintaining the many buildings finally caused Württemberg to sell the former monastery. In 1832 most of the buildings were bought by the cotton manufacturer Georg Reichenbach with the intention to build up a cotton weaving factory. This factory later adopted the name of Mechanical Weaving Factory Urspring. In 1907, the factory was transferred to Schelklingen into a new building along the Ehingerstraße. In Urspring, most of the factory buildings were removed. Caused by international competition from low-wage countries, the MWU in the 1950s got financial problems and was closed.
In Urspring in 1912, after the grain mill at the Ach spring was changed into the municipal electricity and water factory, a new grain mill was built which is today used as a school building. From 1907 to 1930 the buildings in Urspring were not inhabited except for a tavern. Only in 1930 the former monastery found a new utilization by the foundation of the Urspring School, a Protestant country boarding school and gymnasium.
A second industry branch which developed during the 1830s, was the production of matches. This innovation was based on the invention of the phosphor match. Three factories were founded employing many women and children in home work. These factories were closed at the beginning of the 20th century.
During the late 19th century in the valleys of the rivers Blau, Ach and Schmiech evolved the cement industry, based on the invention of the Portland cement. In 1889, the first Barbey factory was built, later called Hammerstein cement factory, and shortly after 1900 the large plant of the Stuttgarter Immobilien- und Baugeschäft. The Hammerstein factory was closed and changed into dwellings for cement workers. This new factory attracted many external workers, especially also many Italian migrant workers: some of them remained in Schelklingen. Later, this cement factory was bought by the Portland-Cement-Fabrik AG Heidelberg und Mannheim AG, today HeidelbergCement.
During the 1870s a Catholic institution for boys living in bad social conditions was founded, the St.-Konradihaus. During World War II the town was a place of internment for POWs from Poland. In 1941 the St.-Konradihaus was requisitioned by the government and until 1945 was used as a relocation camp in order to reeducate people from Alsace.
After the end of the World War II, Schelklingen was being part of the French occupation zone and in 1947, it was assigned to the newly founded state of Württemberg-Hohenzollern, which was incorporated in the state of Baden-Württemberg in 1952.

Territorial development of the town

According to the administrative reorganization of the municipalities the following communes have been incorporated into the town of Schelklingen:
  • 1 March 1972: Hausen ob Urspring and Justingen
  • 1 April 1972: Ingstetten and Hütten
  • 1 July 1974: Schmiechen
  • 1 January 1975: Gundershofen and Sondernach
Before the district reform, Schelklingen, Hausen ob Urspring and Schmiechen belonged to the district of Ehingen, the other municipalities to the district of Münsingen. During the Baden-Württemberg district reform in 1973, all of Schelklingen's towns came to the Alb-Donau district.

Religions

Schelklingen is predominantly Catholic. The territory of the former dominion of Schelklingen, conististing of the town of Schelklingen, Hausen ob Urspring and Schmiechen and the territory of the former Urspring monastery until 1806 belonged to Further Austria. During the 16th century until the end of the 30 Years War, the villages of the former territory of Justingen adhered to the belief of Caspar Schwenckfeld, promoted by the lords of Freyberg. When the territory of Justingen was newly acquired again by the prince bishop of Augsburg Johann Christoph von Freyberg, Catholicism was reintroduced. The village of Sondernach was part of the territory of Neusteußlingen; under the rule of the lords of Freyberg residing in the castle Neusteußlingen it was Catholic. When this territory went back to the Dukes of Württemberg in the late 16th century, the Reformation was introduced there.
In Schelklingen at the moment exist each one Roman Catholic, Lutheran Protestant and New-Apostolic community. In addition, Muslim inhabitants live in Schelklingen. The Islamic citizens came to Schelklingen since the early 1960s by the way of labour migration, mainly from the Republic of Turkey. Some years ago, the Muslim inhabitants built a small mosque at the outskirts of the town.