Schongau () is a town in Bavaria, southern Germany, near the Alps. It is located along the Lech, between Landsberg am Lech and Füssen. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. Schongau has a well-preserved old wall around the center.

History

Schongau originated from the town currently known as Altenstadt (lit.: old town). In the 13th century, a large number of the inhabitants moved only a few kilometres into a new settlement founded on the Lech and took the name Schongau with them. The hillside was far better situated to defend it. The town of Schongau is located in close proximity to the former Roman road to Augsburg, Via Claudia Augusta (47 AD), and got its name from the Romans. In the Middle Ages, it was an important hub and commercial centre on the Verona-Augsburg-Nuremberg route and on the salt road from Berchtesgadener Land into the Allgäu.

Lechrain, populated by the Alemanni, was under the rule of the Swabian Welfs until the 12th century. After the death of Welf VI in 1191, the Welf territories in Swabia changed hands to the Hohenstaufen. Emperor Frederick Barbarossa gave it to the Hohenstaufen. When the last Staufer ruler Conradin moved to Italy in 1267 to defend his power against Charles of Anjou, his ally Duke Ludwig II of Bavaria unexpectedly denied his help and demanded the payment of debts, which is why Conradin had to give away a large part of his possessions as the Duke of Swabia (called the Konradinian donation). In this way, the Bavarian dukes of Wittelsbach, who were ambitious to extend their influence into the Alamannian settlements up to Lech, came to rule the Lechrain in 1268.

Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian had given Schongau the right to mint in 1331. Duke Christoph der Starke liked to stay in the city. Christophstrasse in the historic centre of the town is named after him. On 22 May 1493, a devastating fire destroyed large parts of the Oberstadt (upper town) and the ducal palace; it was not until 1514 that reconstruction was completed.

Schongau and the nearby area is the setting of the Oliver Pötzsch novel The Hangman's Daughter.

Twin towns

Schongau is twinned with the following towns:

  • Colmar, France, since 1962
  • Lucca, Italy, since 1962
  • Sint-Niklaas, Belgium, since 1962
  • Abingdon, United Kingdom, since 1970
  • Gogolin, Poland, since 1996

Mayor

Since May 1st 2026, the mayor of Schongau has been Thomas Schleich (UWV). He was elected with 66,7% of votes in March 2026. He succeeded Falk Sluyterman van Langeweyde (SPD) who ran for Landrat.

People

  • Franz Rupp (1901-1992), pianist
  • Reinhold Bocklet (1943 - 2025), CSU politician
  • Günther Sigl (born 1947), rock musician
  • Luitpold Braun, CSU politician
  • Chris Pfeiffer (1970-2022), motorbike stunt rider
  • Andreas Loth (born 1972), ice hockey player
  • Markus Aspelmeyer (born 1975), quantum physicist
  • Michael Kreitl (born 1975), ice hockey player
  • Steffen Bilger (born 1979), Member of the Bundestag
  • Stefan Schauer (born 1983), ice hockey player
  • Bernhard Ebner (born 1990), ice hockey player
  • Simon Jocher (born 1997), alpine ski racer

References

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