Münsingen, Germany
Münsingen is a town in the district of Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 23 km southeast of Reutlingen, and 37 km west of Ulm. History. The name Münsingen is assumed to be derived of an Alemannic chief called Munigis, who founded a settlement on the present-day city boundaries. In 775 Münsingen is mentioned for the first time on a deed of gift of Lorsch Abbey. The church of Münsingen is first mentioned in 804. After the rule of the Franks the village went to the county of Württemberg-Urach, which sold it in 1263 to  Ulrich I. In 1339, Münsingen was granted Town privileges. Through the partition of Württemberg it came under the purview of Urach, until in 1482 the Treaty of Münsingen declared the re-unification of the County of Württemberg. On October 23, 1654 it became an administrative center of regional importance. From 1938 to 1973 Münsingen was capital of the district of Münsingen. In 1895, the German Empire began the construction of a proving ground. Later this became the Duke-Albrecht-Barracks. It was closed on March 31, 2004. The ground was transformed into a settlement. Religions. A church building in Münsingen  was first mentioned in 804. The Reformation was introduced in 1537 to Münsingen as well as to the surrounding villages of Apfelstetten, Auingen, Böttingen, Buttenhausen, Dottingen, Hundersingen, Rietheim and Trailfingen and the Lutheran Church Order, as everywhere in the Duchy of Württemberg, was introduced in 1559. The villages of Bichishausen, Gundelfingen and Bremelau, now administratively part of Münsingen, used to be part of the Principality of Fürstenberg and Further Austria and are therefore predimoninatly Roman Catholic. The village of Magolsheim was on the border between Württemberg and Further Austria and has two churches, one Protestant and one Catholic. Münsingen was  seat of the Church District of Münsingen of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg until 1 December 2013 when the neighboring district of Bad Urach was merged with Münsingen to form the Church District Bad Urach-Münsingen. Also represented in Münsingen are the Apostolic Church, the Baptists, the United Methodist Church and the Biblical faith community Münsingen. A large Jewish community used to exist in the village of Buttenhausen. The Jews of Buttenhausen were fully integrated into the communal life. This became apparent when during the November 1938 pogrom, the SA squad first had to arrest the mayor of Buttenhausen , who had stubbornly resisted the desecration of the synagogue. Only then the synagogue was burnt down. The remaining Jewish families were deported in the following period and became victims of the Shoah. At the former site of the synagogue a memorial stone commemorates this event. Additionally, in 1961 a memorial was erected in the centre of Buttenhausen with the names of 45 murdered Jewish inhabitants. The Jewish cemetery, Buttenhausen, which was in use from 1787 to 1943, also received a memorial stone. In Münsingen there is a mosque which belongs to the Turkish-Islamic community. The congregation consists of approximately  70 members as of 2015. Incorporations. Bichishausen Lauter valley Dürrenstetten was in 1822 united with Gundelfingen. As part of the municipal reform in Baden-Württemberg the following previously independent municipalities were amalgamated with Münsingen: View on Münsingen Half-timber house, City of Münsingen Politics. Council. The council in Münsingen has after the last election 26 members (2014: 24). The local elections in Baden-Württemberg 2019 on May 26, 2019 resulted in the following official results. The turnout was 57,5% (2014: 50,2%). The council consists of the elected honorary councilors and the mayor as chairman. The mayor is entitled to vote  in the municipal council. Mayor. The Mayor is elected for a term of eight years. The term of office of Mike Muenzing ends on 27 November 2021. Arms. The blazon coat of arms reads: "In silver a reclining four-ended black deer rod." Twinning. Münsingen is twinned with the following cities: and maintains friendly relations with: Tourism. Münsingen is located on the Swabian Poet Route, which passes by many sights. Music. The musical culture Münsingen is mainly borne by the local music clubs. With the trombone choirs in Münsingen, Auingen, Hundersingen-Buttenhausen and Dottingen, the Stadtkapelle Münsingen and the music  clubs Böttingen, Magolsheim and Rietheim many clubs are active in the field of Brass Band. There are also several church choirs, as well as the secular singer Communities "Liederkranz Münsingen" Männergesangsverein Apfelstetten, Sängerbund Buttenhausen, Liederkranz Dottingen, Liedertafel Hundersingen, men's glee club Trailfingen and the chorus of EJW district Münsingen. Buildings. Featured buildings in Münsingen are the historic Old Town Hall from 1550, and its successor, the New Town Hall in timbered house style, which was built in 1935–1937. The "old stock" as a historical site with more than 140 buildings for up to 5200 soldiers. Also worth seeing are  the market fountain and the Martin Church, completed in 1495 by Peter of Koblenz. In Buttenhausen district Castle Buttenhausen and also a Jewish Cemetery. In addition, several ruins exist in Lautertal, for example the Castle Hohenhundersingen. Towers. In the peripheral area of the former military training area Münsingen are four Towers of Swabian Albverein (Swabian Alp Association), which are all freely accessible (key deposit). Museums. Münsingen museums are the memorial site Matthias Erzberger in Buttenhausen, the Jewish Museum Buttenhausen, the local history museum in the " Old Palace ", the museum for former military training area in the "old camp" at Auingen . The museum " Anton Geiselhart " and the castle museum are located in Gundelfingen. Economy and infrastructure. Established Businesses. The Uralan polymer processing is located in the industrial area West. In addition, the Walter AG and Volksbank Münsingen have a seat here. Traffic. The Bundesstraße B 465 coming from Bad Urach comes through the town and runs to Ehingen and Biberach an der Riss. The national road 230 runs through the urban area in east–west direction and connects the region to the Federal Highway 8 in Merklingen. The Public transport is guaranteed by the Verkehrsverbund Neckar-Alb-Donau (NALDO). The community  is located in the comb 225. The Münsingen station, is located on the Reutlingen–Schelklingen railway. On Sundays and holidays from early April to late October regional trains and special trains bring mainly hikers and sightseers to their destination. In addition, throughout the year goes from Monday to Friday, some regional trains direction Ulm or direction Gomadingen. Since early 2008 Münsingen is connected with a transition tariff also to the Donau-Iller-Nahverkehrsverbund (DING). Media. The daily " Alb-Bote ", which is part of the Südwest Presse in Ulm reports daily on what is happening in and around Münsingen. Also, the   Reutlinger General Anzeiger  is represented in Münsingen. Court. Münsingen has a District Court, which belongs to the District Court Tübingen and Higher Regional Court Stuttgart. With the gymnasium Münsingen, the Gustav Mesmer - Realschule, the high school with Werkrealschule " Schillerschule ", the primary school " primary school at Hardt " in the district Auingen, primary school Dottingen, primary school " Lautertalschule " and the primary school " Astrid Lindgren school " all general education forms are represented in the town. Besides, there are the Gustav-Heinemann-School (special school), the Erich Kaestner school, (Sprachheilschule), the Karl-Georg-Haldenwang -School for the mentally handicapped and the branch office of  the physically disabled school Mössingen also four special schools. The range is supplemented by the Vocational School Münsingen. For the youngest inhabitants there are seven municipal, five Protestant and Roman Catholic kindergarten and two small nurseries. International relations. Münsingen, Germany is twinned with: