Swabia 616237 221437825 2008-06-24T14:22:04Z Olessi 220894 /* References */ cats : ''This article is about the region of [[Germany]]; for the Soda Fountain & Hollywood pharmacy see [[Schwab's Drug Store]].'' [[Image:Swabia.png|thumb|[[Germany]], showing modern borders. Light blue region is state of [[Baden-Württemberg]]. To the east of B-W is state of [[Bavaria]], with [[Swabia (administrative region)|Swabia administrative region]] in pink. Swabia is a region, rather than a political entity, so well-defined borders do not exist.]] '''Swabia''', '''Suabia''', or '''Svebia''' ([[German language|German]]: ''Schwaben'', ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle'') is both a historic and [[linguistics|linguistic]] (see [[Swabian German]]) region in [[Germany]]. Swabia consists of much of the present-day state of [[Baden-Württemberg]] (specifically, historical [[Württemberg]] and the [[Hohenzollerische Lande]]), as well as the [[Bavaria]]n [[Swabia (administrative region)|administrative region of Swabia]]. In the [[Middle Ages]], [[Baden Germany|Baden]], [[Vorarlberg]], the modern principality of [[Liechtenstein]], modern German-speaking [[Switzerland]], and [[Alsace]] (now belonging to [[France]]) were also considered to be a part of Swabia. ==History== ===Suebi=== [[Image:NE 400ad.jpg|thumb|300px|Europe in 400 AD, showing the Suevi in Swabia and their neighbors.]] 2000 years ago, the [[Suebi]] or Suevi were an [[Germanic people|Elbe Germanic people]] whose origin was near the [[Baltic Sea]], which was thus known to the Romans as the [[Mare Suebicum]] (today, the term "Swabian Sea" is applied to [[Lake Constance]]). They migrated to the southwest, becoming part of the [[Alamanni]]c confederacy. The Alamanni were ruled by independent kings throughout the [[4th century|4th]] and [[5th century|5th]] centuries. Also, a number of Suevi (20.000-50.000<ref>Their number would be comparable, but probably inferior, to that of the Vandals that passed into África after residing together in Galaecia for 10 years. See [http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/02m/0430-0484,_Victor_Vitensis,_Historia_Persecutionis_Africae_Provinciae,_MLT.pdf Victor Vitense ''Persecutiones'', I].</ref>) reached the [[Iberian Peninsula]] under king [[Hermeric]] and established an independent kingdom in [[410]] what is now northern [[Portugal]], [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], and western regions of [[Asturias]] and most of [[León (province)|León]] (in northwest Spain). It endured until [[585]]. Its political center was Braccara Augusta (present-day [[Braga]], Portugal). ===Duchy of Swabia=== {{main|Alamannia}} Swabia became a duchy under the [[Frankish Empire]] in [[496]], following the [[Battle of Tolbiac]]. Swabia was one of the original [[stem duchy|stem duchies]] of [[East Francia]], the later [[Holy Roman Empire]], as it developed in the [[9th century|9th]] and [[10th century|10th]] centuries. The [[Hohenstaufen]] [[dynasty]] (the dynasty of [[Frederick Barbarossa]]), which ruled the [[Holy Roman Empire]] in the [[12th century|12th]] and [[13th century|13th]] centuries, arose out of Swabia, but following the execution of [[Conradin]], the last Hohenstaufen, on [[October 29]], [[1268]], the original duchy gradually broke up into many smaller units. ===Holy Roman Empire=== The major dynasty which arose out of the region were the [[Habsburg]]s, but also the [[Hohenzollern]]s, who rose to prominence in Northern Germany, stem from Swabia, as well as the dynasties of the Dukes of [[Württemberg]] and the [[Margrave]]s of [[Baden]]. Smaller feudal dynasties eventually disappeared; however, for example, branches of the [[Montfort of Vorarlberg|Montfort]]s and [[Hohenems]] lived until modern age and the [[Fürstenberg (princely family)|Fürstenberg]] survive still. The region proved to be one of the most divided in the Empire, containing, in addition to these principalities, numerous [[Free Imperial City|free cities]], ecclesiastical territories, and fiefdoms of lesser [[count]]s and [[knight]]s. The [[Old Swiss Confederacy]] was ''de facto'' independent from Swabia from [[1499]] as a result of the [[Swabian War]]. Fearing the power of the greater princes, the cities and smaller secular rulers of Swabia joined to form the [[Swabian League]] in the [[15th century]]. The League was quite successful, notably expelling the [[Duke of Württemberg]] in [[1519]] and putting in his place a Habsburg governor, but the league broke up a few years later over religious differences inspired by the [[Reformation]], and the Duke of Württemberg was soon restored. The region was quite divided by the Reformation. While secular princes like the Duke of Württemberg and the Margrave of [[Baden-Durlach]], as well as most of the Free Cities, became [[Protestant]], the ecclesiastical territories (including the [[bishopric]]s of [[Bishopric of Augsburg|Augsburg]], [[Bishopric of Konstanz|Konstanz]] and others) remained [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]], as did the territories belonging to the Habsburgs, Hohenzollerns and the Margrave of [[Baden-Baden]]. ===Modern history=== In the wake of the territorial reorganization of the Empire of [[1803]] by the ''[[Reichsdeputationshauptschluss]]'', the shape of Swabia was entirely changed. All the ecclesiastical estates were secularized, and most of the smaller secular states, and almost all of the free cities, were [[mediatize]]d, leaving only Württemberg, Baden and Hohenzollern as sovereign states. Much of Eastern Swabia became part of [[Bavaria]], forming what is now the Bavarian administrative region of Swabia. From [[1939]] to [[1945]], [[Nazi Germany]] claimed sovereignty over an area of [[Antarctica]], which was named [[Neu-Schwabenland]] in honour of Swabia. ==Swabian settlements abroad== Outside of Germany, many Swabians settled in [[Hungary]] and [[Romania]] (the [[Danube Swabians]] and [[Swabian Turkey]]), as well as in [[Russia]], [[Bessarabia]], [[Serbia]], and [[Kazakhstan]]. Outside of Europe, Swabian settlements can also be found in [[Brazil]], [[Canada]], and the [[United States]]. The town of [[Swaffham]], [[Norfolk]] means "homestead of the Swabians", some of whom must presumably have settled in [[England]] alongside the [[Angles]] and [[Saxons]]. == Popular culture == [[Image:Wirkoennenalles.jpg|thumb|A campaign sticker, translated, "We can do everything except speak [[High German]]." This is an allusion to the fact that [[Baden-Württemberg]] is one of the principal centres for innovation in Germany with many inhabitants having distinctive [[dialect]]s.]] : ''For information on the distinct Swabian dialect see [[Swabian German]].'' Swabians have in former times been the target of many jokes and stories where they are depicted as excessively stingy, overly serious, prudish, or as simpletons, for instance in "The Seven Swabians" (''Die sieben Schwaben'') published in ''Kinder- und Hausmärchen'' by the [[Brothers Grimm]]. Similar jokes are often made by the [[French people|French]] toward [[Belgians]], the [[Russians]] towards [[Georgians]], the [[Australians]] toward [[New Zealanders]], or [[Canadians]] toward [[Newfoundlanders]]. However, this has ceased to a large extent, while Swabians are nowadays said to be frugal, clever, entrepreneurial and hard-working. In a widely respected publicity campaign on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of [[Baden-Württemberg]], the economically most successful state in modern Germany, the Swabians famously replied to the former jokes with: ""We can do everything except speak [[High German]]" (''Wir können alles. Außer Hochdeutsch''); ''see image''. Many Swabian surnames end with the suffixes ''-le'', ''-el'', ''-ehl'', and ''-lin''. Examples would be: ''Schäuble'', ''Egeler'' and ''Gmelin''. The popular surname ''Schwab'' is derived from this area, meaning literally "Swabian". In [[Switzerland]], "Sauschwab" is a derogatory term for Germans, derived from the [[Swabian War]] of 1499. In [[Serbian language|Serbian]], [[Polish language|Polish]], and [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]], "Shvab" or "Szwab" may be a semi-abusive term for any German, not just one from Swabia. In parts of the former Yugoslavia (i.e. [[Slovenia]], [[Slavonija]] in [[Croatia]], and [[Vojvodina]] in [[Serbia]]), the term ''Swab'' (locally ''Švab'', from Шваб) is somewhat applied to all German peoples who lived in those regions until shortly after World War II, and many of their descendants; it is even occasionally used as a slang term to refer to all Germans as well as Austrians and Swiss German speaking people. ==Related Alemannic Dialects== [[Image:Alemannic speaking area.png|thumb|240px|Contemporary distribution of Alemannic dialects]] Swabian (Schwäbisch) is one of the [[Alemannic German]] dialects of High German, spoken in the region of Swabia, present in the North-Eastern area of the Alemannic [[Sprachraum]]. A separate version of Wikipedia is maintained as [http://als.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houptsyte D’alemannisch Wikipedia], which the main page called [[:als:Houptsyte|Houptsyte]]. ==Famous Swabians== * [[Leopold Mozart]], Father of [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]], the family originally came from Swabia * [[Maria-Luise Woehrle]] (arctic weather expert and region skiing champion) * [[Andreas Stihl]] ("Founder of Stihl Maschinenfabrik") * [[Götz von Berlichingen]] ("the knight with the iron fist") * [[Faust|Johann Georg Faust]] (protagonist of tales and dramas) * [[Johannes Kepler]] (astronomer and mathematician) * [[Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling]] (philosopher) * [[Friedrich Schiller]] (historian and writer, "Wilhelm Tell", "Die Räuber", "Maria Stuart", "Ode an die Freude") * [[Lorenz Oken]] (biologist, anatomist, naturphilosoph) * [[Carl Friedrich Kielmeyer]] (biologist) * [[Konrad von Jungingen]] (Grand Master of the Teutonic Order) * [[Ulrich von Jungingen]] (Grand Master of the Teutonic Order) * [[Friedrich Hölderlin]] (poet) * [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]] (philosopher) * [[Gerdoner]] (LFS skinner) * [[Ottmar Mergenthaler]] (inventor of the linotype) * [[Schlaich Bergermann & Partner|Hans Schober]] (structural engineer) * [[Justinus Kerner]] (poet) * [[Ludwig Uhland]] (poet) * [[Eduard Mörike]] (poet) * [[Wilhelm Hauff]] (poet) * [[Gottlieb Daimler]] (developer of the first modern car, founder of [[Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft]], today: [[Daimler]]) * [[Rudolf Diesel]] (inventor of the [[Diesel engine]]) * [[Robert Bosch]] (inventor, industrialist and philanthropist) * [[Margarete Steiff]] (toy maker) * [[Carl Laemmle]] (founder of Hollywood) * [[Karl Friedrich Benz]] (inventor of the first gas (petrol)-powered automobile) * [[Nikolaus August Otto]] (inventor of the [[internal-combustion engine]]) * [[Felix Heinrich Wankel]] (inventor of the [[Wankel engine]] ) * [[Johannes Nauclerus]] (historian, university rector/chancellor) * [[Theodor Heuss]] (former President of the Federal Republic of Germany) * [[Richard von Weizsäcker]] (former President of the Federal Republic of Germany) * [[Kurt Georg Kiesinger]] (former Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany) * [[Sophie Scholl]] (member of the [[White Rose]] resistance against the Nazis) * [[Hans Scholl]] (founder of the [[White Rose]] resistance against the Nazis) * [[Georg Elser]] (member of the resistance against the Nazis) * [[Claus von Stauffenberg]] (leader of the [[July 20 Plot]] to assassinate [[Adolf Hitler]]) * [[Erwin Rommel]] (World War II general) * [[Martin Heidegger]] (philosopher) * [[Roland Emmerich]] (Hollywood director) * [[Harald Schmidt]] (late-night talk show host) * [[Jürgen Klinsmann]] (football (soccer) player and former coach of the German national team) * [[Albert Einstein]] (physicist, Nobel Laureate) * [[Hermann Hesse]] (poet, writer, 1946 Nobel Laureate for Literature) * [[Roland Asch]] (race driver) * [[Joachim Löw]] (football (soccer) player and current coach of the German national team) * [[Gudrun Ensslin]] (a founder of the German terrorist group [[Red Army Faction]] or RAF, a.k.a. the Baader-Meinhof Gang) * [[Gustav Schwab]] (writer, most popular by "die schönsten Sagen des klassischen Altertums") * [[Dieter Baumann]] ([[olympic games|olympic]] gold medalist and anti [[doping (sport)|doping]] activist) * [[Wilhelm Groener]] (railroad chief in the [[German General Staff]], Minister of Transportation, Minister of Defense, and acting Minister of the Interior in the [[Weimar Republic]]) ==See also== *[[Danube Swabians]] (''Donauschwaben''), [[Banat Swabians]], [[Satu Mare Swabians]] *[[Duke of Swabia]] *[[Swabian children]] ==External links== *[http://www.swabia.org Swabian history and culture on Swabia.org] *[http://als.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houptsyte D’alemannisch Wikipedia] *[http://www.stuttgart-journal.de/tp/index.php?id=121 Typical Swabian events] ==References== <references /> * Suevica. Beiträge zur schwäbischen Literatur- und Geistesgeschichte. Edited by Reinhard Breymayer. Stuttgart: Hans-Dieter Heinz, Akademischer Verlag (Stuttgarter Arbeiten zur Germanistik. Editors: Ulrich Müller ([[Salzburg]]), Franz Hundsnurscher ([[Münster]] in Westfalen), Cornelius Sommer ([[Berlin]])). [[Category:Geography of Baden-Württemberg]] [[Category:Geography of Bavaria]] [[Category:Holy Roman Empire]] [[als:Schwaben]] [[ast:Suabia]] [[bg:Швабия]] [[ca:Suàbia]] [[da:Schwaben]] [[de:Schwaben]] [[el:Σουαβία]] [[es:Suabia]] [[fr:Souabe]] [[id:Swabia]] [[it:Svevia]] [[la:Suebia]] [[nl:Zwaben (landstreek)]] [[ja:シュヴァーベン]] [[no:Schwaben]] [[pl:Szwabia]] [[pt:Suábia]] [[ru:Швабия]] [[sk:Švábsko]] [[sr:Швабија]] [[fi:Schwaben]] [[sv:Schwaben]] [[zh:士瓦本]]