Dischingen

Dischingen
Dischingen
Location of Dischingen within Heidenheim district
Coordinates	48°41′52″N 10°21′38″E / 48.69778°N 10.36056°E / 48.69778; 10.36056Coordinates: 48°41′52″N 10°21′38″E / 48.69778°N 10.36056°E / 48.69778; 10.36056
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Baden-Württemberg
Admin. region	Stuttgart
District	Heidenheim
Local subdivisions	7
Mayor	Alfons Jakl (CDU)
Basic statistics
Area	78.06 km2 (30.14 sq mi)
Elevation	463 m  (1519 ft)
Population	4,419 (31 December 2010)[1]
- Density	57 /km2 (147 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	HDH
Postal code	89561
Area codes	07327, 07326
Website	www.dischingen.de

Dischingen is a municipality in the district of Heidenheim in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The municipality consists of several smaller villages that have been absorbed into Dischingen including; Dischingen, Ballmertshofen, Demmingen, Dunstelkingen, Eglingen, Frickingen, Trugenhofen and includes Castle Katzenstein^[2].

Demographics

Dischingen has 4,484 inhabitants (as of January 18, 2007), of which 1,811 live in Dischingen with the rest in the surrounding communities. The total land area in the community is 78.06 km² (30.14 sq mi), of which 6.68 km² (2.58 sq mi) is buildings, 28.3 km² (10.9 sq mi) is forest, 42.6 km² (16.4 sq mi) is farm land and 0.48 km² (0.19 sq mi) is water^[2].

History

Dischingen is first mentioned in 1049. During the Middle Ages it belonged to the county of Dillingen. When the counts of Dillingen died out in 1258, the county was inherited by the House of Wittelsbach. Following the Landshut War of Succession, in 1505 Dischingen became part of the duchy of Palatinate-Neuburg (German: Pfalz-Neuburg). In 1734 the town became the property of the Princely House of Thurn and Taxis. During the German Mediatisation Dischingen became part of Bavaria, though a few years later, in 1810, it became part of Württemberg.

Religion

Dischingen was generally untouched by the Reformation and remained solidly Roman Catholic. The members of the Evangelical Church in Germany in Dischingen belong to the parish of Fleinheim-Dischingen.

Expansion

On 1 January 1972, the village of Trugenhofen joined Dischingen. Two years later, on 1 January 1974, the villages of Ballmertshofen, Demmingen, Dunstelkingen, Eglingen, Frickingen became part of Dischingen.

Politics

Mayor

• 1986–2006 Bernd Hitzler
• Since 2006: Alfons Jakl

Town Council

There are currently 18 seats on the town council. In the town election of 13 June 2004 members of the following two political parties ran with these results:

Party	Percent of Votes	Change from previous	Seats	Change
CDU	55.0 %	−0.4	10	−1
FWG	45.0 %	+0.4	8	±0

Coat of arms

The coat of arms is a divided shield, on the left a red background with an upright golden (yellow) key and on the right a gold (yellow) background with three horizontal knives. The three knives come from the coat of arms of Melchior von Tischingen, dating from 1465. The meaning of the key is unknown.

Coat of arms of the villages

• 

  Ballmertshofen

• 

  Demmingen

• 

  Dunstelkingen

• 

  Eglingen

• 

  Frickingen

• 

  Trugenhofen

See also

• Burg Katzenstein
• Schloss Taxis
• List of castles in Baden-Württemberg

References

1. ^ "Bevölkerung und Erwerbstätigkeit" (in German). Statistisches Landesamt Baden-Württemberg. 31 December 2009. http://www.statistik-bw.de/Veroeffentl/Statistische_Berichte/3126_10001.pdf. 
2. ^ ^{a b} (German) City of Dischingen Website