Donauwörth

Donauwörth
Reichsstrasse, Donauwörth
Coat of arms
Donauwörth
Location of Donauwörth within Donau-Ries district
Coordinates: 48°42′N 10°48′E / 48.700°N 10.800°E / 48.700; 10.800Coordinates: 48°42′N 10°48′E / 48.700°N 10.800°E / 48.700; 10.800
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Swabia
District	Donau-Ries
Government
• Lord Mayor	Armin Neudert (CSU)
Area
• Total	77.02 km2 (29.74 sq mi)
Elevation	410 m (1,350 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	18,972
• Density	250/km2 (640/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	86609
Dialling codes	0906
Vehicle registration	DON
Website	www.donauwoerth.de

Donauwörth German: [ˌdoːnaʊˈvøːɐ̯t]) is a city and the capital of the Donau-Ries district in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is said to have been founded by two fishermen where the Danube (Donau) and Wörnitz rivers meet. The city is part of the scenic route called "Romantische Straße" (Romantic Road)

The city is situated between Munich and Nuremberg, 46 km north of Augsburg.

Donauwörth grew up in the course of the 11th and 12th centuries under the protection of the castle of Mangoldstein, became in the 13th century a seat of Duke Ludwig II of Bavaria, who, however, soon withdrew to Munich to escape from his wife, Duchess Maria of Brabant, whom he had there beheaded on an unfounded suspicion of infidelity. The town received the freedom of the Holy Roman Empire in 1308, and maintained its position in spite of the encroachments of Bavaria till 1607, when the interference of the Protestant inhabitants with the abbot of the Heilig-Kreuz called forth an imperial law authorizing the duke of Bavaria to punish them for the offence.

It is historically important to Germany as the site of one of the incidents which led to the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). In 1606, the Lutheran majority barred the Catholic residents of the town from holding an annual Markus procession, causing a riot to break out. During the war, it was stormed by Gustavus Adolphus (1632), and captured by Ferdinand III (1634).