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Ravensburg History, Germany

Ravensburg is one of the oldest medieval towns in the area of the so called "Schussental", a valley of an river called "Schussen".

The origin of the city can be traced back to the celts who already settled upon the later castle hill of Ravensburg with an castle, for war times.

The city was first mentioned by documents on 1088 A.C. and the name derives by the castle, the dynasty of the Welfen built there on 1050.

The last Welf, living on the Ravensburg, was Welf IV, duke of Spoleto. He gave the castle and the area to his nephew Friedrich I. Barbarossa., not to Henry thge Lion, duke of Bavaria and Saxony, who was maybe born on the Ravensburg in 1129. But it´s also said for Barbarossa. Ravensburg now belonged to the dynasty of the Staufer.

After the fall of that dynasty Ravensburg started to reign itself. These right were confirmed in 1278 by Rudolf I., the habsburgian emperor. Ravensburg was from this times a free city, with only the emperor above it. The castle Ravensburg was still owned by the emperor and from this times seat of the Landvogt, an official of Rudolf I. The citizens of Ravensburg built an tower about 50 meters high, to be able to look at the offical of the emperor. This tower was later on called "Mehlsack", because of its white color, similar to flour.

In late medieval times, Ravensburg was the seat of a well known german trading company, the Humpis, that had trading post all over europe, even before the famous fugger family. The trading company disappeared in 1530, perhaps because they didnt react on the new market in America.

During the reformation Ravensburg got an proportional system of reign, confirmed by the so called peace of Westphalia in 1648, end of the 30 years war in Europe. That was valid till the 19th century. At the end of the 30 years war the swedish army destroyed the castle, that was now called Veitsburg, to make a differnce to the city called Ravensburg. Because of that the Landvogt moved to Weingarten in 1647, a neighbouring town of Ravensburg.

In 1803 Ravensburg lost its independence and was put to the area of Bavaria. That was a consequence of the napoleonic wars. In 1815 it was assigned to the kingdom of Württemberg.

In the 19th centurty Ravensburg particpated on the industrial revolution and prospered because of its paper mills and machine industries.

From that times it grew up, associating all the small villages around it. On 1954 it was declared "große Kreisstadt" (district town) by law.


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  • asterixRavensburg
    review by asterix posted more then 30 days ago
    Ravensburg is a little German town, actually the capital of the district of Ravensburg, Baden-Wuertenberg. A really beautiful medieval town with over 10 towers all over the town and beautiful buildings. The people there are really relaxed, you have to feeling that they have nothing to worry about...
  • WazlingThe versatility of Ravensburg
    review by Wazling posted more then 30 days ago
    Ravensburg is a amazing place. In the two world wars it wasn't heavily hit, so the medieval town is completely preserved. It's really interesting to see for example the old town hall from the 15th century or the many towers of medieval times, still present in the towns view with some parts of the...
  • MadSuhBack home in Ravensburg
    review by MadSuh posted more then 30 days ago
    The Mushroom Season has finally begun! Right after we got back from Vienna, I took off the next day to find some mushrooms. I love these things. It's a nice hunt and you can have a nice walk in the local forests. I went to my favorite spots and found close to nothing:(However, one of the...
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Read our members' travel tips about Ravensburg


  • JoslThe Humpis Museum
    travel tip by Josl posted more then 30 days ago
    Have a insight view into Ravensburg's history
  • WazlingHumpismuseum
    travel tip by Wazling posted more then 30 days ago
    If you are at Ravensburg and you like history, you´have to visit the city`s new mseum, called Humpis Museum. It´s name derives from an old medieval trading company. There you can see the history of the town, connected with the family...
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Ravensburg City Ratings

  • Rating71%
    City Rank221
     
  • History & Culture: rated for 83%
  • Night Life & Entertainment: rated for 57%
  • Family & Fun: rated for 80%
  • Outdoors Activities: rated for 73%
  • Food: rated for 67%
  • Sightseeing: rated for 67%
  • Shopping: rated for 77%
  • Public Transportation: rated for 73%
  • Must visit this place: rated for 65%
  
 
 
 
  
 
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