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Swabia (German: Schwaben or Schwabenland) is both a historic and linguistic (see Swabian German) region in Germany. Swabia consists of most of the present-day state of Baden-Württemberg (specifically, historical Württemberg and the Hohenzollerische Lande), as well as the Bavarian administrative district of Swabia. In the Middle Ages, Baden, Vorarlberg, the modern principality of Liechtenstein, modern German-speaking Switzerland, and Alsace (nowadays belonging to France) were also considered to be a part of Swabia.

Contents

History

2000 years ago, the Suebi or Suevi were Elbe-Germanics whose origin was near the Baltic Sea which was thus known to the Romans as the Mare Suebicum (today, the term Swabian Sea is appled to Lake Constance). They moved further to the south west (see Alamanni).

Swabia was one of the original stem duchies of the German Kingdom, as it developed in the 9th and 10th centuries. The Hohenstaufen Dynasty (the dynasty of Frederick Barbarossa), which ruled the Holy Roman Empire in the 12th and 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. The major dynasty which arose out of the region were the Habsburgs, but also the Hohenzollerns who rose to prominence in Northern Germany, stem from Swabia, as well as actual Swabian states became established by the Dukes of Württemberg and the Margraves of Baden. Smaller feudal dynasties disappeared sooner or later, however for example branches of the Montforts and Hohenems lived until modern age and the Furstenberg survive still. The region proved to be one of the most divided in the Empire, containing, in addition to these principalities, numerous free cities, ecclesiastical territories, and fiefdoms of lesser counts and knights.

Fearing the power of the greater princes, the cities and smaller secular rulers of Swabia joined together 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 bishoprics of Augsburg, Constance, and others) remained Catholic, as did the territories belonging to the Habsburgs, Hohenzollerns and the Margrave of Baden-Baden.

In the wake of the territorial reorganization of the Empire of 1803, the shape of Swabia was entirely changed. All the ecclesiastical estates were secularized, and most of the smaller secular states, and all of the free cities, were mediatized, leaving only Württemberg, Baden and Hohenzollern as souvereign states. Much of Eastern Swabia became part of Bavaria, forming what is now the Bavarian administrative region of Swabia.

From 1939 to 1945, Germany claimed sovereignty over an area of Antarctica, which was named Neu-Schwabenland in honour of Swabia.

Swabian settlements abroad

There are many Swabian settlements outside of the European continent, found in Brazil, Canada, and the United States.

Famous Swabians

Historical

Modern Era

Literature

Surnames

Many Swabian surnames end with the suffixes -le, -el, -ehl, and -lin.

The popular surname "Schwab" is derived from this area, meaning literally "One who hails from Swabia."

In Switzerland, "Sauschwab" is a derogatory term for Germans, derived from the Swabian War of 1499.

In the Polish language and Bulgarian language "Szwab" is a semi-abusive term for any German, not just one from Swabia.

See also

External links

 

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