SCHWABEN

English Swabia, Regierungsbezirk (administrative district), southwestern corner of Bavaria Land (state), southern Germany. Schwaben is bordered by Austria to the south, Baden-Wrttemberg Land to the west, and the Regierungsbezirke of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia) to the north and Oberbayern (Upper Bavaria) to the east. Created in 1934, the district is coextensive with the eastern portion of the larger historic region of Swabia . It derives its name from that of the Suebi, a Germanic people who (together with the Alemanni) occupied the territory between the upper Rhine and upper Danube rivers in the 3rd century AD and later expanded their holdings eastward to the Lech River. In 1806 the free imperial cities and small principalities comprising eastern Swabia were ceded to the Kingdom of Bavaria by Napoleon in his reorganization of Germany. Schwaben lies in southern Germany's Alpine Foreland (Alpenvorland), largely on the Iller-Lech plateau where many river valleys drain from south to north. Comprising a series of glacial gravel terraces, the plateau is bounded by the Danube River to the north, the Lech River to the east, and the Iller River, which forms a section of Schwaben's boundary with Baden-Wrttemberg Land, to the west. A repeating pattern of fertile terraces, lined with small villages and situated between forested ridges and marshy valley floors, forms the predominant landscape. South of the plateau, tiers of morainic foothills with scenic alpine meadows, forests, and lakes comprise the Allgu, Germany's leading cheese- and butter-producing region. Kempton serves as the marketing centre for the highly developed dairy industry and has textile, paper, and engineering industries. Further south the foothills rise to the steep mountain meadows and peaks of the Allgu Alps (Allguer Alpen) near the Austrian border. Many popular winter and summer sports resorts, as well as health spas and medicinal springs, are located in the area, the best known being Oberstdorf. Near the resort town of Fssen, tourists can visit Neuschwanstein Schloss, the famous fairy castle built for King Ludwig II of Bavaria in 186986. North of the Danube River the Ries, a circular fertile lowland centred around the town of Nrdlingen, forms a natural break between the Swabian Jura (Schwbische Alb) and Franconian Jura (Frnkische Alb). The chief crops produced in the Ries include sugar beets, potatoes, and a variety of grains. Industry in Schwaben is concentrated around the cities of Augsburg, the administrative seat, and Neu Ulm and radiates from the urban areas in ribbons along the Danube, Iller, Lech, and Wertach rivers. Augsburg, the third largest industrial centre in Bavaria and a major transportation junction, manufactures machinery, electrical products, textiles, and clothing. Neu Ulm's industries produce motor vehicles and machinery. Bavarian Swabians speak Swabian, one of three main German dialects in Bavaria. The dialect's use in Bavaria is limited to the southwest because historically the northsouth valleys formed a natural ethnographic barrier to eastward expansion. The predominant rural housing pattern in the morainic zone of southern Schwaben is one of dispersed farmsteads. Housing units are generally two stories with a vast overhanging roof and large balcony. The ground floor is used for livestock stalls, with living quarters above. In northern Schwaben the Ries is noted for its picturesque nucleated villages having a radial arrangement of streets converging on the village centre. A well-preserved example is Nrdlingen, once a free imperial city and now a popular tourist stop along the Romantic Highway (Romantische Strasse), a route from Wrzburg through Schwaben to the Alps. The town is centred around the Church of St. George (14271505) and surrounded by rings of old houses and a complete circle of medieval town walls. Higher education in the Regierungsbezirk is centred in Augsburg and includes the University of Augsburg, Fachhochschule Augsburg, and three colleges of music. More than three-fourths of the population of Schwaben are Roman Catholics. Area 3,859 square miles (9,994 square km). Pop. (1996 est.) 1,722,100.