Bad Waldsee

Sister cities

• Bad Elster
• Bâgé-le-Châtel

History

Waldsee was first documented in 926 in the Weissenburger Codex, which mentions the destruction caused by the Hungarians during their invasion of southern Germany. It says "In Walahsé a royal estate was destroyed by the heathens. All it has left is two lots of farmland, 60 carts of hay, a mill and a church." The town was granted city-rights in 1298. Authority over the city was exercised by the "Lords of Waldsee", a title the city soon sold to the Habsburg Duke of Austria. However, in 1386 the House of Habsburg pledged the city of Waldsee to the steward Johann von Waldburg. In 1406 the pledge lordship (Pfandherrschaft) of Waldburg was renewed, when the city of Waldsee, together with the towns of Mengen, Riedlingen, Munderkingen and Saulgau, were finally sold off by the House of Habsburg. From this time these cities have been known together as the "fünf Donaustädte" (Five Danube Towns). The House of Waldburg stayed in control of the towns until Napoleon established a new European order through war and politics, which made Waldsee part of the Kingdom of Württemberg in 1806. In 1807 Waldsee was elevated the status of township, and the city grew in prominence during this period. In 1918 the nickel and copper coins became scarce because of the First World War. That is why many communities were forced to mint their own coins. The council of Waldsee consulted on March 13, 1918 the minting of their own coins. It was decided to issue coins in sizes of 50 Pfennig, 10 Pfennig and 5 Pfennig. They could be exchanged until May 1, 1922. In 1923, when inflation reached its peak, the city printed its own money in bills. On August 26, 1923, the local council decided to issue certificates worth 500,000, 1 million Mark and 2 million marks. Later it was decided to print more certificates…

Geography

Bad Waldsee is located in Upper Swabia north of the Altdofer forest. The old city is situated on an isthmus between two lakes—the Stadtsee on the east connects to Urbach through a channel in the south, and the smaller Schlosssee on the west, which empties into the Stadtsee from the direction of Pfaffenbach.

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  602
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  596
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  526
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  487
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  468
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  454
• Red Kite

  Milvus milvus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  425
• Eurasian Tree Sparrow

  Passer montanus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  415

Most recent

• M 4.2 — 2026-04-26
  4 km NNW of Quarten, Switzerland
• M 3.4 — 2022-10-16
  Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
• M 3.8 — 2022-09-01
  2 km WSW of Sevelen, Switzerland
• M 4 — 2022-07-09
  2 km NNE of Grosselfingen, Germany
• M 3.6 — 2020-08-08
  5 km SE of Gramais, Austria
• M 3.8 — 2018-02-01
  4 km N of Innerbraz, Austria