Oettingen in Bayern

Sister cities

• Rochechouart
• Bagolino

History

Neolithic remains indicate that the region was already settled by around 5000 BC. Archaeologists have also discovered the remains of a Bronze Age settlement and a Roman village. The old town centre has a highly unusual aspect; while the eastern side of the main street and market place is baroque, the western side is half-timbered. From 1522 to 1731, the town was split between the Protestant house of Oettingen-Oettingen and the Roman Catholic house of Oettingen-Wallerstein, which built the baroque facades. As well as one side of the street being Protestant and the other side being Catholic, one side used the Julian calendar, and the other side used the Gregorian calendar. Each side also had its own synagogue. Unlike nearby Dinkelsbühl, which survived World War II unscathed, Oettingen was severely damaged on 23 February 1945 by an Allied bombing raid, part of Operation Clarion, in which 48 aircraft dropped some 500 bombs on the town, killing 199 persons.

Geography

The town is located on the river Wörnitz, a tributary of the Danube, and lies on the northern edge of the Nördlinger Ries, a meteorite crater in diameter. The town consists of the municipalities of Erlbach, Heuberg, Lehmingen, Niederhofen, Nittingen and Oettingen.

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  450
• Common Buzzard

  Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  412
• White Stork

  Ciconia ciconia (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  385
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  346
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  338
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  337
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  333
• Eurasian Kestrel

  Falco tinnunculus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  303

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2008-06-14
  3 km S of Diedorf, Germany
• M 2.5 — 2002-08-22
  5 km SSE of Rain, Germany
• M 2.5 — 2002-07-18
  1 km ENE of Burgstetten, Germany
• M 2.5 — 2002-02-02
  3 km S of Adelsheim, Germany