Laupheim

River Rottum in Laupheim with railway bridge in the background

Laupheim is situated in the region of Upper Swabia approximately 20 km north of Biberach and 20 km south of Ulm on the Bundesstraße 30. Laupheim is the second largest city in the district of Biberach. The original settlement of Laupheim was located close to the Rottum which still runs through the city but since 1950 the city has expanded and sprawls onto the surrounding slopes.

With effect of 1 Januar 2016 Laupheim has been awarded the status of major district town.[3]

The elevation within the city confines ranges from 509 m (1670 ft) above sea level at the bottom of the valley to 539 m (1768 ft) in the outlying suburban areas.[4]

Apart from the city of Laupheim itself, the following once autonomous villages nowadays belong administratively to Laupheim: Baustetten (population 2121), Obersulmetingen (population 1389), Untersulmetingen (population 2082) and Bihlafingen (population 853), which, with an elevation of 580 m (1903 ft), has the highest elevation of the administrative area.[4]

The area in and around Laupheim has been settled from very early times onwards. Archaeological evidence shows that 15000 years ago nomadic tribes roamed the countryside. From ca. 2000 BCE onwards, Celts inhabited this area. From the first century CE until around the year 260 CE, it was part of the Roman province of Raetia, after which the Alamanni invaded the Agri Decumates, eventually also settling in the area that was to become Laupheim. During archaeological excavations in 1840-1842 graves dating from the Merovingian period were discovered in the northern part of the town.[5]

Laupheim was first mentioned as Louphaim in a charter dated 778.[6] The charter is still kept in the archives of the monastery of St Gallen, Switzerland. This reference is the earliest of any city in Upper Swabia and any parish in the district of Biberach.

Situated in the vicinity of two major trade routes between the Lake of Constance and Ulm and the Swabian Alb and the valley of the river Iller respectively, Laupheim developed into a major settlement. In 853, it was elevated to the status of town when a court responsible for the Rammachgau (also spelled Rammagau) was set up there.

During the 9th century, parts of Laupheim came into the possession of the monastery of Weißenburg which was afterwards passed on to successive minor Swabian aristocratic houses.

As early as the 10th century, Laupheim possessed a parish church with subsidiaries. In 926, Laupheim and its surroundings were destroyed by the Hungarians. A castle is mentioned around the year 1100.

Laupheim appears to have been home of an indigenous noble family, whose members used the suffix von Laupheim. They were attested for the first time in 1110 with Landoldus de Lobhein and seemed to have been in service of the counts of Kirchberg. The last known member of this family was Berchtolt von Laupheim who was a citizen of Ulm 1372,[7] long after his family has lost possession of any rights in Laupheim around 1310.[8]

After the collapse of the Empire of the Staufers during the 13th century, the castle and parish of Laupheim came into the possession of the Truchsessen von Waldburg who, in 1331, sold Laupheim together with their other possessions in Upper Swabia to the Austrian House of Habsburg.

The Habsburgs mortgaged Laupheim in 1334 to the barons von Ellerbach and enfeoffed this baronial family in 1407 with castle, town and patronage of the church.

The village was badly affected by the crisis of the mid 14th century, caused by the Black Death and other factors. The population shrunk and as a consequence the hamlet of Ringelhausen, situated between Laupheim and Bronnen, was abandoned and eventually lost in the 15th century.[9] Only the name of a street and a development area in the city of Laupheim nowadays hints at the existence of this hamlet.

The Herren von Ellerbach had St Leonhard's Chapel built in 1448, which soon became a place of pilgrimage.

In 1430, Emperor Sigismund bestowed upon Burkhard von Ellerbach the right to hold regular markets, Laupheim thereby becoming a market town, and also the privilege of inflicting high justice, which gave him the right to hold a criminal court inflicting bodily punishment, including the death penalty. The local ruler was now master of life and death. Due to the weekly market and the annual Gallus-market, Laupheim quickly developed into a commercial centre.

During the course of the German Peasants' War 1525, Laupheim Castle was destroyed by the Baltringer Haufen, an army of peasants named after the nearby village of Baltringen, where approximately 12.000 farmers gathered to form an army. After the suppression of the revolt, the peasants were forced to rebuild the castle.

After the agnatic line of the Ellerbach dynasty became extinct in 1570, Laupheim passed through Hans Pankraz von Freyberg to the Herren von Welden in 1582. They turned Laupheim into their permanent residence and established the first school in 1584. From 1582 until 1806, Laupheim was a Lordship (Reichsritterschaft) ruled by the heir of the Welden family, whose title was "Imperial Knight" (Reichsritter).

Former Hospital of the Holy Spirit

In 1596, the right to bear a coat of arms was given to Laupheim, showing the colours of green, white and red together with three leaves on a three hills, thereby incorporating the coat-of-arms of the family of Welden with the three leaves, referring to the name of the town on the hills of the valley of the river Rottum.

The last member of the House of Ellerbach, Anna von Freyberg, founded the Hospital of the Holy Spirit in 1601, the building of which still exists and now functions as a retirement home.

Between 1623 and 1661, the church St. Peter and Paul was built in the vicinity of the castle.

Due to the inheritance laws of the house of Welden, the market town was divided into two different territories, Großlaupheim and Kleinlaupheim (Great Laupheim and Little Laupheim), in 1621, at the beginning of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), each territory being ruled by its own dynasty. As a consequence economic growth slowed down.

Laupheim 1726 with Großlaupheim Castle on the left and Kleinlaupheim Castle at the top

During the Thirty Years' War, Laupheim repeatedly fell victim to the ravages of war, mainly due to marauding troops, both imperial, that is Catholic, and Swedish, their Protestant opponents. A massive outbreak of the bubonic plague in 1635 further diminished the population.[10] At the close of the Thirty Years' War, Laupheim had lost two-thirds of its pre-war population, so that ultimately towards the end of the 17th century, Laupheim had sunk to the status of an unimportant, impoverished village. As a consequence of the Thirty Years' War, the feudal lords attempted to increase taxation and extend the amount of socage the peasants had to do for them. This led to legal conflicts between the two parties, which lasted for decades.

Judenberg in Laupheim

In order to stimulate the local economy and income generated by taxation, Carl Damian von Welden allowed the first Jewish families to settle in Großlaupheim in the 1720s. This which was made possible by a contract, protecting the Jews. The Jews were made to settle in an area of the town soon to be called Judenberg (literally Jews' mountain or Jews' hill). Subsequently, a Jewish quarter evolved, with a cemetery, synagogue, school and a Rabbi's office.[11]

During the 18th century, the Welden dynasty had the old castle, Großlaupheim Castle, restored, and subsequently renewed in Baroque-style in 1752. Between 1766 and 1769, the branch of the Welden dynasty that ruled Kleinlaupheim had their residence renewed in Baroque-style by architect Johann Georg Specht. This castle is now called Schloss Kleinlaupheim (Kleinlaupheim Castle). This makes Laupheim unique in that it has two castles within its city boundaries, as a result of once having been two independent states.

Schranne (granary)

In 1778, a town hall and the granary were built in the Upper Market Square.

Following the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss, the mediatisation and secularisation of numerous secular and ecclesiastical principalities within the former Holy Roman Empire, both parts of Laupheim were annexed by the newly formed Kingdom of Württemberg in 1806. The last ruler of Laupheim was Constantin von Welden. Laupheim first became administratively part of the district of Wiblingen, but in 1845 the district administration was moved to Laupheim, creating the district of Laupheim. The district as abolished in 1938 when Laupheim became part of the district of Biberach.

Due to laws based on the ideas of the enlightenment, servitude in the Kingdom of Württemberg was abolished in 1836. During the same period, laws forcing Jews to live in separate quarters and excluding them from most business activities were revoked. This enabled them to contribute enormously to the economic upturn Laupheim was experiencing, even though complete civil rights were not granted until 1864.

In 1848, with the arrival of civil servants from the original Duchy of Württemberg (Altwürttemberg), a Protestant parish was founded.

In 1850, a train station opened two kilometers west of Laupheim, on the railway line Ulm-Friedrichshafen from Ulm to Friedrichshafen, this station therefore being named as Laupheim-West.

In 1869, Laupheim was granted a city charter by King Karl I. of Württemberg. In the same year, the first institute of further education, a Lateinschule, was established in Laupheim. In 1871, Laupheim, being part of the Kingdom of Württemberg, was incorporated into the German Empire.

Laupheim, main train station ca. 1904

During the steep economic growth of the Gründerzeit, the period between 1871 and 1914, Laupheim had the highest density of public houses in the whole Kingdom of Württemberg.

In 1904, the city was connected to the railway line Ulm-Friedrichshafen by a branch line, linking the railway artery with the city itself. At the same time a train station was built in the city. This extension of the railway line went on for a further 16 km, terminating at the village of Schwendi.

Before World War I, Laupheim had one of the largest Jewish communities in Württemberg. However, the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany in 1933 and the systematic deprivation and subsequent suppression of Jews in Germany, also had their effects on Laupheim, culminating in the destruction by fire of the synagogue during Kristallnacht 1938.

Due to the programme of aryanization, many businesses in Laupheim originally owned by Jews, were expropriated and transferred into German ownership. 126 of 312 Jewish inhabitants of Laupheim managed to flee abroad, most of them after the so-called Kristallnacht. In 1939, the remaining Jews in Laupheim were resettled within the city, only to be deported to concentration and extermination camps in 1941 and 1942. After the last of four transports, the Jewish community in Laupheim ceased to exist on 19 August 1942.

Sixty-two Jewish citizens of Laupheim were murdered in the Shoah, only two survived.

After World War II, in the 1960s, Laupheim began to renew and modernize its appearance. New schools were built: a grammar school, a realschule and a new town hall. From the 1980s onwards, these projects were followed by a new district hospital, a public in-doors swimming pool, a renovated stadium, named after Gretel Bergmann who was born in Laupheim, and an omnibus interchange.

Additionally, several industrial estates on the outskirts of the city were established in order to attract trade and industry. As a consequence, companies from outside Laupheim established offices and production facilities there, as well as companies that formerly had been operating from the city centre.

Having developed from a rural market town into a city, predominated by industry, trade and the service industries, the demographics of Laupheim have changed as well.

After growing continuously from 1871 until 1933, from the Gründerzeit until the Nazis came to power, this development came to a halt. The stagnation and eventual decrease in population was due to increasing persecution of the Jews, as a result of which many Jewish inhabitants left Laupheim or, after 1940, were deported and subsequently murdered.

Since 1945, the population of Laupheim has almost doubled. This is due to the fact that a great number of refugees from formerly German territories east of the Oder-Neisse line were settled in Laupheim.

The establishment of a German Army Aviation Corps airbase in 1964 further contributed to the growth in population.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, an influx of ethnic Germans from the Commonwealth of Independent States added to the population growth.

As of 31 December 2019, the number of non-German inhabitants of Laupheim totals 3,269 (14.58% of the total population).[14]

• FV Olympia Laupheim 1904: football club, currently playing in the 6th division (Verbandsliga Württemberg).
• Rot-Weiss Laupheim: handball club
• Karateverein Laupheim: karate club
• Schachclub Laupheim 1962: chess club.
• Schützenverein Laupheim 1864: shooting club for handguns and rifles.
• Segelclub Laupheim: sailing club.
• Taekwondo Laupheim: taekwondo club.
• Tanzclub Schloß Laupheim: ballroom dancing club
• Tauchsportgruppe Laupheim: diving club
• Tennisclub Laupheim 1904: tennis club
• TSV Laupheim 1862: sport club with several sub-divisions

• Carl Laemmle (17 January 1867 – 24 September 1939), German-American film producer (All Quiet on the Western Front), founder of Universal Studios.
• Anton Schmid (24 June 1864 – 25 August 1964), headmaster.
• Georg Schenk (14 December 1894 – 25 December 1971), teacher and local historian.
• Father Ivo Schaible SDS (8 July 1912 – 13 September 1990), artist.
• Dean Philipp Ruf (8 November 1900 – ?), dean of Catholic church in Laupheim.
• Josef Braun (6 September 1910 – 2003), deputy headmaster, historian.
• Otmar Schick (8 September 1935 – 23 November 2016), mayor from 1966 – 2002.
• Ernst Schäll (18 March 1927 – 28 October 2010), restorer of physical Jewish heritage in Laupheim.
• Brigitte Angele (born 1946), former member of the city council.
• Franz Romer (born 1942) in Untersulmetingen, politician (CDU), former member of the Bundestag.

• Ludwig von Welden (16 June 1780 – 7 August 1853), commander-in-chief of Austrian Imperial and Royal Army's artillery.
• Kilian von Steiner (9 October 1833 – 11 November 1903), banker.[25]
• Moritz Henle (7 August 1850 – 24 August 1925), cantor and composer of Jewish reform movement.
• Carl Laemmle (17 January 1867 – 24 September 1939), film producer, founder of Universal Studios.
• Franz Laub (1872 – 30 April 1945), composer, music director of the city, music director of the music federation of Upper Swabia.
• Friedrich Adler (29 April 1878 – 1943), Jugendstil and Art Deco designer; murdered in Auschwitz.
• Franz Pfender (5 August 1899 – 9 July 1972), politician, Centre Party and Christian Democratic Union.
• Josef Uhlmann (21 October 1902 – 20 Juli 1968), Olympic fencer and entrepreneur.
• Hugo Mann (17 November 1913 – 20 December 2008), retail entrepreneur.
• Gretel Bergmann (12 April 1914 – 25 July 2017), internationally renowned high jumper of the 1930s was excluded from the 1936 Olympic team due to being Jewish.
• Siegfried Einstein (30 November 1919 – 25 April 1983 in Mannheim), author, poet and journalist.
• Gertrud Zelinsky (born 11 April 1937), author.
• Ivo Gönner (born 1 March 1952), former Lord Mayor of Ulm.
• Hermann Gaub (born 11 October 1954), biophysicist.
• Thorsten Wollmann (born 10 February 1966), jazz musician and composer.
• Sandra Hoffmann (born 11 May 1967), writer.
• Anja Reinalter (born 1 May 1970), politician, Alliance 90/The Greens.
• Maja Weber (born June 1976), journalist and news presenter.
• Philip Türpitz (born 23 August 1991), professional football player.

• Upper Swabia
• Upper Swabian Baroque Route
• Laupheim Air Base
• History of the Jews in Germany

• Adams, Myrah; Schönhagen, Benigna (1998), Jüdisches Laupheim. Ein Gang durch die Stadt, Haigerloch: Medien und Dialog, ISBN 3-933231-01-9
• Aich, Johann Albert (1914), Geschichte des Marktdorfes Laupheim bis zum Aussterben derer von Ellerbach, 1570, Blaubeuren{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Aich, Johann Albert (1921), Laupheim 1570 – 1870. Beiträge zu Schwabens und Vorderösterreichs Geschichte und Heimatkunde (4th ed.), Laupheim: A. Klaiber
• Blümcke, Martin (2006), Schlösser in Oberschwaben. Geschichte und Geschichten, Tübingen: Silberburg, ISBN 3-87407-692-X
• Brigel, Johann Gottfried (1845), Statistisch-Geschichtliche Beschreibung des Ortes Laupheim, Laupheim: Oettinger
• Diemer, Kurt (1979), Laupheim. Stadtgeschichte, Weißenhorn: Konrad, ISBN 3-87437-151-4
• Georg, Lutz (1967). "Historische Bauten der Stadt Laupheim: ihre bau- und kulturgeschichtliche Bedeutung im Wandel der Zeit". Diss. Pädagogische Hochschule Weingarten. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Gedenken e. V. (1998), Christen und Juden in Laupheim, Laupheim: Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Gedenken e. V.
• Hermann, Grees (1973). "Ländliche Unterschichten und ländliche Siedlung in Ostschwaben". Habil. Geographisches Institut der Universität Tübingen. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• Grees, Hermann (1979), "Marktflecken in Württemberg", Fragen geographischer Forschung. Festschrift des Instituts für Geographie zum 60. Geburtstag von Adolf Leidlmair, Innsbruck: Geographisches Institut der Universität Innsbruck, pp. 311–339
• Heeresfliegerregiment 25 (1994), Dreißig Jahre Heeresflieger Laupheim, Kissing: WEKA-Verlag
• Königliches Staatsarchiv in Stuttgart (ed.) (1849), Wirtembergisches Urkundenbuch, vol. 1, Stuttgart: Kohlhammer {{citation}}: |last= has generic name (help)
• Kohl, Waltraud (1965). "Die Geschichte der Judengemeinde in Laupheim". Diss. Pädagogische Hochschule Weingarten. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• Kuhn, Elmar L. (2000), Der Bauernkrieg in Oberschwaben, Tübingen: Bibliotheca-Academica-Verlag, ISBN 3-928471-28-7
• Liesch, Franz (2004), Baltringer Haufen. Bauernkrieg in Oberschwaben (2nd ed.), Baltringen: Verein Baltringer Haufen
• Oswalt, Vadim (2000), Staat und ländliche Lebenswelt in Oberschwaben 1810 – 1871. (K)ein Kapitel im Zivilisationsprozeß?, Leinfelden-Echterdingen: DRW-Verlag, ISBN 3-87181-429-6
• Schäll, Ernst (1981), "Friedrich Adler (1878–1942). Ein Künstler aus Laupheim", Schwäbische Heimat, 32: 46–61.
• Schäll, Ernst (1993), "Kilian von Steiner; Bankier und Industrieller, Mäzen und Humanist", Schwäbische Heimat, 44: 4–11.
• Schäll, Ernst (1996), "Der jüdische Friedhof in Laupheim", Schwäbische Heimat, 47: 404–417.
• Schenk, Georg (1976), Laupheim. Geschichte, Land und Leute, Weißenhorn: Konrad, ISBN 3-87437-136-0

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Laupheim.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Laupheim.

• Additional information about Laupheim (in German)