Editing Sigmaringen

{{short description|City in Germany}}
{{Infobox German location
| type              = Stadt
| image_photo       = Sigmaringen August 2015.jpg
| image_coa         = Wappen Sigmaringen.svg
| coordinates       = {{Wikidatacoord|Q82858|display=inline,title}}
| image_plan        = Karte Sigmaringen.png
| state             = Baden-Württemberg
| region            = Tübingen
| district          = Sigmaringen
| elevation         = 580
| area              = 92.85
| mayor             = Marcus Ehm<ref>[https://www.staatsanzeiger.de/staatsanzeiger/wahlen/buergermeisterwahlen/ Aktuelle Wahlergebnisse] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211007172625/https://www.staatsanzeiger.de/staatsanzeiger/wahlen/buergermeisterwahlen/ |date=2021-10-07 }}, Staatsanzeiger, accessed 15 September 2021.</ref>
| leader_term       = 2018&ndash;26
| party             = CDU
| postal_code       = 72488
| area_code         = 07571, 07570 (Gutenstein), 07577 (Jungnau)
| licence           = SIG
| Gemeindeschlüssel = 08 4 37 104
| divisions         = 6
| website           = [http://www.sigmaringen.de/ www.sigmaringen.de]
}}

'''Sigmaringen''' ([[Swabian German|Swabian]]: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of [[Baden-Württemberg]]. Situated on the upper [[Danube]], it is the capital of the [[Sigmaringen (district)|Sigmaringen district]].

Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, [[Schloss Sigmaringen]], which was the seat of the principality of [[Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen]] until 1850 and is still owned by the [[Hohenzollern]] family.

==Geography==
Surrounded by wooded hills Sigmaringen lies in the Danube valley, south of the [[Swabian Alps]] and around 40&nbsp;km north of [[Lake Constance]].

The surrounding towns are [[Winterlingen]] (in the district of Zollernalb) and [[Veringenstadt]] in the north, [[Bingen, Baden-Württemberg|Bingen]], [[Sigmaringendorf]], and [[Scheer, Germany|Scheer]] in the east, [[Mengen, Germany|Mengen]], [[Krauchenwies]], [[Inzigkofen]], and [[Meßkirch]] in the south, and [[Leibertingen]], [[Beuron]], and [[Stetten am kalten Markt]] in the west.
The town is made up of the following districts: Sigmaringen town center, [[Gutenstein (Sigmaringen)|Gutenstein]], [[Jungnau]], Laiz, Oberschmeien, and Unterschmeien.

===Climate===
Sigmaringen's climate is classified as [[Humid continental climate|humid continental]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Dfb''; [[Trewartha climate classification|Trewartha]]: ''Dclo'').
{{Weather box
|location = Sigmaringen (1991-2020)
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|collapsed = Yes
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan mean C =-0.7
| Feb mean C =-0.1
| Mar mean C =3.6
| Apr mean C =7.7
| May mean C =12.1
| Jun mean C =15.5
| Jul mean C =17.3
| Aug mean C =16.9
| Sep mean C =12.6
| Oct mean C =8.2
| Nov mean C =3.3
| Dec mean C =0.3
| year mean C =

| Jan precipitation mm =49.1
| Feb precipitation mm =40.8
| Mar precipitation mm =47.0
| Apr precipitation mm =52.6
| May precipitation mm =88.8
| Jun precipitation mm =91.6
| Jul precipitation mm =99.7
| Aug precipitation mm =83.5
| Sep precipitation mm =57.5
| Oct precipitation mm =56.9
| Nov precipitation mm =51.6
| Dec precipitation mm =59.6
| year precipitation mm =

|Jan sun = 62.6
|Feb sun = 89.2
|Mar sun = 140.7
|Apr sun = 178.2
|May sun = 200.2
|Jun sun = 217.6
|Jul sun = 235.6
|Aug sun = 222
|Sep sun = 165.8
|Oct sun = 112.2
|Nov sun = 66.1
|Dec sun = 53.2
|year sun = 
|source 1 = ''[[Deutscher Wetterdienst]] (Precipitation at Laiz) ''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lufttemperatur: vieljährige Mittelwerte 1991 - 2020 |url=https://www.dwd.de/DE/leistungen/klimadatendeutschland/mittelwerte/temp_9120_SV_html.html?view=nasPublication&nn=771428 |website=dwd.de |publisher=Deutscher Wetterdienst |access-date=23 February 2024 |no-pp=y |language=German |trans-title=Air Temperature: Long-term averages for 1991-2020 |archive-date=1 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240601102553/https://www.dwd.de/DE/leistungen/klimadatendeutschland/mittelwerte/temp_9120_SV_html.html?view=nasPublication&nn=771428 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.dwd.de/DE/leistungen/klimadatendeutschland/mittelwerte/nieder_9120_SV_html.html?view=nasPublication&nn=771428 |title=Niederschlag: vieljährige Mittelwerte 1991 - 2020 |access-date=23 February 2024 |website=dwd.de |publisher=Deutscher Wetterdienst |no-pp=y |language=German |trans-title=Precipitation: Long-term averages for 1991-2020 |archive-date=11 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230711071242/https://www.dwd.de/DE/leistungen/klimadatendeutschland/mittelwerte/nieder_9120_SV_html.html?view=nasPublication&nn=771428 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.dwd.de/DE/leistungen/klimadatendeutschland/mittelwerte/sonne_9120_SV_html.html?view=nasPublication&nn=771428 |title=Sonnenscheindauer: vieljährige Mittelwerte 1991 - 2020 |website=dwd.de |publisher=Deutscher Wetterdienst |access-date=23 February 2024 |no-pp=y |language=German |trans-title=Sunshine: Long-term averages for 1991-2020 }}</ref>
}}

==History==
Sigmaringen was first attested in a document from in 1077 and was part of the principality of [[Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen]] from 1576 until 1850, after which it became the [[Prussia]]n [[Province of Hohenzollern]].

===Middle Ages===
In the 11th century, in the end of the [[Early Middle Ages]], the first castle was built on the rock that protected the valley. The first written reference<ref>Bericht in der Chronik des Kloster Petershausen: ''Von dort zog König Rudolf von Schwaben nach Burg ''Sigimaringin'' und belagerte sie. Als er aber erfuhr, dass König Heinrich IV. mit einem Heer über die Alpenpässe herannahte, um die Festung zu entsetzen, zog er ab und ging nach Sachsen.''</ref> dates from 1077, when King [[Rudolf of Rheinfelden]] tried in vain to conquer [[Sigmaringen Castle]]. The city was officially founded in 1250. In 1325, it was sold to [[Ulrich III, Count of Württemberg]]. In 1460 and 1500, the castle was rebuilt into a chateau. About the county of [[Werdenberg, Switzerland|Werdenberg]] Sigmaringen came in 1535 to be owned by the high noble family of the [[House of Hohenzollern|Hohenzollern]].

===Modern times===
[[File:Sigmaringen schloss.jpg|thumb|left|Sigmaringen, {{Circa|1900}}]]
[[File:ETH-BIB-Sigmaringen-Inlandflüge-LBS MH01-005924.tif|thumb|left|Sigmaringen, 1929]]
In 1632, the [[Swedes]] occupied the castle during the [[Thirty Years' War]].

From 1806 to 1849, Sigmaringen was the capital of the sovereign [[Principality]] [[Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen]] and [[royal residence|residence]] of the princes of Hohenzollern.

As a result of the Sigmaringen Revolution of 1848, the Princes of Hechingen and Sigmaringen abdicated, whereby both principalities fell to [[Prussia]] in 1850. From 1850 to 1945, Sigmaringen was the seat of the [[Prussia]]n Government for the [[Province of Hohenzollern]]. Karl Anton von Hohenzollern was 1858-1862 Prime Minister of Prussia. 
From 1914 to 1918, around 150 men from the town died during [[World War I]]. 
In the Nazi era, a [[Gestapo]] office was located in Sigmaringen. From 1937, it belonged to [[Stuttgart]]'s Gestapo.<ref>Ingrid Bauz, Sigrid Brueggemann, Roland Maier (eds.). The secret police in Württemberg and Hohenzollern. Stuttgart 2013, {{ISBN|3-89657-138-9}}, p 90ff.</ref>

Between 1934 and 1942, more than 100 men were sterilized because of "hereditary diseases". On 12 December 1940, during the Nazi medical experiments known as the "[[Aktion T4|T4]]", 71 mentally disabled and mentally ill patients became the victims of Nazi injustice. These men and women were deported to the [[Grafeneck Euthanasia Centre]], where they were killed as "unworthy of life".<ref>Thomas Stöckle, ''Grafeneck 1940. The euthanasia crimes in East Germany.'' 2nd Edition. Silberburg-Verlag, Tübingen 2005, {{ISBN|3-87407-507-9}}. Thomas Stöckle, head of Memorial in Grafeneck emphasizes that these are preliminary. Basis of the figures are statistical material from the Grafeneck process of 1949 and reports of the individual dispensing stations</ref> After the closure of Grafeneck in December 1940, a further deportation to the [[Hadamar Euthanasia Centre]] occurred on 14 March 1941.

====Vichy French enclave (1944–1945)====
{{Main|Sigmaringen enclave}}
[[File:Schloss Sigmaringen 2022.jpg|right|thumb|The Castle of Sigmaringen]]

On 7 September 1944, following the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] invasion of France, [[Philippe Pétain]] and members of the [[Vichy France|Vichy government]] cabinet were relocated to Germany, a move which Petain fiercely fought against. A [[city-state]] ruled by the [[government in exile]] headed by [[Fernand de Brinon]] was established at Sigmaringen. One of its most notorious members was [[Joseph Darnand]], a hero of the [[First World War]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}{{Relevant|date=April 2025}} There were three embassies in the city-state, representing each of Vichy-France's allies: Germany, [[Italian Social Republic|Italy]], and [[Empire of Japan|Japan]].

French writers [[Louis-Ferdinand Céline]], [[Lucien Rebatet]] and [[Roland Gaucher]], fearing for their lives because of their political and antisemitic writings, fled along with the Vichy government to Sigmaringen. Céline's novel ''D'un château l'autre'' (English: ''[[Castle to Castle]]'') describes the fall of Sigmaringen. The city was taken by [[Free French]] forces on 22 April 1945. Pétain returned to France, where he stood trial for treason and was condemned to death, though the sentence was commuted by [[Charles de Gaulle]].{{cn|date=January 2024}}

==Transportation infrastructure==
Three railways meet in Sigmaringen, the [[Ulm–Sigmaringen railway]] leading to [[Ulm]], the [[Tübingen–Sigmaringen railway]] from [[Tübingen]] to [[Aulendorf]] and connecting to the [[Tuttlingen–Inzigkofen railway]] to [[Tuttlingen]], and the [[Engstingen–Sigmaringen railway]] operated by the [[Hohenzollerische Landesbahn]].

Sigmaringen lies in the serving area of Verkehrsverbund Neckar-Alb-Donau (NALDO).<ref>[[:de:Verkehrsverbund Neckar-Alb-Donau]]</ref>

==Notable people==
[[File:Pfärrenbach Wandmalerei Fidelis von Sigmaringen.jpg|140px|thumb|[[Fidelis of Sigmaringen]] ]]
[[File:180913 Kretschmann Hybrid Faehre 01 (cropped).jpg|thumb|140px|[[Winfried Kretschmann]], 2018]]
* [[Fidelis of Sigmaringen]] (1577-1622), a Roman Catholic [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchin]] martyr of the [[Counter-Reformation]] in Switzerland.<ref>{{cite CE1913|wstitle= St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen |volume= 6 |last= Cuthbert | Father |author-link= |short=1 }}</ref>
* Rosina Gräf genannt Nellin (born in Sigmaringen, died 1577) not guilty in fire as witch<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hegeler |first1=Hartmut |title=Namen der Opfer der Hexenprozesse/ Hexenverfolgung in Rottweil |url=http://www.anton-praetorius.de/downloads/namenslisten/Namen%20der%20Opfer%20der%20Hexenprozesse%20Rottweil.pdf |access-date=19 September 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Rottweils Hexen und Zauberer werden rehabilitiert |date=15 April 2015 |language=de |url=http://www.nrwz.de/nrwz-themen/aus-rottweil/rottweils-hexen-und-zauberer-werden-rehabilitiert/20150415-2109-87064 |website=NRWZ.de |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525123306/http://www.nrwz.de/nrwz-themen/aus-rottweil/rottweils-hexen-und-zauberer-werden-rehabilitiert/20150415-2109-87064 |archive-date=25 May 2015 }}</ref>
* [[Frederick Miller]] (1824–1888) was a US brewery owner, founded [[Miller Brewing Company]], learned brewing locally
* [[Richard Lauchert]] (1825–1868), portrait painter and professor
* [[Theodor Bilharz]] (1825–1862), physician and scientist, made discoveries re [[parasitology]].
* [[Sophie Stehle]] (1838–1921), an operatic soprano.
* [[Virgilia Lütz]] (1869–1949), a Benedictine [[abbess]] of [[Nonnberg Abbey]] in Salzburg, 1921 to 1949.
* [[Max Giese]] (1879–1935), contractor, inventor of the concrete pump
* [[Louis-Ferdinand Céline]] (1894–1961), pro-Nazi and antisemitic French writer, fled to Sigmaringen in 1944.
* [[Josef Henselmann]] (1898–1987), sculptor and longtime head of the [[Academy of Fine Arts, Munich]]
* [[Lucien Rebatet]] (1903–1972), pro-Nazi and antisemitic French writer, fled to Sigmaringen in 1944. 
* [[:de:Franz Gog|Franz Gog, (DE Wiki)]] (1907–1980), local politician (CDU) and judge in Sigmaringen where he died
* [[Hermann Schwörer]] (1922-2017), lawyer, entrepreneur and politician (CDU)
* [[Karl Lehmann]] (1936-2018), Cardinal and Bishop of Mainz, 1987 to 2008, chairman, [[German Bishops' Conference]]
* [[Lothar Späth]] (1937–2016), politician (CDU), former Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg
* [[:de:Dietmar Schlee|Dietmar Schlee, (DE Wiki)]] (1938-2002), local politician (CDU) 
* [[Winfried Kretschmann]] (born 1948), politician, Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg (The Greens), lives in the district of Laiz.
* [[Norbert Lins]] (born 1977), local politician (CDU), [[Member of the European Parliament|MEP]], for Tübingen area
* [[Marcel Heister]] (born 1992 in [[Albstadt]]), footballer who has played over 280 games
* [[Pascal Wehrlein]] (born 1994), former [[Formula 1]] and current [[Formula E]] racing driver

=== Aristocracy ===
* [[Karl Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen]] (1724–1785), Prince of [[Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen]], born locally
* [[Karl, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen]] (1785–1853), reigning Prince of [[Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen]], born locally
* [[Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern (born 1811)|Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern]] (1811-1885), the last prince of [[Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen]], born and died locally
* [[Carol I of Romania]] (1839-1914), King of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914; born locally
* [[Ferdinand I of Romania]] (1865–1927), King of [[Romania]], 1914 until his death in 1927; born locally
* [[Princess Urraca of Bourbon-Two Sicilies]] (1913-1999), member of the [[House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies]] died locally
* [[Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen]] (1924–2010), head of the [[House of Hohenzollern#Swabian branch|House of Hohenzollern]], 1965-2010, died locally.
* [[Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern]] (1932–2016), art historian and museum director, born and buried locally
* [[Karl Friedrich von Hohenzollern]] (born 1952), head of the Catholic [[House of Hohenzollern#Swabian branch]], born locally

==Twin towns==
* {{flagicon|Austria}} [[Feldkirch, Vorarlberg|Feldkirch]], Vorarlberg, Austria

==Bibliography==
* {{Cite book |last=Mauthner |first=Martin |year=2016 |title=Otto Abetz and His Paris Acolytes: French Writers Who Flirted with Fascism, 1930–1945 |location=Eastbourne, England |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |isbn=978-1-84519-784-1 |oclc=987647015 }}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.sigmaringen.de Official website]
* [http://www.schloss-sigmaringen.de Sigmaringen castle]

{{Swabian Circle}}
{{Cities and towns in Sigmaringen (district)}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Populated places on the Danube]]
[[Category:Towns in Baden-Württemberg]]
[[Category:Vichy France]]
[[Category:Sigmaringen (district)]]