Isny im Allgäu

Isny im Allgäu
Isny im Allgäu
Location of the town of Isny im Allgäu within Ravensburg district
Coordinates	47°41′31″N 10°2′22″E
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Baden-Württemberg
Admin. region	Tübingen
District	Ravensburg
Mayor	Rainer Magenreuter (Ind.)
Basic statistics
Area	85.37 km2 (32.96 sq mi)
Elevation	704 m  (2310 ft)
Population	14,392 (31 December 2010)
- Density	169 /km2 (437 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	RV
Postal code	88316
Area code	07562
Website	www.isny.de

Isny im Allgäu is a town in south-eastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is part of the district of Ravensburg, in the western, Württembergish part of the Allgäu region.

History

For nearly 1000 years, Isny was an important town within the Holy Roman Empire. During the three centuries following its origin in 1042, it was a commercial center controlled and exploited by various competing feudal lords. In the 13th century, Isny's merchants built a fortification system to protect the town from marauders and rival feudal rulers. The town is still partially surrounded by the wall and moat that were built during these early turbulent times.

Isny before and after the great fire of 1631; St. George's Abbey church is the building with two spires to the right, with the rest of the monastery adjacent. Merian, Topographica Sueviae, 1643–56

After three centuries of domination by feudal lords and territorial rulers, Isny's middle class was able to purchase the town's independence in 1365. Isny's status as an Imperial city made it a self-governing republic in which the city government was elected by propertied residents and in which the guild system thrived. In 1529, Isny's city council voted to make the town Protestant and the Nikolaikirche became the town's main Protestant church.

Isny enjoyed a vibrant economy, based primarily on linen production, until competition from abroad, the devastation of the Thirty Years' War, and a series of fires and plagues brought production to a halt in the 17th century. The town experienced a revival after the end of World War II, when a rehabilitation center for war veterans was established there. Fortunately, Isny emerged from the war largely undamaged, and has since become a popular destination for vacationers and resort-goers.

Isny im Allgau

Imperial City of Isny in the Allgäu Reichsstadt Isny im Allgäu
Free Imperial City of the Holy Roman Empire
← 1365–1803 →
Capital	Isny im Allgäu
Government	Republic
Historical era	Early modern period
- Abbey founded by Count of     Altshausen-Veringen	1096
- Isny gained town rights	1235 1365
- Became Imperial city by     purchasing Vogtei from     Stewards of Waldburg	1365
- Protestant Reformation	1529
- Abbey gained Imperial     immediacy	1781
- City mediatised and abbey     secularised to Princely     County of Quadt-Wykradt	1803
- City and abbey mediatised     to Kgdm Württemberg	1806
Today part of	Germany

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Isny im Allgäu is twinned with:

• Andrychów, Poland
• Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon, Seine-Maritime, France
• Street, Somerset, United Kingdom
• Flawil, St Gallen, Switzerland
• Sotkamo, Oulu, Finland

External links

• Isny Tourist website (German)
• Photographs of Isny