Schwendau

Schwendau
Schwendau
	Coat of arms
	Schwendau Location within Austria
	Coordinates: 47°11′51″N 11°51′36″E / 47.19750°N 11.86000°E
Country	Austria
State	Tyrol
District	Schwaz
Government
• Mayor	Franz Hauser
Area
• Total	17.36 km2 (6.70 sq mi)
Elevation	620 m (2,030 ft)
Population (2018-01-01)
• Total	1,725
• Density	99/km2 (260/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	6283
Area code	05285 / 05282
Vehicle registration	SZ
Website	www.schwendau.at

Schwendau (Pronunciation:shven-dau) is a municipality in the Schwaz district in the Austrian state of Tyrol. First mentioned in 1200 as “Swentowe” (clearing of a pasture). The original meaning of this name is also illustrated on the emblem of the village in the form of an axe.

Geography

The municipal area comprises numerous component localities, including parts of Hippach, and extends from the Ziller river up to the 2,590 m high Hoarbergjoch pass. Schwendau is closely connected to the neighbouring village of Hippach and they also share several facilities.

Family surname

The Schwendau family name traces its roots directly back to Schwendau, Austria. Family legend holds the family name was originally Baron von Schwendau (Barons of Swanland) and they were the lowest form of royalty dubbed by Archduke Albert V the Magnanimous. The family responsibility would have been that of tax collectors and local sheriff. The Schwendau family believes their crest to be that of a defense weapon and not a tool.

There are less than 75 Schwendau family members living in North America.^{[citation needed]}. Because so many girls have been born to the Schwendau family, it is believed the family will cease to exist in the next 100 years.^{[citation needed]}

The family can trace its family tree back to Prussia in the 1700s and to Canada and America around 1850. The family crest dates back to the 1400s.