SCHWABEN - Geography and history
The Regierungsbezirk of Swabia is bounded to the west by Baden-Württemberg and to the south by Austria and Switzerland, whilst its northern part stretches into the terraced landscape of Franconia-Swabia. The Ries, which is of meteoric origin and has a geology and relief that are unique on earth, separates Swabia from Central Franconia. The old imperial town of Nördlingen is the economic and cultural centre. The Stufenland is bordered to the south by the broad sweep of the Danube/Lech plain. Then comes the Allgäu, as the Swabian part of the Alpine foothills is called. The former imperial town of Lindau also gives Swabia a footing on the shores of Lake Constance.
Augsburg, seat of the Swabian government, is a former imperial town that was important throughout Germany in the late Middle Ages. Today, a population of around 250 000 makes this university town Bavaria's third largest after Munich and Nuremberg.
More than the half of the total area of 9 990 km2 is used for agricultural purposes, while 28% is woodland, which is the lowest proportion of any of the Regierungsbezirke in Bavaria.
From a transport point of view, northern Swabia is well served by the Stuttgart/ Augsburg/Munich and Würzburg/Ulm/Kempten (Allgäu) motorways. Augsburg is well connected to the other major economic centres of Germany via the Intercity rail links between Munich and Stuttgart and Nuremberg and Frankfurt. By contrast, southern Swabia is not as well served. However, the situation in the Allgäu region should improve in the long term with the extension of the Lindau-Munich motorway and of the Kempten (Allgäu) motorway into Austria.
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