Oettingen in Bayern (Swabian:Eadi) is atown in theDonau-Ries district, inSwabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 29 km (18 mi) northwest ofDonauwörth, and 14 km (8.7 mi) northeast ofNördlingen.

Oettingen in Bayern
Town
Aerial view
Coat of arms
Location of Oettingen in Bayern within Donau-Ries district
Oettingen in Bayern Show map of Germany Oettingen in Bayern Show map of Bavaria
Coordinates:48°57′N10°35′E / 48.950°N 10.583°E /48.950; 10.583
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Swabia
District	Donau-Ries
Municipal assoc.	Oettingen in Bayern
Subdivisions	5Stadtteile
Government
• Mayor(2020–26)	Thomas Heydecker[1] (SPD)
Area
• Total	34.21 km2 (13.21 sq mi)
Elevation	419 m (1,375 ft)
Population  (2023-12-31)[2]
• Total	5,359
• Density	160/km2 (410/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	86729–86732
Dialling codes	09082
Vehicle registration	DON, NÖ
Website	www.oettingen.de

The town is located on the riverWörnitz, a tributary of theDanube, and lies on the northern edge of theNördlinger Ries, a meteorite crater 25 km (16 mi) in diameter.

The town consists of the municipalities of Erlbach, Heuberg, Lehmingen, Niederhofen, Nittingen and Oettingen.

TheOettinger Brewery, which make Germany's best-selling brand of beer, has its main brewery and headquarters in Oettingen.

Neolithic remains indicate that the region was already settled by around 5000 BC. Archaeologists have also discovered the remains of aBronze Age settlement and a Roman village.

The old town centre has a highly unusual aspect; while the eastern side of the main street and market place is baroque, the western side is half-timbered. From 1522 to 1731, the town was split between the Protestant house ofOettingen-Oettingen and the Roman Catholic house ofOettingen-Wallerstein, which built the baroque facades. As well as one side of the street being Protestant and the other side being Catholic, one side used theJulian calendar, and the other side used theGregorian calendar.^[3] Each side also had its own synagogue.

Unlike nearbyDinkelsbühl, which survived World War II unscathed, Oettingen was severely damaged on 23 February 1945 by an Allied bombing raid, part ofOperation Clarion, in which 48 aircraft dropped some 500 bombs on the town, killing 199 persons.^[4]

TheOettingen Castle, home to thePrinces of Oettingen-Spielberg, is in the center of the city.

The tower of the lower gate, the so-called King's Tower, is the only one along the city fortifications to have been preserved. The lower outskirts used to be located on the outside, and were secluded by an exterior lower gate. The lower level still exhibits remains of the tower from the 13th century. The city governors together with the citizens constructed a new tower in 1594–96. Cells from the city jail remain on the inside.

The city hall is one of the most outstanding examples of the Swabian Half-timbered (Ger. Fachwerk) style. The stone entry level and portal were built in 1431, while the upper floors and the impressive roof framework come from 1480. The nearby civic house from the 17th century was connected to the city hall during renovations (1986–93). The city hall today is the seat of municipal government and governing body of Oettingen, and the city license bureau is found on the ground floor.

The marketplace forms the centre of Oettingen, and the weekly farmers' market takes place here on Fridays. Worth noting is the architectural layout: on the east side, the gables are Baroque, and on the west side, they are half-timbered.

Storks have been nesting in Oettingen at least since the time of Count Ludwig XVI (more than 400 years ago), and Ludwig was supposedly a friend of the storks. According to legend, when the count left the town after theSchmalkaldic War, the storks also moved away and did not come back. Much later, in 1563 when the count came back, the storks, too, returned to the town and have remained there to this day.

The building was built in 1724 under the direction of Albert Ernest II by Johann Christian Lüttich. It accommodated the Latin School which was established in 1563, and served to educate the children of the parish and of the city governors.

• Marco Seefried (born 1976), racing driver
• Rainer Stadelmann (1933 – 2019), Egyptologist
• Hieronymus Wolf (1516 — 1580), Historian & Humanist

• County of Oettingen

• Jewish Encyclopedia