imperial city · Germany and Central Europe
Free Imperial City of Giengen
Origins
Giengen grew on the river Brenz in eastern Swabia as a Hohenstaufen royal town. After a period in which it was pledged to the counts of Helfenstein, the townspeople secured their freedom, and by 1391 Giengen was recognised as a free imperial city answerable only to the emperor.
Rule and society
A council governed the small town and its few villages. Giengen lived from crafts, linen and the market for the surrounding farms, and it adopted the Lutheran Reformation in the 16th century. Its position near the Danube exposed it to war, and in 1634, during the Thirty Years' War, it was almost completely burned.
Decline and legacy
In 1802 Giengen was annexed by Württemberg, becoming part of the Kingdom of Württemberg in 1806. In 1880 Margarete Steiff founded her toy business there, and Giengen an der Brenz remains the home of the Steiff company.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Free Imperial City of Giengen was part of Holy Roman Empire1391 CE – 1802 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Free Imperial City of Giengen. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/free-imperial-city-of-giengen
- MLA
- “Free Imperial City of Giengen.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/free-imperial-city-of-giengen. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Free Imperial City of Giengen.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/free-imperial-city-of-giengen.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Free Imperial City of Giengen’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/free-imperial-city-of-giengen (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻