imperial city · Germany and Central Europe
Free Imperial City of Schwäbisch Gmünd
Origins
Gmünd is often called the oldest Hohenstaufen town, founded around 1162 near the family's ancestral castle on the Hohenstaufen hill. After the execution of Conradin, the last Hohenstaufen, in 1268, the town was not claimed by any prince and became an imperial city.
Rule and society
A council of patricians and later guilds governed the city. Heinrich Parler began the Holy Cross Minster there in the 14th century, one of the first German hall churches in the late Gothic style, and his son Peter Parler went on to build Prague Cathedral. Gold and silver smithing and the making of rosaries were its main trades. Gmünd remained Catholic.
Decline and legacy
The city lost its freedom in 1802, when Württemberg annexed it. It remains a centre of the goldsmith's and silversmith's trade and is now a town in Baden-Württemberg, with the Holy Cross Minster at its heart.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Free Imperial City of Schwäbisch Gmünd was part of Holy Roman Empire1268 CE – 1802 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Free Imperial City of Schwäbisch Gmünd. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/free-imperial-city-of-schwabisch-gmund
- MLA
- “Free Imperial City of Schwäbisch Gmünd.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/free-imperial-city-of-schwabisch-gmund. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Free Imperial City of Schwäbisch Gmünd.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/free-imperial-city-of-schwabisch-gmund.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Free Imperial City of Schwäbisch Gmünd’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/free-imperial-city-of-schwabisch-gmund (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻