Donauwörth is a city in the
German State of
Bavaria (Bayern), in the region of
Swabia (Schwaben). It is said to have been founded by two fisherman where the
Danube (Donau) and
Wörnitz rivers meet. It is historically important to
Germany as the site of one of the incidents which led to the
Thirty Years' War (
1618-
1648). In
1606, the
Lutheran majority barred the
Catholic residents of the town from holding a procession, causing a violent riot to break out.Donauwörth was again the scene of the
Battle of Schellenberg (or Battle of Donauwörth) on 1704-07-02, during the
War of the Spanish Succession (
1702-
1713). The battle was named after the village and high ground behind the city.
Duke of Marlborough was marching from
Flanders to
Bavaria and came to the Danube river. The French decided to make a crossing of the Danube at Donauwörth, where they were surprised by Marlborough's troops and after heavy fighting pulled back. This allowed Marlborough to capture Donauwörth and cross the Danube without problems. About 5,000 French troops were drowned trying to escape.
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