Augsburg-Hammerschmiede

Augsburg-Hammerschmiede is one of the seventeen highest-level civic divisions, or planning districts, of Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. As of January 1, 2006, it is estimated to have a population of 6,574. It is coterminous with the identically named 29th ward, or Stadtbezirk, and has an area of 9.21 km² .LocationHammerschmiede is bordered on the west by Firnhaberau, in the south by the wards of Lechhausen East and Lechhausen West, part of the Lechhausen planning district. Hammerschmiede's northern and eastern borders are the city limits of Augsburg.HistoryIn 1821, in the northeast of the present-day neighborhood of Hammerschmiede am Mühlbach, a water-powered forge which produced iron products was constructed, giving the future planning district its name. The German word for forge is Schmiede. This forge no longer exists, although it functioned as a steam forge until 1944. The river upon which the steam forge sat no longer exists; when the riverbed of the River Lech was excavated, the water level of the Mühlbach, where the forge was located, sank dramatically. Today, the only sign that a river even existed in that location are a few small bridges which cross the now dry riverbed.