Oettingen in Bayern

Oettingen in Bayern is a town in the Donau-Ries district, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 29km northwest of Donauwörth, and 14km northeast of Nördlingen.GeographyThe town is located on the River Wörnitz, a tributary of the Danube, and lies on the northern edge of the Nördlinger Ries, a gigantic meteorite crater 25km in diameter.Political constituents of the town: Erlbach Heuberg Lehmingen Niederhofen Nittingen OettingenIndustryThe Oettinger Brewery, who make Germany's best-selling brand of beer, has its main brewery and headquarters in Oettingen.HistoryNeolithic remains indicate that the region was already settled by around 5000 BC. Archaeologists have also discovered the remains of a Bronze 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 of Oettingen-Oettingen and the Roman Catholic house of Oettingen-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 the Julian Calendar, the other side used the Gregorian Calendar. Each side also had its own synagogue.