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1 History

From Palaeolithic times on the Nördlinger Ries was a very attractive site for human settlement. The valley of the Danube was abounding with game, and many caves in the slopes of the crater provided shelter for Neanderthals and their successors.

The Ries was always densely populated. From 450Centuries: 6th century BC 5th century BC 4th century BC Decades: 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC Years: 455 BC 454 BC 453 BC 452 BC 451 BC 450 BC 449 BC 448 BC 447 BC 446 BC 445 BC Events Battle of S to 15 BCCenturies: 2nd century BC 1st century BC 1st century Decades: 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s 10s 20s 30s 40s Years: 20 BC 19 BC 18 BC 17 BC 16 BC 15 BC 14 BC 13 BC 12 BC 11 BC 10 BC Events Vienna becomes a frontier city guarding the Roman Em CeltThis article is about the European people. For the tool, see celt (tool). For other uses see Celtic (disambiguation). In ancient times, the Celts were a number of interrelated peoples in central Europe sharing many cultural and speaking a branch of Indo-Eic peoples built their settlements on the tops of the hills. Remains of Celtic ringwalls and sanctuaries can be found all over the region. They were replaced about 90 ADCenturies: 1st century BC 1st century 2nd century Decades: 0s BC 0s 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s Years: 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 Events The Romans build a small "cohort-fort" in the suburbs of modern Regensburg. approximate date) Pliny by the Romans, who secured the region by building castles and the Limes (which was some km north of the present district).

The Romans were driven away about 250 ADEvents Diophantus writes Arithmetica the first systematic treatise on algebra. A group of Franks penetrate as far as Tarragona in Spain (approximate date). Goths invade Moesia. The Alamanni drive the Romans from the modern area of Donau-Ries. Decius begin by the Alamanni, which in turn were defeated by the Franks in 496. In the early years of the Holy Roman Empire new castles were erected, among them Oettingen, which was the centre of the county of Oettingen. This county was first mentioned in 1141, ruled over the villages of the Ries and managed to gain further territories around. In the 15th century the county was divided into the two states of Oettingen-Oettingen and Oettingen-Wallerstein. Later the former decided to become Protestant, while the latter remained Catholic. This was the reason for a bloody enmity resulting in decades of war. Even prior to the Thirty Years' War there were battles, mass executions and witchhunts in both parts. In the Thirty Years' War the Ries was almost completely devastated and depopulated. Two major battles of that war took place in the region: the Battle of Nördlingen (1634) and the Battle of Nördlingen (1645).

After the war the counts of the mini states (in the meantime a third county called Oettingen-Spielberg had been founded) recruited settlers from Austria to repopulate the land. The hostilities between the counties were revived. There was fighting in the War of the Spanish Succession, with two major battles taking place in the Ries. All this came to an end, when the last Protestant ruler of Oettingen-Oettingen died without a successor. The remaining states of Oettingen-Wallerstein and Oettingen-Spielberg annexed his lands and turned them into a Catholic region.

In 1806 Napoleon dissolved both Oettingen states and awarded them to Bavaria. In the Congress of Vienna the affiliation of the region with Bavaria was confirmed, and the sovereignty of the Ries ended.

The present district was established in 1972 by merging the former districts of Nördlingen and Donauwörth.