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44-596: The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia , one of the German stem duchies , representing the territory of Alemannia , whose Germanic inhabitants were interchangeably called Alemanni or Suebi . This territory would include all of the Alemannic German areal, but the modern concept of Swabia is more restricted, due to the collapse of the duchy of Swabia in the 13th century. Swabia as understood in modern ethnography roughly coincides with

88-716: A battle at Wahlwies . The most notable family to hold Swabia were the Hohenstaufen , who held it, with a brief interruption, from 1079 until 1268. For much of this period, the Hohenstaufen were also Holy Roman Emperors . After a centuries-long struggle with the House of Zähringen , the Margraviate of Baden detached itself from the Swabian duchy in the 12th century. The remaining duchy persisted until 1268, ending with

132-457: A branch of the Alemannic group of German dialects . Swabian is cited as "40 percent intelligible" to speakers of Standard German . As an ethno-linguistic group, Swabians are closely related to other speakers of Alemannic German , i.e. Badeners , Alsatians , and German-speaking Swiss . Swabian German is traditionally spoken in the upper Neckar basin (upstream of Heilbronn ), along

176-606: A house / and not look out for girls" in Swabian dialect). The first line of his song has since become a common summary of Swabian stereotypes known throughout Germany. In a widely noted publicity campaign on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Baden-Württemberg , economically the most successful state in modern Germany, the Swabians famously embraced their stereotyping, "We can do everything—except speak Standard German " ( Wir können alles. Außer Hochdeutsch ). Swabian stereotypes persist in contemporary Germany, as expressed e.g. in

220-736: Is one of the dialect groups of Upper German , sometimes one of the dialect groups of Alemannic German (in the broad sense) , that belong to the High German dialect continuum. It is mainly spoken in Swabia , which is located in central and southeastern Baden-Württemberg (including its capital Stuttgart and the Swabian Jura region) and the southwest of Bavaria ( Bavarian Swabia ). Furthermore, Swabian German dialects are spoken by Caucasus Germans in Transcaucasia . The dialects of

264-699: The Kinder- und Hausmärchen published by the Brothers Grimm . On the positive side, the same stereotype may be expressed in portraying the Swabians as frugal, clever, entrepreneurial and hard-working. The economic recovery of Germany after the Second World War, known as the Wirtschaftswunder , was praised by songwriter Ralf Bendix in his 1964 Schaffe, schaffe Häusle baue / Und net nach de Mädle schaue ("[let's] work and work, and build

308-519: The Baar estates around the upper Neckar and Danube rivers. Their members were sometimes called margraves and sometimes, as in the case of Rudolf of Rhaetia , dukes. Finally, the Hunfriding count Burchard I was called dux of Alamannia. However, he was killed in 911, for which two Swabian counts palatine , Bertold and Erchanger, were accused of treason. Erchanger proclaimed himself duke in 915, but

352-502: The Danube Swabian population of Hungary , the former Yugoslavia and Romania are only nominally Swabian and can be traced back not only to Swabian but also to Franconian , Bavarian and Hessian dialects, with locally varying degrees of influence of the initial dialects. Swabian can be difficult to understand for speakers of Standard German due to its pronunciation and partly differing grammar and vocabulary. In 2009,

396-584: The Danube Swabians , subdivided into such groups as the Banat Swabians , Satu Mare Swabians and others (although the name "Danube Swabians" was applied also to German settlers of non-Swabian background). Swabians settled also in eastern Croatia ( Slavonia and Syrmia ), and southern and western Hungary , including part of what is now Serbia and Romania (the Danube Swabians , Satu Mare Swabians , Banat Swabians and Swabian Turkey ) in

440-776: The Dutch East India Company (DEIC), eventually settling in the Dutch Cape Colony , Dutch East Indies or Ceylon . Besides individual Swabians, the Duke Charles Eugene of Württemberg concluded an agreement with the DEIC in 1786 to furnish a regiment of 2000 men to the DEIC for the sum of 300 000 guilders. This became known as the Württemberg Cape Regiment ( German : Württembergisches Kapregiment ). Their presence among

484-764: The Franconian stem duchy During the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire the southeastern territories of the Swabian Circle fell to the Kingdom of Bavaria ( Bavarian Swabia ), while the rest were mostly divided between the Kingdom of Württemberg and the Grand Duchy of Baden , with only the Hohenzollern principalities ( Sigmaringen and Hechingen ) remaining separate. Since shortly after

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528-838: The Holy Roman Empire into Imperial Circles . The Swabian Circle was largely coterminous with the stem duchy; however, it excluded Alsace (which was part of the Upper Rhenish Circle ), those areas controlled by the Old Swiss Confederacy and Three Leagues (which were unencircled) and the Habsburgs ' Further Austrian possessions (originally unencircled; part of the Austrian Circle from 1512). It also included some territory, mostly held by Baden and Württemberg , which had been part of

572-735: The Middle Ages . It stretched south of Frankish Austrasia (the later Duchy of Franconia ) along the Upper Rhine , Lake Constance , up the High Rhine , and down the Danube to the Lech tributary. The Lech, separating Alamannia from the Duchy of Bavaria in the east, did not form, either ethnologically or geographically, a very strong boundary, and there was a good deal of intercommunion between

616-662: The Swabian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire as it stood during the Early Modern period . Swabian culture, as distinct from its Alemannic neighbours, evolved in the later medieval and early modern period. After the disintegration of the Duchy of Swabia , a Swabian cultural identity and sense of cultural unity survived, expressed in the formation of the Swabian League of Cities in the 14th century,

660-551: The Swabian League of 1488, and the establishment of the Swabian Circle in 1512. During this time, a division of culture and identity developed between Swabia and both the Margraviate of Baden to the west and the Swiss Confederacy to the south. Swabian culture retains many elements common to Alemannic tradition, notably the carnival traditions forming the Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht . As

704-465: The " Schwabenhass " conflict (surrounding gentrification in Berlin due to the large number of well-to-do Swabians moving to the capital), or a remark by chancellor Angela Merkel in praise of the "thrifty Swabian housewife" (recommending Swabian, and by extension German economic prudence as a model for Europe during the financial crisis ). The ethno-linguistic group of Swabians speak Swabian German ,

748-498: The "four luminaries" ( Viergestirn ) of Weimar Classicism). As a consequence, southern Germany and by extension both the Swabians and the Bavarians came to be seen as marked deviations from generic Standard German , and a number of clichés or stereotypes developed. These portrayed the Swabians as stingy, overly serious or prudish petty bourgeois simpletons, as reflected in " The Seven Swabians " ( Die sieben Schwaben ), one of

792-464: The 18th century, where they were invited as pioneers to repopulate some areas. They also settled in Russia , Bessarabia , and Kazakhstan . They were well-respected as farmers. Almost all of the several million Swabians were expelled from Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia during the period 1944–1950, as part of the ethnic cleansing against their German minorities . There still are Swabians living near

836-715: The Dutch at the Cape contributed to the Dutch term swaapstreek (literally: "Swabian shenanigans"), likely referencing the Seven Swabians tale. During the 18th century East Colonisation , many Swabians were attracted by the Austrian Empire's offer of settling in East European lands which had been left sparsely populated by the wars with Turkey . These ethnic German communities came to be known collectively as

880-564: The Frankish kings. In the 7th century the people converted to Christianity , bishoprics were founded at Augsburg and Constance , and in the 8th century notable abbeys at Reichenau Island and Saint Gall . The Alamanni in the 7th century retained much of their former independence, Frankish rule being mostly nominal, but in 709, Pepin of Herstal conquered the territory and in 730 his son Charles Martel again reduced them to dependence. The so-called Blood Court at Cannstatt in 746 marked

924-907: The city of Satu Mare in Romania , who are known as Satu Mare Swabians . Because of overpopulation and increasingly smaller land-holdings, many Swabians sought land in the Western Hemisphere, especially in the 19th century. Swabian settlements can be found in Brazil , Canada , and the United States . Among the Germans who emigrated to the United States in the 19th century, Swabians in some areas maintained their regional identity and formed organizations for mutual support. Significant numbers of Swabians moved to Berlin following

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968-480: The city's reinstatement as German capital in 2000. By the 2010s, their number was estimated as close to 300,000. As the Swabians in Berlin tended to be wealthier than the local Berliner , this resulted in a gentrification conflict, covered under the term Schwabenhass (literally "hatred of Swabians") by the German press in 2012–2013. Duchy of Swabia The Duchy of Swabia ( Middle High German : Herzogtuom Swaben ; Latin : Ducatus Allemaniæ )

1012-436: The difference in the formation of the past participle of 'sein' (to be) into gwäa and gsei. The Gsei group is nearer to other Alemannic dialects , such as Swiss German . It can be divided into South-East Swabian , West Swabian and Central Swabian . The Danube Swabians from Hungary, Romania, and former Yugoslavia have been speaking several different Swabian dialects, called locally Schwowisch , some being similar to

1056-463: The duchy to Gisela's second son, Hermann IV and then, on the death of Hermann IV in 1038, to Henry , his own son by Gisela. In 1045 Henry, who had become German king as Henry III, granted Alamannia to Otto , grandson of the emperor Otto II and count palatine of the Rhine , and, in 1048, to Otto III , count of Schweinfurt  [ de ] . Rudolph , count of Rheinfelden  [ de ] ,

1100-628: The emperor, the youngest of whom, Philip , was chosen German king in 1198. During his struggle for the throne Philip purchased support by large cessions of Swabian lands, and the duchy remained in the royal hands during the reign of Otto IV , and came to Frederick II in 1214. Frederick granted Swabia to his son Henry , and, after his rebellion in 1235, to his son Conrad , whose son Conradin , setting out in 1266 to take possession of Sicily, pledged his Swabian inheritance to Ulrich II , count of Württemberg . The duchy fell into abeyance after Conradin's death in 1268. In 1500 emperor Maximilian I divided

1144-537: The end of World War 2, Württemberg, Baden and Hohenzollern have been united as the state of Baden-Württemberg . Although the name Swabia is occasionally used in a general way to denote the district formerly occupied by the duchy, the exact use of the name is now confined to the Bavarian Swabia Regierungsbezirk , with its capital at Augsburg . Swabian German Swabian ( German : Schwäbisch [ˈʃvɛːbɪʃ] )

1188-572: The end of the old stem duchy, and the Alamanni now came fully under Frankish administration. Charles' son Pepin the Short abolished the tribal duke and ruled Alamannia by counts palatine , or Kammerboten . King Charlemagne married the Alamannian princess Hildegard in 771. At this time the duchy, which was divided into numerous Gaue (counties), took the shape which it retained throughout

1232-624: The execution of the last Hohenstaufen duke Conradin . Count Rudolf of Habsburg , elected King of the Romans in 1273, attempted to revive the Swabian ducal title, bestowing it on his youngest son, the later Duke Rudolf II of Austria , who passed it to his son John Parricida . John died without an heir, in 1312 or 1313, marking the end of the "revived" title. In 496 the Alamanni tribes were defeated by King Clovis I , incorporated into Francia , and governed by several duces who were dependent on

1276-646: The feud between the Ahalolfing and Hunfriding dynasties. He occupied the palace at Zürich and marched into the Thurgau from there. He was defeated by Burchard near Winterthur and was forced to abandon Zürich , retreating beyond the Reuss . Duke Burchard's rule subsequently was acknowledged as such by the newly elected king Henry the Fowler . Burchard's position was virtually independent, and when he died in 926 he

1320-688: The meaning of Muggeseggele in their Swabian dictionary in the Swabian-based TV series Ein Fall für B.A.R.Z. In many regions, the Swabian dialect is spoken with a unique intonation that is also present when native speakers speak in SHG. Similarly, there is only one alveolar fricative phoneme /s/ , which is shared with most other southern dialects. Most Swabian-speakers are unaware of the difference between /s/ and /z/ and do not attempt to make it when they speak Standard German. The voiced plosives,

1364-519: The national cultural consensus surrounding German unification was built during the 18th and 19th century, Germany was politically dominated by the northern Kingdom of Prussia , and Weimar Classicism in the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar became the expression of German national high culture ( Christoph Martin Wieland and Friedrich Schiller , while born and raised in Swabia, moved to Weimar and became two of

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1408-868: The original Swabian dialect, but also the Bavarian dialect, mostly with Palatine and Hesse mixed dialects. In this regard, the Banat Swabians speak the Banat Swabian dialect . The Baden-Württemberg Chamber of Commerce launched an advertising campaign with the slogan "Wir können alles. Außer Hochdeutsch." which means "We can [do] everything. Except [speak] Standard German" to boost Swabian pride for their dialect and industrial achievements. However, it failed to impress Northern Germans and neighboring Baden. Dominik Kuhn ( Dodokay ) became famous in Germany with Swabian fandub videos, dubbing among others Barack Obama with German dialect vocals and revised text. In

1452-567: The post-alveolar fricative, and the frequent use of diminutives based on " l " suffixes gives the dialect a very "soft" or "mild" feel, often felt to be in sharp contrast to the harder varieties of German spoken in the North. Swabian is categorized as an Alemannic dialect, which in turn is one of the two types of Upper German dialects (the other being Bavarian ). The Swabian dialect is composed of numerous sub-dialects, each of which has its own variations. These sub-dialects can be categorized by

1496-415: The succession passed to Ernest II , son of his eldest sister Gisela and Ernest I , Margrave of Austria. Ernest I held the duchy for his son until his own death in 1015, when Gisela undertook the government, and was married a second time, to Conrad, duke of Franconia, who was afterwards the German king Conrad II . When Ernest came of age he quarrelled with his step-father, who deposed him and, in 1030, gave

1540-651: The two peoples. By the 843 Treaty of Verdun , Alamannia fell to East Francia . During the later and weaker years of the Carolingian Empire the counts became almost independent, and a struggle for supremacy took place between them and the Bishops of Constance. From about 900, two chief dynasties emerged: the Hunfriding counts in Raetia Curiensis ( Churrätien ) and the Ahalolfings ruling

1584-709: The upper Danube between Tuttlingen and Donauwörth , and on the left bank of the Lech , in an areal centered on the Swabian Alps roughly stretching from Stuttgart to Augsburg . SIL Ethnologue cites an estimate of 819,000 Swabian speakers as of 2006. During the 17th and 18th century, the Dutch Republic was known for its wealth and religious tolerance, and substantial numbers of Swabians moved there in search of either work or religious freedom. Those with large debts ended up conscripted as sailors and soldiers for

1628-633: The west to the right bank of the river Lech in the east and up to Chiavenna ( Kleven ) and Gotthard Pass in the south. The name of the larger stem duchy was often used interchangeably with Alamannia during the High Middle Ages , until about the 11th century, when the form Swabia began to prevail. The Duchy of Swabia was proclaimed by the Ahalolfing count palatine Erchanger in 915. He had allied himself with his Hunfriding rival Burchard II and defeated King Conrad I of Germany in

1672-544: The word Muggeseggele (a Swabian idiom ), meaning the scrotum of a housefly , was voted in a readers' survey by Stuttgarter Nachrichten , the largest newspaper in Stuttgart , as the most beautiful Swabian word , well ahead of any other term. The expression is used in an ironic way to describe a small unit of measure and is deemed appropriate to use in front of small children (compare Bubenspitzle ). German broadcaster SWR 's children's website, Kindernetz , explained

1716-402: Was followed by Frederick III , afterwards the emperor Frederick I. The earlier Hohenstaufen increased the imperial domain in Swabia, where they received steady support, although ecclesiastical influences were very strong. In 1152 Frederick I gave the duchy to his kinsman, Frederick , count of Rothenburg and duke of Franconia , after whose death in 1167 it was held successively by three sons of

1760-666: Was one of the five stem duchies of the medieval German Kingdom . It arose in the 10th century in the southwestern area that had been settled by Alemanni tribes in Late Antiquity . While the historic region of Swabia takes its name from the ancient Suebi , dwelling in the angle formed by the Rhine and the Danube , the stem duchy comprised a much larger territory, stretching from the Alsatian Vosges mountain range in

1804-574: Was put to death by order of the German king Conrad I two years later. Upon Erchanger's execution, Burchard II , son of the late Burchard I and count in Raetia Curiensis, took the title of duke. Burchard secured his rule by defending the Thurgau region against the claims of King Rudolph II of Burgundy in the 919 Battle of Winterthur . Rudolph II had attempted to expand his Upper Burgundian territory up to Lake Constance by capitalising on

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1848-440: Was succeeded by Hermann , a Franconian noble, who married his widow. When Hermann died in 948 Otto the Great gave the duchy to his own son Liudolf , who had married Hermann's daughter Ida; but he reduced the ducal privileges and appointed counts palatine to watch the royal interests. Liudolf revolted, and was deposed, and other dukes followed in quick succession. Burchard III , son of Burchard II, ruled from 954 to 973, when he

1892-399: Was succeeded by Liudolf's son, Otto , afterwards duke of Bavaria, to 982, and Conrad I , a relative of Duke Hermann I, until 997. Hermann II , possibly a son of Conrad, succeeded, and, dying in 1003, was followed by his son Hermann III . During these years the Swabians were loyal to the kings of the Saxon house, probably owing to the influence of the bishops. Hermann III had no children, and

1936-444: Was the next duke, and in 1077 he was chosen German king in opposition to the emperor Henry IV, but found little support in Swabia, which was given by Henry to his faithful adherent, Frederick I , count of Hohenstaufen. Frederick had to fight for his position with Bertold, son of Duke Rudolph, and the duke's son-in-law, Bertold II, duke of Zahringen, to whom he ceded the Breisgau in 1096. Frederick II succeeded his father in 1105, and

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