Wittislingen is a market municipality in the district of Dillingen in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the together with Mödingen and Ziertheim.
Geography Wittislingen lies in the Egau valley on the southern edge of the Swabian Jura. The municipality covers and lies at around above sea level.
History
Early history A major find is the Wittislingen princely grave, a 7th-century burial of a high-status woman associated with the Merovingian period.
Medieval period Wittislingen is recorded in early medieval sources as Uuittegislingua. The Vita of Saint Ulrich of Augsburg describes Bishop Ulrich staying in Uuittegislingua shortly before his death in 973. The account also refers to arrangements concerning church property in the settlement.
Control of the area in the Middle Ages was divided between the Duchy of Bavaria and the Bishopric of Augsburg.
Demographics The population is around 2,500 inhabitants (2023).
+ Population development Year Population 1871 1,262 1925 1,372 1950 2,133 1970 1,846–2,355 2011 2,306 2023 ~2,550
Economy The economy of Wittislingen is mostly based on agriculture, dairy farming and mixed cultivation. Most residents commute to nearby towns for work.
Transport
Wittislingen is connected by roads to , , and the B16 corridor. There are local bus services, and the nearest railway stations are in and .
Events Disappearance of Sri Lankan handball players
In September 2004, a 23-member group posing as a Sri Lankan national handball team disappeared after playing a match against . The Sri Lankan players did not seem familiar with the game, and the Bavarian players described them as "awful".
A letter was found in their hotel room, thanking the Bavarians for their hospitality and claiming that the Sri Lankans had gone to France.
Two weeks later, a taxi driver told the police that he had brought the Sri Lankans to , along with a few other taxis. The match had been organised by an in Duisburg, which did not respond to the media. The Sri Lankan embassy in Berlin denied all knowledge of the group and the match, and the Sri Lankan sports ministry said the trip had not been authorised.
The 2008 film Machan was inspired by events.
Archaeological excavations
In 1881, archaeological excavations in the area uncovered a Merovingian burial site, later known for its high-quality grave goods and association with early medieval Alemannic elite culture.
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