Buchloe

For the genus of plants, see Buchloe (plant).

Buchloe
Coat of arms of Buchloe Coat of arms
Buchloe
Location of Buchloe within Ostallgäu district 250px
Coordinates:
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Schwaben
District	Ostallgäu
Municipal assoc.	Buchloe
Government
• Mayor	Josef Schweinberger
Area
• Total	36.16 km2 (13.96 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)
• Total	12,169
• Density	340/km2 (870/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	86807
Dialling codes	08241, 08246
Vehicle registration	OAL
Website	www.buchloe.de

Buchloe (German pronunciation: [buːxˈloːə]) is a community raised to city status in 1954, lying in Ostallgäu district in Bavaria. Together with the neighbouring communities of Jengen, Lamerdingen and Waal, Buchloe belongs to the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft ("administrative community") of Buchloe.

Geography and transport

Buchloe lies right on Bundesautobahn 96 (Munich–Buchloe–Memmingen–Lindau) with interchanges with Bundesstraße ("Federal Highway") 12 (Lindau by way of Munich and Passau to Philippsreut) and describes itself as the "Gateway to the Allgäu". Buchloe station is an important railway hub for the Munich–Kempten– Lindau line on the Allgäu line (KBS 970) and for the Augsburg–Buchloe and the Buchloe–Memmingen lines with their IC services and direct services into Switzerland by EC.

Coat of arms

Buchloe has quite a simple coat of arms, being a shield, party per pale, gules and argent. It was bestowed on the town officially in 1834, although it is based on a much earlier design that was already in use about 1500. The colours are those of the State of Augsburg, to which Buchloe belonged from 1311 to 1803, when it was absorbed into Bavaria. In the late nineteenth century, Buchloe assumed a different coat of arms, still a party per pale (i.e. a shield split straight down the middle) and silver on the right half, but gold on the left half with two leafy twigs – likely meant to be beech as the town's name comes from Buche, the German word for beech – twined about each other to form an emblem shaped rather like a section sign ("§"). In 1950, however, the original arms were officially restored.[1]

• Wappen Buchloe.svg

  Coat of Arms since 1950

Town development

Amalgamation

In 1971 and 1972, the communities of Lindenberg and Honsolgen mit Hausen were amalgamated into Buchloe.

Culture and sightseeing

Heimatmuseum Buchloe [2]

South of Buchloe is the Buchloe people's observatory, at which there are regular observations of the sky.

Sons and daughters of the town

Erwin Neher, awarded with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1991, grew up in Buchloe.

Economy

A well known business in the town is the car manufacturing company Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH und Co. Another is the Huber Karwendel Works, which makes the well known Exquisa cream cheese. Furthermore, the Moksel Group has its headquarters in Buchloe.

Security

Buchloe has a police station and a volunteer fire brigade with various fire engines. Within the town are also found a Bavarian Red Cross office, a chapter of the Wasserwacht ("Water Watch", or lifeguard service) and the hospital St. Joseph.

External links

• Buchloe's official homepage
• Buchloe Bavarian Red Cross
• Buchloe Volunteer Fire Brigade
• Buchloe Wasserwacht
• Buchloe Parish
• Almshouse in Lindenberg neighbourhood