Urach

Urach lies in the Erms valley beneath the heights of the Swabian Jura. The town was the seat of the counts of Urach in the twelfth century, and the castle of Hohenurach above it passed to the counts of Württemberg in 1265. When Württemberg was divided between 1442 and 1482, Urach became the residence of one branch of the ruling family. Count Eberhard's marriage to Barbara Gonzaga was celebrated here with a display of princely magnificence.

Duke Friedrich I established a settlement for linen weavers at Urach in 1599. During the Thirty Years' War, the town resisted an imperial siege in 1634 until an exploding powder tower forced its commander to withdraw to the castle. Urach was then plundered, and Hohenurach endured a further siege. After the war, the merchant Stephan Schwan sought to revive the linen trade; his heirs established a privileged trading company in 1661, with the duke himself among its participants.