Der Schwan — a swan in Geislingen an der Steige, Baden-Württemberg, Southwestern Germany. The town is located in the district of Göppingen. Its name relates to its location “on the climb” of a trade route over the Swabian Jura mountain range. Although the area had settlements since the Bronze Age, Geislingen as such was founded by the counts of Helfenstein as a transit collection station on the important commercial route between the Rhein valley and the Mediterranean. The fortified Helfenstein castle has existed here since 1100. Giselingen was first mentioned in a document dated 1237. From 1396-1802, it was owned by the free and imperial city of Ulm on the Donau (Danube). In 1803 Ulm and Geislingen became part of Bayern (Bavaria), but in a land exchange were incorporated into the Kingdom of Württemberg in 1810. Industrialization started with the arrival of the railroad. The leading industrial enterprise is the very famous Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik (WMF, founded in 1852), a world-renowned manufacturer of quality utensils and other goods for the kitchen and table that gets exported worldwide.
