NÖRDLINGEN, a town of West Bavaria in the district of Schwaben und Neuburg, is situated on the Eger, 40 miles to the north of Augsburg. It was formerly an imperial town, with an independent territory of 35 square miles in extent, and is still surrounded with walls and towers. The most interesting buildings are the Gothic Hauptkirche and the late Gothic town-house, both of which contain paintings by Schäufelein, who was a native of Nördlingen. There are here manufactures of carpets (sold as Tyrolese carpets), linen and woollen goods, and agricultural implements; and a brisk trade is carried on in geese, goose feathers, cattle, and grain. In 1880 the population was 7837, including 6990 Protestants.

From 898, when we first find it mentioned, down to 1215 Nordlingen was subject to the bishop of Ratisbon; but soon after the latter date it acquired the freedom of the empire. It was annexed to Bavaria in 1803. Two battles were fought near Nordlingen during the Thirty Years’ War, in the former of which (1634) the Swedes sustained their first defeat on German soil, losing 12,000 men. A full account of these battles is given by Colonel Malleson in the Army and Navy Magazine, November 1883.