History
For many centuries, Biberach was an Imperial Free City (German: Freie Reichsstadt) in the Holy Roman Empire. In that role it participated in the 1792 Reichstag.
During the Protestant Reformation, Biberach was notable for being — eventually along only with Ravensburg, Augsburg and Dinkelsbühl — a Mixed Imperial City (German: Paritätische Reichsstadt) where the Peace of Westphalia caused the establishment of a joint Catholic–Protestant government and administrative system, with equality offices (German: Gleichberechtigung) and a precise and equal distribution between Catholic and Protestant civic officials.
This status ended in 1803, when Biberach was annexed by the Margraviate of Baden, soon to become a grand-duchy. In 1806, it was traded with the Kingdom of Württemberg in exchange for the town of Villingen; becoming part of the German Empire on its creation in 1871.
During World War II, two large prisoner-of-war camps were located here, with Oflag V-B for officers, and internment camp Ilag V-B for allied civilians, mainly from the Channel Islands.
Read more about this topic: Biberach An Der Riss
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