Argenbühl is a municipality in the district of Ravensburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. No actual town or urban settlement is called Argenbühl; rather, the municipality is an administrative amalgamation of several neighbouring villages with different names. The municipal administrative headquarters are located in the village of Eisenharz, with local branch offices also in the villages of Christazhofen, Eglofs, and Ratzenried. Geographically, it lies in the western part of the Prealpine region of the Allgäu, which in turn is part of the larger geographical region of Swabia in southern Germany. Argenbühl borders the municipalities of Kißlegg and Leutkirch im Allgäu to the north, Wangen im Allgäu to the west, Isny im Allgäu to the east, and the Bavarian municipalities of Hergatz, Heimenkirch, Röthenbach, and Gestratz to the south. The name comes from the Argen River, whose two main constituent streams delimit part of the municipality's borders, and Bühl, which is a Southern German word for "hill", reflecting the municipality's hilly landscape.
Geography
Argenbühl lies at an altitude from 662 to 761 m AMSL, between the cities of Wangen and Isny. The municipality includes the following settlements :
Christazhofen
Eglofs
Eisenharz
Göttlishofen
Ratzenried
Siggen
History
The municipality of Argenbühl has existed since 1 January 1972, when the previously independent municipalities of Christazhofen, Eglofs, Eisenharz, Göttlishofen, Ratzenried, and Siggen were merged into the present one. Their history is told in great detail in the Description of the Wangen Administrative District , published in 1841. In 1810, all the above-mentioned communities came under the jurisdiction of the Wangen district, which in 1973 became part of the Ravensburg district.
Religion
Argenbühl has six Roman Catholic parishes. The region's few Lutheran followers attend their church in nearby Wangen im Allgäu.
Politics
Municipal council
The election for the municipal council on 7 June 2009 had the following results:
The municipality is linked by bus lines to neighbouring cities, such as Leutkirch, Isny, and Wangen. The lines are operated by the Lake Constance-Upper Swabia Local Transport Administration, popularly known as . In the past, a stop of the Kißlegg–Hergatz railway branch was in Ratzenried.
Education
Eglofs and Ratzenried have each an elementary and a general secondary school that also works as a Werkrealschule. In Christazhofen and Eisenharz are only elementary schools. Four kindergartens also are in the municipality.
Culture and sights
Museums
The village of Ratzenried has a local history museum, while Eglofs hosts the Allgäu-Swabian Music Archive. In 2009, a museum was also opened in Eisenharz, with exhibits about the history of the place and the local dairy industry of the Wunderlich and Nestlé companies.
