Schwaben was a German dukedom, in 1079 passing over to the Swabian race of the Staufer. From 1138 to 1254, this race supplied the German kings and emperors. In the middle ages Schwaben was a rich trading place. Today, it is a Bavarian governmental district with its capital in Augsburg. It extends from the Allgäuer Alps and Lake Constance (Swabian Sea) to the Swabian-Franconian Alb. (M 25654) _ _.