After three centuries of domination by feudal lords and territorial rulers, Isny's middle class was able to purchase the town's independence in 1365. Isny's status as an Imperial Free City made it a self-governing republic in which the city government was elected by propertied residents and in which the guild system thrived. In 1529, Isny's city council voted to make the town Protestant and the Nikolaikirche became the town's main Protestant church.

Isny enjoyed a vibrant economy, based primarily on linen production, until competition from abroad, the devastation of the Thirty Years' War, and a series of fires and plagues brought production to a halt in the 17th century. The town experienced a revival after the end of World War II, when a rehabilitation center for war veterans was established there. Fortunately, Isny emerged from the war largely undamaged, and has since become a popular destination for vacationers and resort-goers.

Twin towns

• Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon, Seine-Maritime, France
• Street, Somerset, England
• Flawil, St Gallen, Switzerland
• Sotkamo, Oulu, Finland

External links

• Isny Tourist website
• Photographs of Isny