Schwabach can look back on a long history as a centre for industry and craftsmanship and, with a population of 40,000, it is the smallest of the 25 Bavarian towns which have their own administrative district. As the southernmost location of the Middle Franconian urban axis of Nuremberg – Fürth – Erlangen – Schwabach, the town provides the link between the urban area of Nuremberg and the picturesque surroundings to the south, in particular the community of Roth and the new Franconian lake district.