praised by songwriter Ralf Bendix in his 1964 Schaffe, schaffe Häusle baue / Und net nach de Mädle schaue ("[let's] work and work, and build a house / and not look out for girls" in Swabian dialect). The first line of his song has since become a common summary of Swabian stereotypes known throughout Germany. In a widely noted publicity campaign on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Baden-Württemberg, economically the most successful state in modern Germany, the Swabians famously embraced their stereotyping, "We can do everything—except speak Standard German" (Wir können alles. Außer Hochdeutsch). Swabian stereotypes persist in contemporary Germany, as expressed e.g. in the "Schwabenhass" conflict (surrounding gentrification in Berlin due to the large number of well-to-do Swabians moving to the capital), or a remark by chancellor Angela Merkel in praise of the "thrifty Swabian housewife" (recommending Swabian, and by extension German economic prudence as a model for Europe during the financial crisis). Swabian German The ethno-linguistic group of Swabians speak Swabian German, a branch of the Alemannic group of German dialects. Swabian is cited as "40 percent intelligible" to speakers of Standard German. As an ethno-linguistic group, Swabians are closely related to other speakers of Alemannic German, i.e. Badeners, Alsatians, and German-speaking Swiss. Swabian German is traditionally spoken in the upper Neckar basin (upstream of Heilbronn), along the upper Danube between Tuttlingen and Donauwörth, and on the left bank of the Lech, in an areal centered on the Swabian Alps roughly stretching from Stuttgart to Augsburg. SIL Ethnologue cites an estimate of 819,000 Swabian speakers as of 2006. Emigration Hollandgänger During the 17th and 18th century the Dutch Republic was known for its wealth and religious tolerance, and substantial numbers of Swabians moved there in search of either work or religious freedom. Those with large debts ended up conscripted as sailors and soldiers for the Dutch East India Company (DEIC), eventually settling in the Dutch Cape Colony, Dutch East Indies or Ceylon. Besides individual Swabians, the Duke Charles Eugene of Württemberg concluded an agreement with the DEIC in 1786 to furnish a regiment of 2000 men to the DEIC for the sum of 300 000 guilders. This became known as the Württemberg Cape Regiment (). Their presence among the Dutch at the Cape contributed to the Dutch term swaapstreek (literally: "Swabian shenanigans"), likely referencing the Seven Swabians tale. Ostsiedlung During the 18th century East Colonisation, many