Staufen im Breisgau (
High Alemannic: ''Staufe im Brisgau'') is a German town in the
Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district of
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
. It had a population of approximately 8,300 in 2019.
General
The city of Staufen im Breisgau lies in the district of
Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
state of
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
. Staufen has approximately 7,700 inhabitants and forms, together with the community of
Münstertal, Black Forest, a community administrative unit.
It is noted in history and culture for its association with
Faust who, according to one source, died in or near Staufen around 1540.
Geography
Staufen lies at the foot of the
Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is ...
at the exit from the Münstertal. The Black Forest valley of
Neumagen goes here directly over into the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
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, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
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plain. The piedmont of the Black Forest is less distinct. North of the valley exit, the steeply rising old castle ruins dominates; to the southwest begins the hilly landscape of the
Markgräflerland. Staufen lies on the border between two natural and economic areas: the Rhine plain up to the piedmont with its cultivation of grain, vineyards and vegetables; and the Black Forest, with its cattle and wood, and, until the 19th century, silver mines.
Geothermal drilling controversy
Since 2008, the centre of the city has reported to have risen some , after initially sinking a few millimeters. This has caused considerable damage to buildings in the city centre, including the historical town hall.
The cause for this geological change has been identified as a drilling operation conducted in the summer and autumn of 2007 to provide
geothermal heating to the city hall. The drilling perforated an
anhydrite layer and caused high-pressure
groundwater
Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit ...
to come into contact with the anhydrite, which then began to expand.
By 2010, some sections of town had risen by . In July 2013, no end to the rising process was in sight.
Data from the
TerraSAR-X radar satellite before and after the changes have confirmed the localised nature of the situation. "A geochemical process called
anhydrite swelling has been confirmed as the cause of these uplifts. This is a transformation of the mineral anhydrite (anhydrous calcium sulphate) into
gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywa ...
(hydrous calcium sulphate). A pre-condition for this transformation is that the anhydrite is in contact with water, which is then stored in its crystalline structure".
Infrastructure
Staufen is located next to the
Münstertal railway which runs from
Bad Krozingen to
Münstertal, Black Forest. The railway was electrified in 2013 and is operated by the
Südwestdeutsche Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft (SWEG).
Leisure and sports facilities
The changing rooms of the Alemannenbad
The Alemannenbad is a solar-heated outdoor pool with a large sunbathing area. After the Lorettobad in Freiburg, it is the oldest outdoor swimming pool in Baden-Württemberg. The buildings in the entrance area and the changing rooms are under monument protection. The Alemannenbad Staufen eV association was founded in 2003 to provide support. The history of the bathroom is extensively presented in an online publication.
References
External links
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Staufen:images
{{Authority control
Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald
Baden