Mittenwald is a German municipality in the district of

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; Bavarian: ''Garmasch-Partakurch''), nicknamed Ga-Pa, is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the Ob ...

, in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

Geography

Mittenwald is located approximately 16 kilometres to the south-east of

. It is situated in the Valley of the River Isar, by the northern foothills of the Alps, on the route between the old banking and commercial centre of

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

, to the north, and

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a p ...

to the south-east, beyond which is the

Brenner Pass The Brenner Pass (german: link=no, Brennerpass , shortly ; it, Passo del Brennero ) is a mountain pass through the Alps which forms the border between Italy and Austria. It is one of the principal passes of the Eastern Alpine range and has ...

and the route to

Lombardy (man), (woman) lmo, lumbard, links=no (man), (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , ...

, another region with a rich commercial past and present.

History

Mittenwald, along with Garmisch-Partenkirchen to the west, was acquired by the

Prince-Bishopric of Freising The Prince-Bishopric of Freising (German: ''Hochstift Freising'') was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1294 until its secularisation in the early years of the 19th century. The Prince-Bishopric of Freising should ...

in the late 14th century and the "crowned Aethiopian" head that is part of Mittenwald's coat of arms recalls that 400-year association that ended when the Prince-Bishopric was secularized in 1802-03 and its territory annexed to Bavaria. Freysingsiebmacher

Mittenwald's location as an important transit centre on a relatively low (and therefore predictable) transalpine route has been a defining feature of the area for at least two thousand years: during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries traffic was boosted by large treasure trains sent regularly from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

to pay troops in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, the more conventional sea route having been rendered unreliable by the (usually) discreet but effective sympathy with which the English Protestant establishment favoured the Spanish king's rebellious Dutch subjects.

Twin City

Wyk auf Föhr ( ''Fering'' North Frisian: ''Wik'', ''a Wik'', or ''Bi a Wik''; da, Vyk på Før) is the only town on Föhr, the second largest of the North Frisian Islands on the German coast of the North Sea. Like the entire island it belongs to the district ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Economy

Mittenwald is famous for the manufacture of

violins The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

violas ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

and

cellos The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

which began in the mid-17th century by the Klotz family of violin makers, and has been a popular stop with tourists and student

luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers of ...

s since the 1930s. You can also visit the museum for violin lutherie.

Notable places

The most significant landmark in the village is the pink colored Roman Catholic church of Saints Peter and Paul, which is typical of the region. The church and many of the surrounding buildings, both businesses and private residences, are decorated with elaborate paintings on the exterior walls. Near the ''Luttenseekaserne'' there is a monument honoring the participants of the

Slutsk Defence Action The Slutsk uprising () or the Slutsk defence ( be, Слуцкі збройны чын, links=no, translit=Slucki zbrojny čyn) was an unsuccessful armed attempt to establish an independent Belarus. It took place in late 1920, near the end of the ...

Notable people

* Matthias Klotz (1640 in Mittenwald - 1696) violin maker *

Max Seiling Max Seiling (1852–1928) was a German engineer and writer. Life and career Born in Mittenwald, Max Seiling emigrated, after having studied in München, to the Grand Duchy of Finland where he became a professor at a polytechnic school. Becaus ...

(1852 in Mittenwald – 1928) a German engineer and writer *

Georg Schreyögg Georg Schreyögg (13 August 1870 – 7 July 1934) was a German sculptor. One of his better known surviving works is the 1907 St Barbara War Memorial in Koblenz, taken down to make way for a new road in 1956 but returned to a site in the city cl ...

(1870–1934) a German sculptor, brought up in Mittenwald *

Max Rieger Max Rieger (born 10 July 1946 in Mittenwald) is a German former alpine skier who competed in the 1968 Winter Olympics and 1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was ...

(born 1946 in Mittenwald) a German former alpine skier who competed in the

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * J ...

and

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Euro ...

Dieter Berkmann Dieter Berkmann (born 27 July 1950) is a German former cyclist. He competed for West Germany at the 1972 Summer Olympics and 1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultur ...

(born 1950 in Mittenwald) a German former cyclist, competed at the

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

and

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

* Traudl Maurer (born 1961 in Mittenwald) a German ski mountaineer and long-distance runner. * Anton Jais (1748 - ca.1836) violin maker

References

External links

*
Virtual tour of Mittenwald

Museum of violin manufacturing
{{Authority control Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district)