Durlach is a district in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

, Germany, with a population of roughly 30,000. The district is further divided into ''Alt-Durlach'', ''Dornwald-Untermühl'', ''Hanggebiet'', ''Bergwald'', ''Aue'', ''Lohn-Lissen'' and ''Killisfeld''.

History

Durlach was bestowed by emperor Frederick II on the margrave Hermann V of Zähringen as an allodial possession. It was chosen by the

margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

Charles II in 1565 as residence of the rulers of Baden-Durlach, and retained this distinction though it was almost totally destroyed by the French in 1689. Margrave Charles III William decided that he needed more space which led to the foundation of

in 1715, which three years later became the new capital until the state was merged into the grand-duchy of Baden. In 1846, it was the seat of a congress of the Liberal Party of the Baden Parliament. In 1849 during the Baden Revolution, it was the scene of an encounter between the Prussians and the insurgents. In 1938, Durlach was incorporated into Karlsruhe, which had was now bigger and connected by a canal and an avenue of poplars with it, on the left bank of the Pfinz, at the foot of the Turmberg. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 329 people were killed in Durlach. Georg Friedrich von Reichenbach and Ernst Ludwig Posselt (1763–1804, historian) were natives of the town.

Life and heritage

Important attractions are the Karlsburg Castle in the center, erected in 1565 and later used as barracks, now with some museums an ancient town hall, a church with an excellent organ, and in the market-place a statue of the margrave Charles II. The Turmberg ('tower hill') is a vineyard-covered hill of the northernmost part of the

Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, 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 th ...

. A castle ruin with watch-tower are located on top of the Turmberg. The watch-tower in particular offers fine views of

towards the west and the Rhine River valley. On very clear days even farther west the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...

in France can be seen. The Rhine River is the border between Germany and

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

area of France. The South and East offer nice views of the Black Forest, and since the Turmberg is the northernmost tip of the Black Forest you have hills more than actual mountains. A staircase leads all the way up from the bottom of the hill to the top, however you can also ride up using the Turmbergbahn, a historic

funicular railway A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite ends ...

. In recent years the railway was changed from water gravity to electric.

Economy

Durlach hosted several factories, producing sewing-machines ( Pfaff), brushes, chemicals, tobacco, beer, vinegar, chicory and

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

s. Now most manufacture has disappeared, except for a producer of

homeopathy Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance that ...

and

dietary supplement A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement a person's diet by taking a pill (pharmacy), pill, capsule (pharmacy), capsule, tablet (pharmacy), tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients eithe ...

s. IT companies have taken their place, the biggest Fiducia IT AG, which provides banking services for most German

credit union A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit cooperative financial institution. They may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts (che ...

s. DurlachWeiherhofOrgelfabrikTor.jpg, H. Veit & Sons organ factory Durlach RaumFabrik.jpg, Former Pfaff factory, now ''RaumFabrik'' Durlach BaslerTor 2005 09 11.jpg, Historical city center

References

Books

* This work in turn cites: ** Fecht, ''Geschichte der Stadt Durlach'' (Heidelberg, 1869). {{Authority control