Mudau is a municipality in the Neckar-Odenwald

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, 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 i ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. it has 4,833 inhabitants.

Geography

Mudau lies in the southeastern

Odenwald The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the Germany, German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Location The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße Route, Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried' ...

mountains between the

Neckar The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar ...

and Main rivers, 75 km southeast of

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

and 40 km northeast of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

. The area is heavily forested, resting on coloured

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

plateaus at 285 to 576 m elevation, sloping downward to the Bauland region. Many

streams A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long, large stream ...

originate in the area around Mudau, owing to its location on the Neckar-Main

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

; some have cut canyons as much as 200 m deep into the sandstone. Streams considered significant are the ''Gabelbach'', ''Mudbach'', and ''Steinbächlein'' which flow into the Main, and the ''Reisenbach'', ''Trienzbach'', and ''Elz'' which flow into the Neckar. Mudau is an officially recognized

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

in the Naturpark-Neckartal-Odenwald.

Demographics

Population development:

History

* 2nd/3rd century: During the period of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

control (approximately 98–260 AD) the area that is now Mudau lay within the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Germania Superior Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesont ...

. Remnants of the

Neckar-Odenwald Limes The Neckar-Odenwald Limes () is a collective term for two, very different early sections of the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes, a Roman defensive frontier line that may have been utilised during slightly different periods in history. The Neckar-Ode ...

are visible today near Schlossau and Scheidental. * 11th/12th century: In the high Middle Ages the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery of

Amorbach Abbey Amorbach Abbey () was a Rule of St. Benedict, Benedictine Princely abbeys and imperial abbeys of the Holy Roman Empire, imperial abbey of the Holy Roman Empire located at Amorbach. It was later the residence of the rulers of the short-lived Princi ...

started new settlements in the forest area south of Amorbach. The municipalities have their origin here. * 12th/13th century: Mudau's lands were placed under the supervision of the noblemen of Duern and were assigned to the nearby Castle Wildenberg (also known as Castle Wildenburg) in

. * 1271: By purchase in the year 1271 the rule rights came to the

Archbishop of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...

. Mudau was the principal seat of the 'Mudauer Zent'. * 1426: Mudau was separated from the old parish of Hollerbach and became the church centre, with 13 chapelries. * 1525: During the

German Peasants' War The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt () was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It was Europe's largest and most widespread popular uprising befor ...

the nearby Amorbach Abbey was plundered and Castle Wildenberg destroyed.

Götz von Berlichingen zu Hornberg (, ; 15 November 1480 – 23 July 1562), also known as Götz of the Iron Hand (German language, German: Eisenfaust), was a 16th-century Germany, German (Franconian) Imperial Knight (''Reichsritter''), mercenary and poet. He wa ...

was the captain of the soldiers called 'Heller Haufen'. * 17th century: During the 17th century Mudau became an important

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

with several annual and cattle markets. * 1618 - 1648: During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

troops of allies and enemies both marched through the town and took quarter here. * 1803: During the Secularization Mudau became part of the

Principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchy, monarchical state or feudalism, feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "prin ...

of Leiningen. * 1806: Mudau becomes part of the

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...

. * 1848: During the German Revolutions of 1848 (also known as the March Revolution), the principality's property at Marienhoehe bei Buchen and the revenue office in Ernsttal were burned. The city halls were stormed. * 1849: Two-thirds of the town was destroyed by a major

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

. * 1967: Sender Donebach begins transmitting. * 1974: Closure of the narrow-gauge railway from

Mosbach Mosbach (; South Franconian: ''Mossbach'') is a town in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the seat of the Neckar-Odenwald district and has a population of approximately 25,000 distributed in six boroughs: Mosbach Town, Lohrbach, ...

to Mudau * 1982: The transmission towers of the longwave transmitting station were extended to 363 m, thus becoming the tallest built structures in Western Europe. The wavy band in the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

represents the Mudbach, while the wheels refer to the arms of

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

Points of interest

* trail along the Neckar-Odenwald Limes in Schlossau with numerous remnants. The Neckar-Odenwald Limes led from

Bad Wimpfen Bad Wimpfen () is a historic spa town in the district of Heilbronn in the Baden-Württemberg region of southern Germany. It lies north of the city of Heilbronn, on the river Neckar. Geography Bad Wimpfen is located on the west bank of the River ...

at the Neckar to the north across Neckarburken, Oberscheidental, Schlossau after Woerth at the Main river. * Roman

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

at Scheidental * chapel of Saint Veit and Saint Martin in Steinbach by 1494 with an altar of the school of

Tilman Riemenschneider Tilman Riemenschneider ( 1460 – 7 July 1531) was a German wood carving, woodcarver and sculptor active in Würzburg from 1483. He was one of the most prolific and versatile sculptors of the transition period between the Gothic art, Late Gothi ...

. * castle Waldleiningen (built 1828 in the Windsor style), used today as a sanatorium * old city hall Mudau (1434) * catholic parish church Mudau (tower by 1510) * baroque column ‘Mariensaeule’ Mudau by 1736 *

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

parish church Schlossau, built 1864 * gallows in Mudau * Sender Donebach: two 363-metre transmission towers, the second-tallest structures in Germany. * Reisenbach Telecommunication Tower: a 173 m tall telecommunication tower built in 1972.

References

External links

Mudau.de
Mudau's official website (German only) {{Authority control Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis