Mühlacker is a town in the eastern part of the Enz district of

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 ...

Mühlacker station Mühlacker station is in the town of Mühlacker in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is at the junction of the Karlsruhe–Mühlacker railway, Karlsruhe–Mühlacker line and the Württemberg Western Railway, Western Railway. With its f ...

has direct rail connections with

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

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 ...

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 ...

Pforzheim Pforzheim () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany. It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the ...

and the Northern

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 ...

. Mühlhausen an der Enz where Spree killer Ernst August Wagner killed 13 people in 1913 has been a part of the city since 1972. The community of Ötisheim joined onto the city so as to act as a single municipality for certain tasks.

History

Thirty Years' War

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 ...

brought hardship and misery. In 1648 only 50 inhabitants survived from originally 1242 inhabitants (1622). In the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

(1688–1697) Dürrmenz was looted in 1692 by French troops. Eckenweiher was incorporated to Dürrmenz in 1832.

Industrialisation

With the opening of the

Württemberg Western Railway The Western Railway () in Württemberg was opened in 1853 and ran from Bietigheim-Bissingen to Bruchsal. It was the first railway link between the states of Württemberg and Baden in Germany and one of the List of the first German railways to 1 ...

- Bruchsal in 1853 the industrial age began in the Dürrmenz-Mühlacker area. As the Karlsruhe-Mühlacker railway was built in 1863, Mühlacker was at the same railway junction and border station. As a curiosity, until 1930 it had two stations side by side, the larger Württemberg station and the Baden railway station. Favored by the dismantling of custom barriers 1819-1851 and the abolition of the compulsory guild (1862), industrial enterprises settled near the train station.

20th century

After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

and high unemployment interrupted the further development. In 1930, the large Mühlacker radio transmitter was put into operation. With the dissolution of Oberamt Maulbronn, young city Mühlacker in 1938 was incorporated into district Vaihingen. During the Nazi period five of the eight Jewish citizens of Mühlacker were murdered in

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

. The

World War II 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 ...

ended in Mühlacker with destruction by air raids and artillery shelling. After 1945, 3000 refugees and displaced persons found settled in Mühlacker. As part of the district reform on January 1, 1973, the district Vaihingen was dissolved. The western region, with the town of Mühlacker became part of the newly formed

Enzkreis Enzkreis is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from west clockwise) Karlsruhe, Heilbronn, Ludwigsburg, Böblingen and Calw. The district-free Pforzheim area in the south is ne ...

. The eastern part of the district Vaihingen was incorporated into the district of

Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a Cities of Germany, city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg (district), Lu ...

Climate

Sights

Since 1930, Mühlacker has been transmitter site, at which between 1934 and 1945 the tallest tower ever built of wood stood (height: 190 metres). Further landmark are the water tower and the Löffelstelz castle ruin.

Twin towns – sister cities

Mühlacker is twinned with: *

Bassano del Grappa Bassano del Grappa ( or ''Bassan'', ) is a city and ''comune'', in the Province of Vicenza, Vicenza province, in the region of Veneto, in northern Italy. It bounds the communes of Cassola, Marostica, Solagna, Pove del Grappa, Romano d'Ezzelino, Va ...

, Italy *

Schmölln Schmölln () is a town in Thuringia, Germany, landkreis of Altenburger Land. It lies on the river Sprotte. Geography Neighboring municipalities Municipalities in the district of Altenburger Land neighboring Schmölln include: Starkenberg, ...

, Germany

Notable people

* Anna Catharina Wedderkopf (1715–1786), businesswoman, consultant and feminist * Hellmut G. Haasis (born 1942), writer and historian * Verena Veh (born 1977), volleyball player * Florian Naroska (born 1982), water polo player * Kim Kurniawan (born 1990), Indonesian footballer

References

External links

*
War memorials in Muehlacker cemetery at "Sites of Memory" webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muhlacker Enzkreis Holocaust locations in Germany