Mühlhausen / Thuringia (emphasis on the first syllable; from 1975
to 1991 Mühlhausen Thomas-Müntzer-Stadt) is the district town of the
Unstrut-Hainich district and the tenth largest city in Thuringia.
The large district city in the northwest of the state is located on
the Unstrut, a tributary of the Saale, around 55 km northwest of the
state capital Erfurt and takes the rank of a medium-sized center
with partial functions of a regional center in the regional planning
of the Free State of Thuringia.
In the Middle Ages, the
imperial cities of Mühlhausen and Nordhausen were the second most
powerful cities in the Thuringian region after Erfurt (see:
Thuringian Tri-City League). The Mühlhausen fair, which is held
annually for one week with 27 fair communities, took place for the
first time in 1877 and is the largest city fair in Germany.
Mühlhausen is also known for its rich historical heritage, it was
the place of work of Johann Sebastian Bach and Thomas Müntzer and an
imperial city until 1802. Numerous historical buildings such as the
city wall or St. Mary's Church still bear witness to its former
importance. Johann August Röbling, the designer of the Brooklyn
Bridge in New York City, came from Mühlhausen.
In 2016,
Mühlhausen was awarded the honorary title of “Reformation City of
Europe” by the Community of Evangelical Churches in Europe.
From 1840 to 1945 Mühlhausen had a bourgeois theater and its own symphony orchestra. The theater building was demolished in 1957. The 3K project has been developing art, culture and communication since 1991, initially under the umbrella of the association Working and Learning in Mühlhausen e. V. and since 1998 as an independent association, plays, performances, games with young people and adults and has been using the building of the former church of St. Kiliani on the eastern edge of the old town, which has been completely converted into a theatre, since 2006.
Every year at the fair, the cityscape is shaped by the minstrels, who
also take part in regional and national competitions outside of the
festive season. In addition to the musical accompaniment to the parade,
a music show is presented towards the afternoon of the Saturday at the
fair, in which all the marching bands of the city of Mühlhausen and
guest performers demonstrate their musical skills. In October 1960, the
1st Mühlhäuser Spielleuteverein 1960 e. V., which just seven years later
was third of the 15 best orchestras in the GDR and was able to win a
total of 15 republic-wide championship titles. With the turnaround, the
supporting companies and thus the livelihood of the association were
dissolved. A private drugstore then saved the club.
The main
building of the district music school Johann Sebastian Bach, which is
supported by the Unstrut-Hainich district, is on Lindenbühl. She sees
her tasks in promoting and finding talented people as well as preparing
them for professional studies. As a result, a number of ensembles have
formed, which perform numerous concerts year after year. For example,
the chamber string orchestra conducted by Wolfgang Faber. It has existed
since 1994 and is a gathering of teachers and students, both current and
former, of the district music school. For more modern styles of music
such as jazz, the Big Band was formed there under the direction of
Christian Rangnick, which in turn consists only of schoolchildren.
Especially at the end of the school year, the district music school
gives a concert of all ensembles in the town hall.
The Rock oder
Flopp young band competition has been held annually since 2007. The
winning bands are excluded from participating again. In addition to
prize money, the winner is sponsored career-enhancing services, such as
a CD recording in a professional studio. The runner-up usually wins an
appearance at any of the main sponsor's events.
Cultural History Museum Mühlhausen
Müntzer memorial in the
Marienkirche
Peasants' War Museum Kornmarktkirche
All Saints'
Church Museum
Telecommunications Museum in Mühlhausen in the Deutsche
Telekom building
Fire Brigade Museum
Since the introduction of the Reformation, Mühlhausen has been a
predominantly Protestant town. The denominations that exist today and
their congregations are:
Evangelical church community, amalgamated
from:
Divi Blasii/St. Marys
St. Martini/St. Georgii
St Nicolai
St. Petri-Margarethen
free churches
Evangelical Free Church
(Baptists)
Pentecostal Elim
Catholic parish of St. Joseph
other religious communities
New Apostolic Church in Central Germany
Jehovah's Witnesses
Over time, a decline in the number of
believers left many places of worship orphaned, which is why some of
them were used for other purposes - the former Jakobikirche is the new
city library, the Kilianikirche was converted into a theater in 2002,
and the Marienkirche, Kornmarktkirche and Allerheiligenkirche serve as a
museum. Since its renovation in 2010-2011, the Church of St. Martini has
been used as a youth church by evangelical youth work; normal church
services also take place here.
The synagogue that fell victim to
the pogrom night has been restored. It serves as a memorial and museum
of Jewish history in Mühlhausen. Selected concerts and other cultural
events also take place here. There is no longer a Jewish community in
Mühlhausen. Since 2010, "Stolpersteine", an initiative by the artist
Gunter Demnig, have been laid in Mühlhausen in memory of murdered and
expelled Jewish citizens of Mühlhausen. By May 2013, 30 stumbling blocks
had been laid in Mühlhausen.
As the second largest church in Thuringia, the Marienkirche - a
five-aisled Gothic hall church - determines the townscape of Mühlhausen
from afar. On the balcony above the south portal there are figures
representing Charles IV and his wife Elizabeth of Pomerania. The
construction of the church began in 1317 and was intended to produce a
place of worship on a par with Erfurt Cathedral. After a dispute between
the Mühlhausen citizens and the Teutonic Knights, construction came to a
halt for a short time, but was completed in the early 15th century.
Since the beginning of the Reformation in 1517, the Marienkirche has
been Evangelical-Lutheran. In the Peasants' War that followed shortly
thereafter, the church served as a podium for Müntzer's speeches. The
new central tower was completed in 1903, as its predecessors were always
felt to be too small. At 86.7 m, it is currently the highest in
Thuringia. The church itself was profaned in 1975 and is only used for
church services on five church holidays. Since it was converted into a
museum, the church room has housed a memorial to the reformer Thomas
Müntzer and an exhibition on his life and work. Since 2018 there has
been an extensive exhibition of medieval art from Thuringia in the
church room. From the complete altarpiece to individual paintings and
sculptures of saints, the show shows more than 60 works or groups of
works in the most extensive exhibition of medieval sculptures from
Thuringia to date.
The Divi Blasii Church is a three-nave, cruciform
hall church on the Untermarkt. The Teutonic Order began building this
Gothic church around 1276. In the north transept is an impressive
tracery rose, half the size of Notre Dame in Paris. On the west side are
two octagonal stone towers, which come from a previous building. On the
western gallery is the Schuke organ, inaugurated in 1959, which
implements Bach's organ disposition. Johann Sebastian Bach was organist
at Divi Blasii in 1707-08. A memorial to him was dedicated on August 9,
2009 in front of the church. The bronze sculpture by the Halle artist
Karl Friedrich Messerschmidt depicts the 22-year-old Bach. It was
financed entirely from donations.
The Petrikirche goes back to a
chapel from the year 1250. The northern aisle of the church shows the
transition from Romanesque to Gothic. According to recent
investigations, the baptismal font can be described as the oldest in
Mühlhausen. The ornamental tracery corresponds to that of the windows in
the north aisle. A Romanesque forerunner baptismal font is recognizable
in the overall form.
On October 8, 1356, the expanded church was put
into service in a document by the Archbishop of Mainz, Gerlach von
Nassau, and since then it has been subject to the Teutonic Knights until
the Reformation. In a renovation from 1893 to 1895, the church received
its current appearance with the impressively colored roof. In the church
there is a figure of Jacob from the late Middle Ages. In front of the
church is a blessing Christ, created in 2008 by Romy Friedewald, a Jena
artist residing in Dresden.
The Nikolaikirche is the most
important and largest of the suburban churches in Mühlhausen. The first
documented mention can be found on March 18, 1314. The church goes back
to the founding of a branch of the Divi Blasii Church on Untermarkt.
Like almost all Mühlhausen churches, it was subordinate to the Teutonic
Knights and was a branch church of Blasiuskirche. From there she was
also sent pastors. A pastor of the Nicolaikirche was named as early as
1297, but this must have been a previous building. As a small branch
church, the St. Nicolai Church experienced its peak in 1763, when the
city's peace festival was celebrated there after the Seven Years' War,
because the inner-city churches were unusable after the devastation by
the French. The windows in the chancel of the church can be regarded as
particularly significant. There is a Saint Nicholas window from the 14th
century. Alexander Linnemann's workshop in Frankfurt was responsible for
the church windows.
The Jakobikirche is the third "large" church
within the city center and, like Divi Blasii, has two main towers. Since
2004, it has housed the Mühlhausen City Library in the nave in a mixture
of modern architecture and historical construction.
The
Kilianikirche, Martinikirche and Georgikirche (the latter with high
water marks of the Unstrut) have an identical building and are almost in
a line in north-south direction.
The synagogue on Jüdenstrasse was
reopened in 1998 as a meeting place.
Medieval city wall ring with preserved battlements. Between the
Frauentor and the Rabenturm was a 17 m long and 9 m high section of the
city wall, which tilted outwards by 1 cm every year. This will be
renewed in 2018 by dismantling and rebuilding.
The inner and outer
Frauentor are preserved parts of the former boulevard; Aligned with the
west portal of St. Mary's Church, they were used to receive high
dignitaries up to the title of emperor to visit the Palatinate.
The
Raven Tower, on its foundations the cemetery for plague patients in the
Middle Ages.
City Hall and Imperial City Archives – the Gothic core
building with the City Hall and Council Chambers was built at the end of
the 13th century; the town hall has several more recent extensions.
The representative Renaissance half-timbered building Popperöder
Brunnenhaus was built from 1614 on the initiative of the mayor Gregorius
Fleischhauer. The spring, already mentioned in 1199, was set in stone.
After being damaged in the Thirty Years' War, the facility was renovated
in 1715.
The Peterhof, a listed inn and excursion destination on the
Wanfrieder Landstrasse.
The lion on the Stadtberg, a memorial built
in 1928 for the town's sons who died in World War I.
Soviet memorial
in the New Cemetery, commemorating 153 victims of war and forced labour.
VVN memorial from 1949 on the station forecourt for the victims of the
concentration camps.
Former buildings
Hotel Stadt Mühlhausen,
demolished in 1998
The New Cemetery on Eisenacher Landstraße was one of 25 external
locations of the Federal Horticultural Show 2021 in Erfurt.
The
Jewish cemetery on Eisenacher Straße commemorates the city's former
Jewish community, whose members emigrated or became victims of the
Shoah.
The Lindenbühl is part of the Mühlhausen green spaces along the city
wall ring
Parks with old trees in the run-up to the inner ring of the
city wall: "An der Burg", Hirschgraben and Hoher Graben in the north and
west, and the Lindenbühl in the south.
Parks between Schwanenteich
and Popperöder spring
Natural monument Thomasteich and Thomasquelle
The Mühlhausen city forest on the western outskirts
Thomas Müntzer
Park on the Rieseninger
Parks at the war memorial (Mühlhäuser Löwe)
Mühlhausen Landgraben
The park of the Ecumenical Hainich Clinic in
Pfafferode, a registered cultural monument with old trees.
With the Thuringia Funpark, Mühlhausen is home to one of the largest
skate parks in Germany.
The Thuringia league in football - FC
Union Mühlhausen - and the Bundesliga in table tennis - Post SV
Mühlhausen 1951 - are at home here.
The Mühlhausen Old Town Run
takes place on the fair weekend.
Daniela Schwalbe and Ernest Goldhahn as Ottilie and Thomas Müntzer at
the 2014 Peasants' War in Mühlhausen
On a weekend at the end of May:
Mühlhausen peasant war spectacle with history play about Thomas Müntzer
and medieval market
Pentecost: Mühlhausen plum blossom (since 2014,
previously a city festival)
Summer: fountain festival at the
Popperöder spring, Mühlhausen wood trip at the White House
Last
weekend in August: Beginning of the Mühlhausen fair
Saturday at Sankt
Hubertus: Hainich hunt, one of the largest community hunts in Germany;
Fox hunt in the district of Felchta, with cross-country rides and "fox
rides"
Martini festival in the week around St. Martin: The highlight
is the ecumenical St. Martin's procession of all Mühlhausen parishes
with hundreds of children taking part every year.
With a market share of over 50%, the Mühlhausen plum jam is one of
the most well-known in Germany. Originally marketed as "Herthä plum
jam", its recipe goes back to the founding of the "Thuringian plum jam
and canning factory" by Luise and Hermann Thämert in 1908. Nationalized
as a state-owned company in 1972, exports were mainly to West Germany,
which is why the popular Mühlhausen spread in the GDR was only available
as a buck product. In the course of German reunification in 1993, it was
privatized and taken over by Tegros Vertrieb GmbH. After its insolvency,
Mühlhäuser GmbH based in Mönchengladbach, which now operates the
Mühlhäuser production site, was integrated into the Spanish Helios Group
in 2006. At the end of 2016, contrary to the advertising statement
"Original since 1908", which was still used, the recipe was changed and
the quality reduced by reducing the fruit content from the previous 220
g to just 170 g of plums per 100 g of the end product. In the meantime,
the old recipe has been returned to.
In January, sweet cakes are
offered by many master bakers in the city. The pastry made from a
syrupy, thick mass of honey and gingerbread spice on a base prepared
with rye flour already looks back on a history of around 800 years. It
should thus make the cake taste of the High Middle Ages tangible.
Sweet pretzels are sold in the bakeries in and around Mühlhausen on
Maundy Thursday. These are made from yeast dough and refined with icing
or sugar and cinnamon. It is said that if you don't eat a pretzel on
Maundy Thursday in Mühlhausen, you'll get donkey's ears.
Mühlhäuser Kirmes, Germany's largest town fair, always begins on the
Friday of the last week in August and ends on the Sunday of the
following week
Cycling on the Unstrut Cycle Path, Unstrut-Werra Cycle
Path, Red and Yellow Route National Park
Freizeitbad Thüringentherme,
Lindenbühl 10, 99974 Mühlhausen. Phone: +49 (0)3601 40123, fax: +49
(0)3601 401244, email: info@thueringentherme.de. Open: Mon – Fri 10 a.m.
– 10 p.m., Sat + Sun 9 a.m. – 10 p.m.
City offers B. City tours,
special tours, night tours: Tourist Information Mühlhausen
Ride on
the Mühlhäuser Geckobahn
By plane
Mühlhausen is located in the middle between the airports
of Frankfurt am Main, Hanover and Leipzig. The nearby airports of
Erfurt, located about 80km to the south-east, and Kassel (2015) have no
scheduled flights.
Airfield Obermehler-Schlotheim (ICAO: EDCO; in
Obermehler 14km away from Mühlhausen). Tel.: +49 (0)36021 94 980, fax:
+49 (0)36021 949 81, e-mail: info@flughafen-obermehler.de There is a
small airfield in Obermehler for private pilots. Sightseeing flights are
also offered there.
By train
Mühlhausen (Thuringia) train
station, Bahnhofsplatz 6, 99974 Mühlhausen / Thuringia The town's train
station is on the Gotha - Leinefelde railway line. Regional express
trains on the lines Göttingen - Erfurt via Gotha and Erfurt - Kassel via
Straußfurt as well as regional trains stop there.
From the
station square, you walk along Karl-Marx-Straße for 5 to 10 minutes to
the eastern edge of the old town.
On the street
On the
following highways:
A4 symbol: AS Eisenach Ost 43km, symbol: AS Gotha
45km. A7 via A 4 or A 38. A38 symbol: AS Leinefelde 34km. A44 symbol: AS
Eschwege (under construction) 40km. A71 symbol: AS Erfurt Gispersleben
51 km
Federal roads: Mühlhausen is the crossing point of the
federal roads B247 (Gotha - Leinefelde) and B249 (Sondershausen -
Eschwege).
The German half-timbered road runs through the town.
By bicycle
The Unstrut cycle path crosses the city. The
Unstrut-Werra cycle path is added.
The city center with a diameter of almost one kilometer can easily be
explored on foot.
For an individual city tour, the printout of
the city center map is available, which can be downloaded free of charge
from the
city's website (PDF file with 650 kb in DIN A4 landscape format).
The plan shows the train station, parking lots, sights and public
toilets.
Park
A parking guidance system leads to the parking
lots and multi-storey car parks (subject to charges) on the city ring
road. Visitors can use the Blobach car park (P 1) opposite the
battlements of the city wall. Parking fees are charged Monday to Friday
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. A complete overview of all parking spaces in the
parking guidance system with times and fees can be found here.
For example, in the pedestrian zone on Steinweg, in Linsestrasse, on
Untermarkt and in the Burggalerie there are shopping opportunities, to
name just a few.
1 Kaufland, Papiermühlenweg 18, 99974
Mühlhausen. Tel.: +49 (0)3601 83680. Open: Mon – Fri 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.,
Sat 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.
2 EDEKA, Feldstrasse 4, 99974 Mühlhausen. Tel.:
+49 (0)3601 46410. Open: Mon – Sat 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.
3 REWE,
Kreuzgraben 8, 99974 Mühlhausen. Tel.: +49 (0)3601 8862461. Open: Mon –
Fri 7 a.m. – 9.30 p.m., Sat 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.
4 REWE,
Thomas-Müntzer-Strasse 12, 99974 Mühlhausen. Tel.: +49 (0)3601 428149.
Open: Mon – Fri 6 a.m. – 10 p.m., Sat 6 a.m. – 8 p.m.
5 Netto,
Thomas-Müntzer-Strasse 8, 99974 Mühlhausen. Open: Mon – Sat 7 a.m. – 8
p.m.
6 Norma, Rudolf-Breitscheid-Strasse 24, 99974 Mühlhausen. Open:
Mon – Sat 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.
7 Penny, Marcel-Verfaillie-Allee 35/36,
99974 Mühlhausen. Open: Mon – Sat 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.
A culinary specialty from Mühlhausen is the Mühlhausen plum jam along
with other regional products and Thuringian specialties
Unstrutsch lamb is a Mühlhausen specialty made from marzipan and
brittle, with a chocolate coating
1 Antoniusmühle, Am Frauentor 7,
99974 Mühlhausen. Tel.: +49(0)3601 403850. Open: Tue-Fri 17:30-00:00,
Sat-Sun 11:30-14:00, 17:30-00:00.
2 Landhaus Frank, Eisenacher
Landstrasse 34, 99974 Mühlhausen. Tel.: +49(0)3601 812513. Open: Mon–Sun
11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. (large menu), 2:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. (day ticket),
5:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. (large menu) , Exception: Wed from 3:00 p.m. day
off.
3 Café Cabana, Schwanenteicallee 31, 99974 Mühlhausen. Phone:
+49(0)3601 8865100, fax: +49(0)3601 8865104, email: info@cafe-cabana.de.
Open: Tue-Sat from 2 p.m., Sun from 12 p.m.
4 Luftbad, Goetheweg 90,
99974 Mühlhausen. Phone: +49(0)3601 889130, fax: +49(0)3601 405016,
email: info@luftbad-muehlhausen.de.
5 Bamboo – Asian Restaurant,
Obermarkt 12, 99974 Mühlhausen. Tel.: +49(0)3601 8865234. Open: Tue-Sun
11:30-15:00, 17:30-23:00.
6 Pizzeria Alpina Drive, Eisenacher Str.
1a, 99974 Mühlhausen. Tel.: +49(0)3601 406492, Fax: +49(0)3601 406491.
Open: Mon-Fri 11:00-22:30, Sat, Sun + public holidays 14:00-22:00.
Visiting concerts and events
1 Nowi's City Treff, Görmarstraße 59,
99974 Mühlhausen. Open: Mon, Thu + Fri 6 p.m. – midnight, Sat + Sun 5
p.m. – midnight.
1 Ammerscher train station, Ammerstr. 83-85, 99974 Muehlhausen. Tel.:
+49(0)3601 873132, Fax: +49(0)3601 440750. Price: SR from €55, DR from
€75.
2 Hotel at the city wall, Breitenstrasse 15, 99974 Mühlhausen.
Tel.: +49(0)3601 46500, fax: +49(0)3601 465050, e-mail:
rezeption@hotel-an-der-stadtmauer.de. Price: Single room from €39,
double room from €58.
3 Sporthotel Mühlhausen, Kasseler Strasse 5,
99974 Mühlhausen. Phone: +49(0)3601 4980, fax: +49(0)3601 498252, email:
info@sporthotel-muehlhausen.de. Price: Single room from €60, double room
from €41.
4 Hotel Weidenmühle, Puschkinstrasse 3, 99974 Mühlhausen.
Tel.: +49(0)3601 402400, Fax: +49(0)3601 402411. Open: Mon–Sun
11:00–23:00. Price: Single room from €54, double room from €80.
5
Hotel Weinbergschlößchen, Altenburgstrasse 22, 99974 Mühlhausen. Phone:
+49(0)3601 442109, fax: +49(0)3601 444569, email:
weinbergschloesschen@t-online.de. Open: Tue-Fri 17:00-23:00, Sat
10:30-14:00, 17:00-23:00, Sun 10:30-14:00. Price: Single room from €35,
double room from €50.
6 Peterhof, Sankt Nikolai 203, 99974
Mühlhausen. Phone: +49(0)3601 8885775, fax: +49(0)3601 8885776, email:
info@peterhof-muehlhausen.de. Open: Wed+Fri from 5 p.m., Thu, Sat, Sun
from 11 a.m.
Mühlhausen Police Station, Brunnenstraße 75, 99974 Mühlhausen. Phone: +49 (0)3601 4510.
Hospitals
1 Hufeland Klinikum, Langensalzaer Landstrasse 1, 99974
Mühlhausen. Phone: +49 (0)3601 41-0, email: info@hufeland.de.
Pharmacies
2 Adler pharmacy, Wanfrieder Str. 125, 99974 Mühlhausen.
Tel.: +49 (0)3601 444311, Fax: +49 (0)3601 444347. Open: Mon – Fri 8
a.m. – 6.30 p.m., Sat 8 a.m. – 12.30 p.m.
3 Mohren Pharmacy, Steinweg
11, 99974 Mühlhausen. Tel.: +49 (0)3601 831314. Open: Mon – Fri 8 a.m. –
6.30 p.m., Sat 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
4 Bridge Pharmacy, Bridge Road 30,
99974 Mühlhausen. Tel.: +49 (0)3601 46520, Fax: +49 (0)3601 465218.
Open: Mon – Fri 7.30 a.m. – 6.30 p.m., Sat 8.00 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.
5
Forstberg Pharmacy, Forstbergstrasse 40, 99974 Mühlhausen. Phone: +49
(0)3601 440511, fax: +49 (0)3601 440512, email:
info@forstberg-apotheke.de. Open: Mon - Fri 8 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sat 9 a.m.
- 12 p.m.
6 Linden blossom pharmacy, Thälmannstraße 32, 99974
Mühlhausen. Phone: +49 (0)3601 8880463, email:
service.bluete@lindenapotheke-mhl.de. Open: Mon - Fri 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.,
Sat 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.
7 Linden Pharmacy, Görmarstrasse 54/55, 99974
Mühlhausen. Phone: +49 (0)3601 812560, email:
service.linde@lindenapotheke-mhl.de. Open: Mon - Fri 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.,
Sat 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.
8 Einhorn Pharmacy, Ammerstrasse 109, 99974
Mühlhausen. Tel.: +49 (0)3601 873045, Fax: +49 (0)3601 873046. Open: Mon
– Fri 8 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sat 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
1 Tourist Information, Ratsstraße 20, 99974 Mühlhausen (in the town
hall). Phone: +49 (0)3601 40477-0. Open: Easter – end of October:
Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat, Sun, public holidays 10 a.m.-2 p.m.,
November – Easter: Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat, public holidays 10 a.m
:00-14:00.
2 Deutsche Post and Postbank Finanzcenter, An der Burg 25,
99974 Mühlhausen (in the castle gallery).
As early as the early Stone Age, the
geological conditions on the fertile Unstrut lowland formed an area
that could be colonized, which is confirmed by archaeological finds.
They also show that the place may have been culturally and
politically significant between 400 and 531 at the time of the
Thuringian Kingdom. In particular, the finds are linked to a
fabulous tale according to which Attila the Hun King lived in Mulhus
Castle on the train from Hungary to France in 451 and had a church
built in honor of the knight George. (The Latinized name of
Mühlhausen was later Mulhusinus.)
With the victory of the
Franks over the Thuringian Germanic empire in 531, the state
colonization began, which culminated in the final subjugation of the
Thuringians at the beginning of the 8th century. At the same time
the occupied territories were evangelized and Christianity made its
way.
In 967 Mühlhausen was first mentioned in a document as a
mulinhuson by Emperor Otto II. It was the center of an important
imperial estate district with a fortified royal court, the origins
of which go back to the Frankish empire of Charlemagne.
In
the 11th century the development of the old town (market settlement)
began, followed in the 12th century by the new town around the
Marienkirche under Emperor Friedrich I. Barbarossa. In 1135, Emperor
Lothar III was reconciled. in what was first called “villa regia”
Mühlhausen with Konrad von Staufen. In 1135 Mühlhausen was the first
place in Thuringia to receive city rights. Heinrich the Lion
conquered Mühlhausen, which had developed into an important center
of imperial power, in 1180.
Around 1200 the city wall was
built around the city center (49 hectares) with seven double gates
and 38 defensive and pulpit towers and a length of 2.7 kilometers.
Mühlhausen, originally a royal chamber property, received coinage
and customs rights at the beginning of the 13th century. At the same
time, the city was closed off by walls from the castle, which was
ruled by a royal burgrave. Around 1220 the "Mühlhausen Imperial Law
Book" was recorded according to the Imperial Law (the oldest city
law book in German). It also became applicable law for the imperial
city of Nordhausen. In 1251 the city of Mühlhausen was granted the
right to appoint a mayor, which made it a Free Imperial City, even
though that office was pledged to the Count of Henneberg for a while
in the 14th century. In the meantime the burgraviate had also come
to an end: in 1256 the citizens stormed the castle and razed it to
the ground. Emperor Karl IV confirmed the imperial freedom of the
city. This enclosed its entire territory by a second fortification
with numerous waiting areas, the "Landgraben". In the middle of the
14th century, the guilds received representation in the council. The
Free Imperial City ("des riches Stadt") Mühlhausen had been a member
of the Hanseatic League since 1286. The city acquired 60 surrounding
villages, built many town houses and 14 churches. The latter were
almost all built by the Teutonic Order.
The free imperial
city of Mühlhausen was able to expand its economic and political
importance in the Hessian-Thuringian border region on the Werra as
early as the 13th century. Thus, like the neighboring bailiwick of
Dorla, it came more and more often into disputes with the
territorial powers - the Thuringian landgraves and later also the
Hessian landgraves and the Archdiocese of Mainz. The legend of Blind
Hesse, which was widespread in Mühlhausen and the surrounding area,
reports that the city was to be attacked by a Hessian army and by
robber barons from Eichsfeld and that the Mühlhausen were able to
put the Hessians to flight with a ruse.
In 1292 the
Breitsülze, a stream flowing along the city, was channeled into an
artificial stream to supply water to the upper city. This was an
engineering masterpiece by medieval standards. The stream was led
into the upper town in a trench 5350 meters long with a slope of
only 0.33 millimeters per meter. The plans for this building project
come from a monk who, according to legend, made a pact with the
devil and disappeared shortly after completion.
In 1430 Mühlhausen joined the strong Goslarer
Bund within the Hanseatic League together with Erfurt and
Nordhausen, which had been united with these two cities in the
Thuringian Tri-City Federation since 1310. Mühlhausen continued to
flourish economically. Mühlhausen cloths had already passed through
Hamburg customs in 1247. Flemish and Walloon immigrants brought with
them new knowledge and skills in wool weaving, cloth making and
linen weaving. “Mühlhäuser Laken” became a household name. The
cultivation, processing and trade of woad and the trade in cloth up
to distant countries played a major role. With Wanfried, Mühlhausen
even had a port: the goods were brought there by land and then
further down the Werra and Weser by ships. At the end of the 15th
century, Mühlhausen had 10,000 inhabitants, making it one of the
largest cities in Germany. Mühlhausen also knew how to make good use
of the emperors' constant financial embarrassment, and expanded its
narrow town hall more and more. The star of Mühlhausen began to
decline with the decline in the importance of the dye plant woad and
with the emergence of Leipzig as a trading city. New trade routes
led widely around Mühlhausen.
With the Peasants' War in 1525,
Mühlhausen became the center of their radical reformation movement
through the preacher Thomas Müntzer and his colleague Heinrich
Pfeiffer: “Power should be given to the common people”. The
"Mühlhausen eleven articles" and an "Eternal Council" were supposed
to end the rule of patricians and nobility in the city forever.
Mühlhausen citizens also took part in the Battle of Frankenhausen in
1525. After the defeat of the farmers, Thomas Müntzer was executed
at the gates of the city. Today a monument on the last remaining
city wall gate, the Frauentor, reminds of him. The city suffered
heavy fines and compensation payments and lost its villages. It
temporarily lost its imperial freedom; the princes of Saxony and
Hesse became patrons. These had become Protestant, and Mühlhausen
also accepted the Reformation. After 1525, Mühlhausen was also one
of the centers of the Central German Anabaptist movement, which was
partly influenced by Thomas Müntzer. In 1548, a new imperial freedom
was negotiated under Emperor Charles V. In 1565 the imperial city
owned 21 villages with a total of 949 people. The council of
Mühlhausen signed the Lutheran concord formula of 1577. By
purchasing the properties of the Teutonic Knight Order (1599), the
city acquired a large property (a total of 220 km²).
At the Fürstentag zu Mühlhausen in March 1620, the Elector
Johann Georg I of Saxony abandoned the Protestant Union's cause and
declared himself with the Rhenish archbishops for the emperor. For
being spared the destruction in the Thirty Years War, Mühlhausen had
to pay hard to pay 1.75 million guilders. Taxes were raised
considerably and there was general impoverishment. The population of
Mühlhausen fell by half. The surrounding villages were looted and
burned down, their citizens fled to the protection of the city
walls. Major fires in 1649 and 1689 as well as the Seven Years War
also reduced the city's productivity. Important Mühlhausen citizens
left the city, such as Gottfried Christoph Beireis and Wilhelm
Gottlieb Tilesius von Tilenau.
From the 16th to the 18th
century, Mühlhausen experienced a heyday of church music. 1707/1708
Johann Sebastian Bach was organist at the main church Divi Blasii
(Sankt Blasius). The cantata Gott ist mein König (BWV 71) was
written for the change of council on February 4, 1708.
On
August 5, 1802, when Prussian troops moved in, imperial freedom
ended and Mühlhausen and its surrounding area became part of the
Kingdom of Prussia. In 1807 the city was incorporated into the
Kingdom of Westphalia created by Napoleon. While the city of
Mühlhausen formed the canton of Mühlhausen, most of the places that
belonged to the former Free Imperial City came to the canton of
Dachrieden, while some places belonged to the cantons of Dorla and
Dörna. In 1815 Mühlhausen and the surrounding area came back to
Prussia. This incorporation into a larger territory offered new
economic opportunities.
In 1831, Johann August Röbling, who
was born in Mühlhausen, emigrated to the USA, where he constructed
the world's largest wire rope suspension bridge in 1865, the
Brooklyn Bridge in New York.
In 1861 Mühlhausen was connected to the telegraph network. In
1870 the Gotha – Leinefelde railway was put into operation and the
train station was inaugurated. In 1897 the Ebeleben – Mühlhausen
railway followed. In 1882 a new post office was inaugurated, in 1887
Mühlhausen was connected to the telephone network, and in 1895 the
waterworks was opened. In 1898 a power station was built and the
Mühlhausen tram started operating. The municipal hospital was built
from 1897 to 1899.
During the economic phases, textile
production, metal processing and the tobacco industry in particular
grew in Mühlhausen. Economic progress went hand in hand with
population growth; in 1900 the population had risen to over 33,000.
This was followed by the construction of new schools and the
establishment of a teachers' college. In 1900 the Marienkirche was
completed with imperial support by building the tallest church tower
in Thuringia. The first movie theater opened in 1907, and the town
hall was renovated and expanded in 1914. For the Reichsbank branch,
which has existed since 1876, a new building was built in 1911–1912.
1910–1917 the Pfafferode Provincial Sanatorium was built.
During the First World War, Mühlhausen recorded
1,300 dead and missing. The inhabitants took part relatively little
in the November Revolution of 1918, only on a few days with rallies
on the Blobach and parades through the city. This was followed by
hyperinflation in the early 1920s, emergency money, impoverishment,
company failures, over 5000 unemployed, housing shortages and severe
tensions between the political parties of the Weimar Republic. After
1923 there was some consolidation. The Stadtberg was built on with
houses and the Sachsen-Siedlung was built as an "unemployment
settlement". The Pfafferode State Hospital was expanded
structurally. In 1928 the city erected the memorial to those who
fell in World War I (The Lion). In 1928/29 the new city cemetery
with a modern crematorium was put into operation. The court building
on Untermarkt was given its present form in 1929–1931.
When
the NSDAP came to power in early 1933, the mayor Hellmut Neumann,
who did not conform to the system, had to resign. On May 20, 1933,
books by various German writers were burned on the Blobach.
Mühlhausen was declared an "emergency area" and promoted with public
buildings and support for private buildings. In the course of the
armament of the Wehrmacht, Mühlhausen became the location of a
garrison in 1935. In the same year a new large district savings bank
was handed over. Among the new buildings, however, barracks and the
armaments industry predominated, such as in Mackensenstrasse 75
(today Friedrich-Naumann-Strasse) a factory of C. Lorenz AG for the
manufacture of radio equipment for the Wehrmacht. In 1937, the
Berlin company also set up a production facility for special
electron tubes for military equipment in the former Franz Riebel
cigar factory, Eisenacher Str. 40. A connection to the network of
the Reichsautobahn, which is currently under construction, was
planned. Unemployment was reduced through the construction work,
through "voluntary labor service" or "Landjahrdienst" and the
military service in the Wehrmacht, which was extended to two years
in 1936. Between 1934 and 1943, 140 people were victims of forced
sterilization in the city hospital.
During the November
pogroms, the synagogue of the Jewish community was devastated on the
night of November 9-10, 1938, and the rabbi was seriously injured by
gunfire. The memorial book of the Federal Archives for the Victims
of the National Socialist Persecution of Jews in Germany (1933-1945)
lists 85 Jewish residents of Mühlhausen, most of whom were deported,
mostly murdered and victims of the Holocaust.
Between 1939
and 1944, 2,841 patients died in the Pfafferode state sanatorium and
nursing home; the death rate rose from 13.5% to 49.3% during this
period. Of the dead, 1,976 are counted as Nazi victims of Aktion T4
and Aktion Brandt. Since 2000, a memorial stone has been
commemorating these victims in the foyer of today's Hainich
Ecumenical Hospital.
In 1944 the two satellite camps "Martha
I" and "Martha II" of the Buchenwald concentration camp were set up
on the outskirts. The prisoners interned in more than 1870 were
forced to work in armaments factories (including the Gerätebau GmbH
in the Mühlhausen municipal forest).
In the air war on September 11, 1944, 24,500 kg of high-explosive bombs were dropped on Mühlhausen during an American bombing raid. 17 houses were destroyed, 22 damaged. Industrial buildings were also hit and 17 people died. When five explosive bombs were dropped on September 13, 1944, another 10 mill houses died. On April 4, 1945, troops of the US Army took the city, whose hospitals were occupied with over 1,000 wounded, without a fight. On April 7, 1945, the German Air Force launched an air raid on Mühlhausen with cluster bombs and gunfire. Numerous houses were damaged and several people were killed.
After the city was handed over
to the Red Army on July 5, 1945, Mühlhausen was in the Soviet
occupation zone (SBZ).
From 1945 onwards, numerous expellees
from the former German eastern regions and the Sudetenland were
settled in Mühlhausen, including many from the Bohemian Saaz (today
Žatec). In the Unstrut-Hainich district they form a group of the
Sudeten German Landsmannschaft with a large number of members. The
strong influx of refugees also explains the significant increase in
the population of Mühlhausen in the post-war years, despite the war
losses. This then diminished again significantly through the escape
from the Soviet occupation zone and the GDR and then again after the
fall of the Wall and peaceful revolution.
Between 1952 and
1990 Mühlhausen was in the Erfurt district and was the seat of the
Mühlhausen district.
On June 17, 1953, 3,000 people, mostly
farmers from the surrounding villages, demonstrated on the town's
market square. They demanded a lowering of the tax target, the
abolition of collectivization measures, the elimination of
discrimination against large farmers, but also “all-German free and
secret elections” and the “elimination of the restricted zones” on
the inner-German border. The release of imprisoned farmers was
requested in front of the courthouse, and there were violent
disputes with the KVP. These were only ended with the appearance of
the Soviet military commander with 20 soldiers. The demonstration
was broken up in the evening and a state of emergency was declared
by the occupying forces. The GDR security organs handed 20 to 25
arrested people over to the military commander.
In 1969 the
Mühlhausen tram was shut down and switched to bus transport. On the
450th anniversary of Thomas Müntzer's death in 1975, Mühlhausen was
officially added to the name “Thomas-Müntzer-Stadt”. In August 1976
the 26th Pugwash conference took place in Mühlhausen.
From
October 22, 1989 to February 1990, there were political
demonstrations in Mühlhausen, originating from church assemblies, at
which first the democratization of the situation and soon German
reunification were called for. In December 1989 a town partnership
was signed with Eschwege and in 1990 with Münster. In May 1990
democratic local elections took place. As early as July, the newly
elected city council passed the resolution to immediately end the
demolition work in the historic old town, which should be preserved
and renovated as a “unique area monument”. The first structural
security measures started, also supported by the "Hessenhilfe für
Thüringen". The association “Friends of Mühlhausen” from Münster
also helped (financing the pavilion on the city wall). Streets and
squares were given their historical names again. The city's large
companies ran into difficulties, there were layoffs and there were
also strikes because jobs were at risk. Many applications for
reprivatisation were made. The border troop command disbanded in
September 1990, and Mühlhausen became a Bundeswehr garrison.
1991 brought the end of the Soviet garrison era. In the same year the city council deleted the nickname "Thomas-Müntzer-Stadt" from the city name and decided that Mühlhausen / Thuringia should be the official name of the city. The renovation of the old town made good progress, one focus was the redesign of the Steinweg pedestrian zone. Mühlhausen was awarded a bronze plaque in 1994 as part of the federal competition "Preservation of the historical urban space in the new federal states" The redevelopment of the city went and continues successfully. The Plattenbau Hotel Stadt Mühlhausen am Untermarkt was demolished. On November 9, 1998, the restored synagogue in Jüdenstrasse was inaugurated as a synagogue and meeting place. In 2001 a memorial plaque was unveiled at the location of the Soviet military tribunals at Untermarkt 17 (now the District Court): “From 1945 to 1948 innocent people were imprisoned and tortured here by the Soviet secret service NKVD. Many were deported or sentenced to death ”.
The city's major problems are the decline in the birth rate since
reunification, deindustrialization, the abandonment of the military
base and the emigration and aging of the population associated with
structural change. The function as a supply and service center has
remained. Mühlhausen has a high retail density.
In 2005,
Mühlhausen became the first German city to join the German Language
Association. In the same year they voted the readers of the German
language world as the language true of the year.
The location on the Unstrut and several streams flowing all year
round allowed intensive mill management. The name of the city and
the mill iron in the coat of arms refer to it. Around 1800 there are
19 watermills in the urban area. The fresh water was also a
prerequisite for wool, cloth and leather processing (tanners and
white tanners). In the middle of the 19th century there were around
50 leather-processing manufacturers. Fabrics made in Mühlhausen were
among others. sold throughout Europe by the international wholesaler
Lutteroth.
In the 19th century, small businesses located here
developed into industrial operations, such as B. Stephan
Lederwarenwerk (bicycle saddles and school bags), Binkebank & Hammer
(weaving mill), Claes & Flentje OHG (sewing machines, knitting
machines, bicycles).
After the Second World War,
nationalizations between 1952 and 1972 resulted in the following
state-owned companies:
Textile industry: VEB Mülana
(“Obertrikotagen”), VEB Cottana (previously: VEB Buntweberei
Mühlhausen; originally: Binkebank & Hammer, weaving mill), VEB West
Thuringian worsted yarn spinning mill Mühlhausen, VEB
Textilveredlungswerke Mühlhausen (originated from Gebrüder Hecht KG,
textile finishing, and Heinz. Schüler, Garnveredlung, and Heinz.
Schüler, Garnveredlung), VEB Mühlhäuser Strickmoden (previously
Paul Schäfer Strickmoden KG)
Heavy industry: VEB Möve-Werk (until
1952 Walter & Co. GmbH; supplier for vehicle technology, e.g. to
IFA), VEB trolleys and fittings, VEB pedestal warehouse, VEB
children's vehicles ZEKIWA, VEB special sewing machines (previously
Claes und Co. GmbH)
In 1952 the VEB tube factory for the
production of electron tubes was founded. The plant was renamed "VEB
Mikroelektronik Wilhelm Pieck Mühlhausen" in 1971 and became part of
the combine microelectronics Erfurt. Since the beginning of the
1980s, the company produced electronic pocket calculators (including
the standardized school calculator SR1). Later the production of the
most popular home computer series in the GDR was added: the KC 85 /
2-4 small computers.
Until the middle of the 20th century,
travertine was broken in the urban area.
Neighboring communities are Unstruttal in the north, Nottertal-Heilinger Höhen and Körner in the east, Unstrut-Hainich and Vogtei in the south and Rodeberg in the west.
The city consists of the districts:
Mühlhausen/Thuringia, since
renaming on May 2, 1991
Bollstedt, incorporation on January 1, 2019
Felchta, incorporation on June 30, 1994
Görmar, incorporation on June
30, 1994
Grabe, incorporation on January 1, 2019
Hollenbach,
incorporation on January 1, 2023
Höngeda, incorporation on January 1,
2019
Saalfeld, incorporation on March 8, 1994
Seebach,
incorporation on January 1, 2019
Windeberg, incorporation on June 1,
1992
The nearest weather station with a longer series of measurements is
located about 3 km north-east of Mühlhausen in the Grabe district. It
provides comparable values, at least for the eastern districts of
Mühlhausen on the outskirts of the Thuringian Basin. With an average
annual temperature of 8.7 °C and an average annual precipitation of 565
mm, the climate of Grabe is relatively warm, but already dry. As the
Hainich nears Mühlhausen's western edge, significantly lower annual mean
temperatures and higher annual precipitation totals are to be expected.
On the morning of February 10, 2021, the weather station recorded a
new station record of minus 26.7 degrees and the lowest annual value in
Germany for 2021.
In addition to numerous smaller companies in the service sector,
medium-sized companies in the manufacturing and processing trades have
settled in Mühlhausen; Sectors represented are the automotive and rail
vehicle supply as well as the light, electrical and electronics
industry. As a basis, four commercial areas with a total area of 154.39
hectares were developed in the east of the city. Other branches of the
economy are crafts and tourism.
The Ecumenical Hainich Clinic in
the district of Pfafferode, with around 1,100 employees, is one of the
largest employers in the Unstrut-Hainich district. Another healthcare
provider is the Mühlhausen site of Hufeland Klinikum GmbH, the academic
teaching hospital of the University of Göttingen.
Authorities
based in the city are a regional court together with the affiliated
public prosecutor's office, district court and tax office. The district
administration, previously spread over several locations, has been
centralized on the site of the former Görmar barracks since 2017. The
Sparkasse Unstrut-Hainich is based in Mühlhausen.
With the "Sonnenfeld am Schadeberg", Thuringia's largest solar thermal park to date was opened on September 9, 2021 in Mühlhausen. This system generates thermal heat and hot water for around 400 households there with a total of 1,152 solar thermal modules.
In the towns of Seebach and Höngeda, the drinking water association Hainich takes over the drinking water supply. On the territory of the city and the towns of Görmar, Felchta, Windeberg and Saalfeld, the municipal association for drinking water supply in Mühlhausen and Unstruttal. Bollstedt and Grabe are supplied with drinking water by the “Notter” drinking water and waste water association. The “Notter” drinking water and waste water association is responsible for waste water disposal in the towns of Bollstedt, Grabe, Höngeda and Seebach. The other locations have been looked after by the municipal waste water disposal association in Mühlhausen and the surrounding area since January 1, 1993. In the Hollenbach area, the special purpose association for water supply and waste water disposal in Obereichsfeld is responsible for waste water disposal, and the water pipe connection "Ost-Obereichsfeld" Helmsdorf is responsible for supplying drinking water.
Mühlhausen is located at the intersection of the federal highways B 247 (Leinefelde-Worbis-Gotha) and B 249 (Sondershausen-Eschwege). State roads lead to Unstruttal, Heyerode, Eisenach, Bollstedt and Menteroda.
Mühlhausen station is on the Gotha–Leinefelde railway line. In Mühlhausen, the RE 1 Göttingen-Erfurt-Gera-Glauchau (with individual trains also running from/to Greiz), the RE 2 Erfurt-Kassel and the RB 52 Erfurt-Leinefelde run in local rail passenger transport every two hours. Series 612 diesel railcars are used on line RE 1. Operation on the RE 2 is denied with railcars of the 642 series. On the RB 52 line, there is a mixed operation of railcars from the 641 and 642 series. The operator of all three lines is DB Regio Southeast. Railway lines to Ebeleben and Treffurt have been shut down and dismantled.
Local public transport within the Mühlhausen urban area is currently (2010) handled via five bus lines. The operator is the regional bus company Unstrut-Hainich- und Kyffhäuserkreis. Lines 2 (Bahnhof - Schwanenteich), 5 (Weißes Haus - Bollstedt/Wendeschleife) and 7 (Sambach - Bonatstraße/Schadeberg) run every half hour; the other two lines are served less frequently. The end of the regional bus service is the central bus station (ZOB) at the castle.
In 1898, a tram with a gauge of 1000 mm was put into operation and further expanded until 1939. In 1968 the closure of the lines began, in 1969 the last train ran.
The Loccum-Volkenroda pilgrimage route, the Unstrut cycle route, the Barbarossa hiking trail and the Zittau-Wernigerode long-distance hiking trail lead through Mühlhausen.
In Mühlhausen there are five elementary schools and four regular
schools, one of which is a Protestant school. The education of the upper
secondary level is guaranteed with the state Tilesius-Gymnasium, a
Protestant grammar school and a vocational grammar school. Vocational
training also takes place at the vocational schools in the
Unstrut-Hainich district, the Johann-August-Röbling-School, a state
vocational school for health and social affairs, at the state-approved
higher vocational school for ergotherapy and at the state-approved
technical school for curative education the IFBE Bildungszentrum
Thüringen-Nordhessen gGmbH. Professional advancement training (at
tertiary level, level DQR level 6), the state examination and the degree
as a state-certified engineer (English State-Certified Engineer) can be
taken at the technical school in Mühlhausen. There is also a state
support center for people with learning disabilities and the support
center "Janusz Korczak" sponsored by the Mühlhausen workshops for the
disabled. The adult education center of the Unstrut-Hainich district,
the district music school "Johann Sebastian Bach" and one private music
or music and art school are also located in the city.
The JKSM -
Jugendkunstschule Mühlhausen, which has existed since 2002, works with
the aim of education and the promotion of young people in the field of
fine and applied arts.
Since 1953 there was a pedagogical
institute in Mühlhausen, which from 1969 was a location of the
Erfurt-Mühlhausen University of Education. This location was closed in
1990, the Erfurt location was incorporated into the University of Erfurt
in 2001.