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 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 inhabitants across a ...

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 betwe ...

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 line and the Western Railway. With its five platform tracks, it is the largest station in Enz distr ...

has direct rail connections with

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

Pforzheim Pforzheim () is a 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 nickname "Goldstadt" ("Golden City") ...

and the Northern

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the 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 t ...

. Mühlhausen an der Enz where

Spree killer A spree killer is someone who commits a criminal act that involves two or more murders or homicides in a short time, in multiple locations. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a spree killing as "killings at two or more locations ...

Ernst August Wagner Ernst August Wagner (22 September 1874 – 27 April 1938) was a German mass murderer who, on 4 September 1913 killed his wife and four children in Degerloch. He subsequently drove to Mühlhausen an der Enz where he set several fires and shot ...

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 was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

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

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...

(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 (''Westbahn'') 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 oldest lines in Germany. ...

Bruchsal Bruchsal (; orig. Bruohselle, Bruaselle, historically known in English as Bruxhall; South Franconian: ''Brusel'') is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, ...

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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...

great depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and high unemployment interrupted the further development. In 1930, the large

Mühlacker radio transmitter The Mühlacker Broadcasting Transmission Facility is a radio transmission facility near Mühlacker, Germany, first put into service on November 21, 1930. It uses two guyed steel tube masts as aerials and one guyed steel framework mast, which are ...

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 concentration camp ( (); also or ) 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 con ...

. The

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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 Districts of Germany, ''Landkreis'' (district) in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from west clockwise) Karlsruhe (district), Karlsruhe, Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn, Ludwigsburg (district), ...

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

Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg (; Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a 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 with about 88,000 inhabitants. It is ...

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

, 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, Dobitsche ...

, Germany

Notable people

Anna Catharina Wedderkopf Anna Catharina Wedderkopf (20 December 1715 – 14 March 1786) was a German businesswoman, consultant and feminist. Life Wedderkopf was born in Lienzingen (today a district of Mühlacker) as the third daughter of Simon Sidler and Jacobina Sidler ...

(1715–1786), businesswoman, consultant and feminist *

Hellmut G. Haasis Hellmut G. Haasis (born 7 January 1942)''Südwest Presse'' (7 January 2012)Hellmut G. Haasis wird 70" (Hellmut G. Haasis turns 70). Retrieved 14 October 2012. is a German historian, author, and broadcaster. He is particularly known for his biogra ...

(born 1942), writer and historian * Verena Veh (born 1977), volleyball player * Florian Naroska (born 1982), water polo player *

Kim Jeffrey Kurniawan Kim Jeffrey Kurniawan (born 23 March 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga 1 club PSS Sleman. Born in Germany, he represented Indonesia at international level. Personal life Kim Kurniawan was born in Germany to ...

(born 1990), Indonesian footballer

References

External links

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