Mühlburg, formerly a town on its own right, is a borough located in the west of

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. ...

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 ...

. The name ''Mühlburg'' could be translated as 'Mill Castle' and refers to a water mill and a

water castle A water castle is a castle whose site is largely defended by water. It can be entirely surrounded by water-filled moats (moated castle) or natural waterbodies such as island castles in a river or offshore. The term comes from European castle st ...

located at the site where a

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

once crossed the small river

Alb The alb (from the Latin ''albus'', meaning ''white''), one of the liturgical vestments of the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Reformed and Congregational churches, is an ample white garment coming down to the ank ...

History

Mühlburg was first mentioned in 1248, when it was referred to as ''Mulenberc''. In 1258 there was the first mention of a castle owned by Rudolf I, Margrave of Baden. In 1274 Mühlburg was, like many neighbouring settlements, occupied by Rudolph of Habsburg. In 1670 Mühlburg received

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

and, just a few years before Karlsruhe, it was issued a "letter of freedom", which relaxed the requirements for craftsmen and new citizens to settle in the town. It is believed that the Margraves of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

planned to expand Mühlburg. Any such plans came to a halt in 1689, when Mühlburg and its castle were destroyed by French troops during 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 ...

following the orders of

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Versa ...

to destroy the margravate of Baden (''"Ruinez les pays de Bade"''). The castle was never rebuilt thereafter and the ruins of the castle were used as building material for a newly founded palace nearby, out of which the future city of Karlsruhe would develop. Mühlburg finally became a borough of Karlsruhe in 1886.

Notable people

Mühlburg is the birthplace of

Karl Benz Carl Friedrich Benz (; 25 November 1844 – 4 April 1929), sometimes also Karl Friedrich Benz, was a German engine designer and automotive engineer. His Benz Patent Motorcar from 1885 is considered the first practical modern automobile and fir ...

(1844–1929), inventor of the

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

and founder of Benz & Cie.

Sources

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muhlburg Karlsruhe Boroughs of Karlsruhe