Wolfratshausen () is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, located in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

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 town had a population of 19,033 as of 31 December 2019.

History

The first mention of "Wolveradeshusun" appears in documents from the year 1003. About 100 years later, Otto II, the Graf of Deißen-Andechs, built a castle on a hill overlooking the valley. The castle was destroyed on 7 April 1734 when lightning struck the tower where gunpowder was stored. Stones from the ruins were transported to

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

where they were used to build the Residenz. From 1280 the town was designated a market town. In 1286, Conrad Nantwein, a pilgrim from Northern Germany, was arrested and burned at the stake in Wolfratshausen. Pope Boniface VIII canonized Nantwein as St. Nantovinus in 1297. By the 15th century, the Loisach and

Isar The Isar is a river in Tyrol, Austria, and Bavaria, Germany, which is not navigable for watercraft above raft size. Its source is in the Karwendel range of the Alps in Tyrol; it enters Germany near Mittenwald and flows through Bad Tölz, Munic ...

rivers were used for water transport, especially logging. River travel continued and rafts operated between Wolfratshausen and Munich. During

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 ...

, a forced-labour subcamp of

Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

named Föhrenwald was located between Wolfratshausen and Geretsried. Following the war, the labour camp was used as a

displaced persons camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peop ...

by the Allies. In 1957, Föhrenwald was transformed into a suburb of Wolfratshausen and renamed Waldram, to honour the Lord of Münsing who was one of the founders of the

Benediktbeuern Abbey Benediktbeuern Abbey (Kloster Benediktbeuern) is an institute of the Salesians of Don Bosco, originally a monastery of the Benedictine Order, in Benediktbeuern in Bavaria, near the Kochelsee, 64 km south-south-west of Munich. It is the oldes ...

. In July 1983, Croatian emigre businessman Stjepan Đureković was assassinated by

UDBA The State Security Service ( hr, Služba državne sigurnosti, sr, Служба државне безбедности; mk, Служба за државна безбедност; sl, Služba državne varnosti), also known by its original name ...

agents in Wolfratshausen. Wolfratshausen was formerly the seat of the district government, but this moved to Bad Tölz in 1972.

Geography

Wolfratshausen sits at the confluence of the

and Loisach Rivers, at approx. 30 km (19 mls.) southwest of Munich. A canal joins the two rivers to return water diverted for power generation at the Isar Amper Werke to the Isar. The town covers 9.13 square kilometres and is 577 meters above sea level.

Politics

Mayor

The current mayor of Wolfrtashausen is Klaus Heilinglechner of the Bürgervereinigung Wolfratshausen (BVW), who was elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2020.

City council

The Wolfratshausen city council (''Stadtrat'') governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 15 March 2020, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Lead candidate ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) , align=left, Annette Heinloth , 44,639 , 25.0 , 13.5 , 6 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Social Union (CSU) , align=left, Günther Eibl , 39,544 , 22.2 , 10.3 , 5 , 3 , - , bgcolor=FF8C00, , align=left, Citizen's union Wolfratshausen (BVW) , align=left, Klaus Heilinglechner , 38,965 , 21.8 , 11.8 , 5 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

(SPD) , align=left, Manfred Menke , 25,512 , 14.3 , 8.2 , 4 , 1 , - , bgcolor=33cccc, , align=left, List WOR (Liste WOR) , align=left, Richard Kugler , 22,806 , 12.8 , New , 3 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , align=left, Patrick Lechner , 5,354 , 3.0 , New , 1 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alternative for Germany (AfD) , align=left, Timo Klitzsch , 1,562 , 0.9 , New , 0 , New , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 8,153 ! 97.8 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 188 ! 2.2 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 8,341 ! 100.0 ! ! ! ±0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 14,873 ! 56.1 ! 2.7 ! ! , - , colspan=8, Source
Votemanager

Town subdivisions

The town of Wolfratshausen is split into the following subdivisions: * Altstadt * Weidach * Nantwein * Farchet * Waldram

Notable people

Bundesarchiv Bild 102-08188, Hans von Stuck

* St. Nantovinus (d. 1286), Roman Catholic Saint * Rudolf II, Count Palatine of the Rhine (1306-1353), Palatinate of the Rhine *

Rupert I, Elector Palatine Rupert I "the Red", Elector Palatine (; 9 June 1309, Wolfratshausen – 16 February 1390, Neustadt an der Weinstraße) was Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1353 to 1356, and Elector Palatine from 10 January 1356 to 16 February 1390. He was th ...

(1309-1390), Palgravegraf of the Rhine and Kurfürst of the Palatinate; founder of the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

which is named after him *

Ernst Wiechert Ernst Wiechert (18 May 1887 – 24 August 1950) was a German teacher, poet and writer. Biography Wiechert was born in the village of Kleinort, East Prussia, (now Piersławek, Poland). He was one of the most widely read novelists in Germany ...

(1887-1950), writer and poet, acquired the Gagerthof in Wolfratshausen in 1936 * Hans Stuck (1900-1978), car racing driver *

Edmund Stoiber Edmund Rüdiger Stoiber (born 28 September 1941) is a German politician who served as the 16th Minister President of the state of Bavaria between 1993 and 2007 and chairman of the Christian Social Union (CSU) between 1999 and 2007. In 2002, he r ...

(born 1941), jurist and politician (CSU), Minister President of the Free State of Bavaria from 28 May 1993 to 30 September 2007 *

Saul Rubinek Saul Hersh Rubinek (born July 2, 1948) is a German-born Canadian actor, director, producer, and playwright. He is widely known for his television roles, notably Artie Nielsen on ''Warehouse 13,'' Donny Douglas on ''Frasier'', Lon Cohen on ''A N ...

(born 1948), Canadian Hollywood actor, director and film producer * Johanna Hagn (born 1973), German judoka * Florian Wanner (born 1978), German judoka *

Murat Bosporus Özgür Bakar (born 16 December 1979), better known by his ring name Murat Bosporus, is a German professional wrestler of Turkish descent. He is best known for his work on the German independent circuit. Career Bakar was an amateur before he star ...

(born 1979), German wrestling sportsman * Markus Janka (born 1980), German ice hockey goalie *

Claudia Lichtenberg Claudia Lichtenberg (née Häusler; born 17 November 1985 in Munich) is a German former professional cyclist, who now works as a coach for German amateur team RSV Irschenberg. Born in Munich, Lichtenberg won the Tour de l'Aude in 2009, a race w ...

(born 1985), German professional cyclist *

Wilhelm Bittrich Wilhelm Bittrich (26 February 1894 – 19 April 1979) was a high-ranking Waffen-SS commander of Nazi Germany. Between August 1942 and February 1943, Bittrich commanded the SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer, in rear security operations (''Banden ...

(1894-1979), SS-Obergruppenfuehrer

Culture, sights, and recreation

Buildings of note

* Parish Church "St. Andreas" (erected 1484) * The Humplbräu, a hotel and restaurant in the historic city center (first mentioned in a document in 1619) * Historic city center (since 2005 with traffic reduction by use of one-way streets) * The gallery Schwankl-Eck * The Loisachhalle, a community exhibition and multi-use hall.

Museums

* Museum of Local History * Erinnerungsort Badehaus (Remembrance Place Badehaus)

Recreation and travel destinations

Untermarkt 17 Haderbraeu Wolfratshausen-1

* Amusement park "Märchenwald im Isartal" (opened 1968). * Log raft rides on the Isar and Loisach to Munich * Castle: Even if now only a Commemorative plaque and

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock ...

remnants harken to the memory of this castle, its size can still be imagined. In 1734 the castle was destroyed by an explosion resulting from a lightning strike to the ammunition tower. * A walk through the hillside forest provides views of the entire city and the peaks of the

Karwendel The Karwendel is the largest mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps. The major part belongs to the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, while the adjacent area in the north is part of Bavaria, Germany. Four chains stretch from west to east; i ...

and

Wetterstein The Wetterstein mountains (german: Wettersteingebirge), colloquially called Wetterstein, is a mountain group in the Northern Limestone Alps within the Eastern Alps. It is a comparatively compact range located between Garmisch-Partenkir ...

mountain ranges, from the Wendelstein in the east to the

Zugspitze The Zugspitze (), at above sea level, is the highest peak of the Wetterstein Mountains as well as the highest mountain in Germany. It lies south of the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and the Austria–Germany border runs over its western su ...

in the south. * Bike riding or rollerblading through the wildlife reserve Isarauen/Pupplinger Au. * The

Japanese garden are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden desi ...

''Yuko Nihon Teien'', a gift from the Japanese sister city Iruma. * Bike ride to

Lake Starnberg Lake Starnberg, or ''Starnberger See'' ) — called Lake Würm, or ''Würmsee'' , until 1962 — is Germany's second-largest body of fresh water, having great depth, and fifth-largest lake by area. It and its surroundings lie in three different Ba ...

(about 12.5 miles) * The Via Bavarica Tyrolensis, a 140-mile bike path from

through the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

to the Inn river Valley, goes through the Pupplinger Au. * Skiing at the slopes in Peretshofen and Beuerberg. The larger ski areas can be reached within 1 to 2 hours. * There are around 125 miles of cross-country ski runs in the surrounding area.

Media

A police German TV-series "Hubert ohne Staller" (2011–2018: Hubert und Staller) shows the town.

References

External links

Wolfratshausen website

Map

Article in the Economist (Aug 08)
{{Authority control Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen