Mühlhausen () is a town in the north-west of
Thuringia
Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area.
Er ...
, Germany, north of
Niederdorla, the country's
geographical centre In geography, the centroid of the two-dimensional shape of a region of the Earth's surface (projected radially to sea level or onto a geoid surface) is known as its geographic centre or geographical centre or (less commonly) gravitational centre. In ...
, north-west of
Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...
, east of
Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...
and south-east of
Göttingen
Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...
.
Mühlhausen was first mentioned in 967 and became one of the most important cities in central Germany in the late Middle Ages. In the mid-13th century, it became a ''
Freie Reichsstadt'', an independent and republican self-ruled member of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
, controlling an area of approximately and 19 regional villages. Due to its long-distance trade, Mühlhausen was prosperous and influential with a population of 10,000 around 1500. Because it was spared from later destruction, Mühlhausen today has a great variety of historical buildings with one of the largest medieval city centres remaining in Germany, covering a surface of more than 50 hectares within the inner city wall and approximately 200 hectares overall. There are eleven Gothic churches, several patricians’ houses and a nearly completely preserved
fortification
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...
.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...
worked as the city's organist in 1707–08. The theologian
Thomas Müntzer
Thomas Müntzer ( – 27 May 1525) was a German preacher and theologian of the early Reformation whose opposition to both Martin Luther and the Catholic Church led to his open defiance of late-feudal authority in central Germany. Müntzer was f ...
, a leading person in the
German Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt () was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It was Europe's largest and most widespread popular uprising befor ...
, gave sermons here and was executed outside the city walls.
John A. Roebling, the constructor of the
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is a cable-stayed suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It w ...
, and
Friedrich August Stüler, an influential architect in mid-19th-century
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
, were born in Mühlhausen.
Mühlhausen is within the
Thuringian Basin
The Thuringian Basin () is a depression (geology), depression in the central and northwest part of Thuringia in Germany which is crossed by several rivers, the longest of which is the Unstrut. It stretches about from north to south and around fro ...
, a flat and fertile area, on the
Unstrut
The Unstrut ( or ) is a river in Germany and a left tributary of the Saale.
The Unstrut originates in northern Thuringia near Dingelstädt (west of Kefferhausen in the Eichsfeld area) and its catchment area is the whole of the Thuringian Ba ...
river on the eastern edge of the
Hainich hills.
History
Middle Ages
According to legend, in the 5th century
Attila
Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...
stayed at "Burg Mulhus" as a guest of his
Thuringii
The Thuringii, or Thuringians were a Germanic people who lived in the kingdom of the Thuringians that appeared during the late Migration Period south of the Harz Mountains of central Germania, a region still known today as Thuringia. The Thuring ...
allies before moving on to the
Battle of the Catalaunian Plains
The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (or Fields), also called the Battle of the Campus Mauriacus, Battle of Châlons, Battle of Troyes or the Battle of Maurica, took place on June 20, 451 AD, between a victorious coalition, led by the Roman ...
.
Within the north-eastern parts of the city centre around St. George's Church, sizeable archaeological finds have been made, relating to a large settlement of the Thuringii/
Francia
The Kingdom of the Franks (), also known as the Frankish Kingdom, or just Francia, was the largest History of the Roman Empire, post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks, Frankish Merovingian dynasty, Merovingi ...
period (from the 6th to the early 10th century), which can be seen as the origin of the later city. Mühlhausen itself was first mentioned in 967 was part of a territory given by
Otto II
Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy.
Otto II was ...
to his wife
Theophanu
Theophanu Skleraina (; also ''Theophania'', ''Theophana'', ''Theophane'' or ''Theophano''; Medieval Greek ; AD 955 15 June 991) was empress of the Holy Roman Empire by marriage to Emperor Otto II, and regent of the Empire during the minority ...
.
It belonged to the '' ab initio'', i.e. there was no territorial lord other than the German emperor and the area was not the emperor's own property, so that it did not go to his son after his death but reverted to his successor as emperor, even if he was from another family. The emperors had a in Mühlhausen, which they often visited from
Otto III
Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was the Holy Roman emperor and King of Italy from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu.
Otto III was c ...
to
Henry III during the 10th and 11th centuries.
The election of
Philip of Swabia
Philip of Swabia (February/March 1177 – 21 June 1208), styled Philip II in his charters, was a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and King of Germany from 1198 until his assassination.
The death of Philip's older brother Henry VI, Holy Roman E ...
in 1198 ended with a homage in Mühlhausen, attended by
Walther von der Vogelweide
Walther von der Vogelweide (; ) was a Minnesänger who composed and performed love-songs and political songs ('' Sprüche'') in Middle High German. Walther has been described as the greatest German lyrical poet before Goethe; his hundred or s ...
.
In 1135, Mühlhausen was first referred to as a ''villa'' which can be seen as the beginning of the evolution from a settlement to a city.
During the early 12th century, the "old town" was set up around the along the , an important trade route between the
Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...
and the
Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...
regions. The fortifications were erected after 1170, eventually including 52 towers.
In the early 13th century, the "new town" north of Schwemmnotte river followed with a regular grid around St. Mary's Church and with as main streets. The
Teutonic Knights
The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...
received St. Blaise's Church (Divi-Blasii) in 1227 and St. Mary's Church in 1243 from the emperor, which ensured them influence in the city and high revenues. The largest monastery of Mühlhausen was the 1227-founded at , a Magdalenians monastery. It held large estates in the region and its buildings were demolished in 1884. The
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
s came to the city in 1225 and built their monastery around today's Corn Market Church and the
Dominicans
Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...
established a monastery in 1289 near ; their church was demolished after a fire in 1689, only some walls remained. Jews have lived in Mühlhausen at least since the late 13th century; the runs parallel to in the new town. During the
Black Death Jewish persecutions in 1349, many Mühlhausen Jews were killed.
In the mid-13th century, the citizens emancipated more and more from the emperor's rule. For example,
Conrad IV had to concede the established wall between the city and the (emperor's court) and later in the 13th century, the citizens destroyed the court. From 1251, Mühlhausen was referred to as a and became the second most powerful city in Thuringia after
Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...
.
The "Mühlhausen Law Book" (1224) is the oldest book of law in the German language and regulated the law of the city. In 1308/09, Mühlhausen allied with Erfurt and
Nordhausen Nordhausen may refer to:
*Nordhausen (district), a district in Thuringia, Germany
** Nordhausen, Thuringia, a city in the district
** Nordhausen station, the railway station in the city
*Nordhouse, a commune in Alsace (German: Nordhausen)
* Narost, ...
against the
Wettins, who tried to get these three major Thuringian cities under their rule. The alliance lasted nearly 200 years and was successful. After 1348, Mühlhausen did not have to pay any more taxes to the emperor, so that its independence was complete. The three cities pursued their own territorial policy (e.g. by buying castles) to protect their trade routes against robbery, which brought them constantly into conflict with local nobles. Another aspect of the territorial policy was buying land and villages around the city, making use of any opportunity that presented itself, for example if local rulers (counts, monasteries etc.) needed money. Mühlhausen bought 19 still existing and 43 later abandoned villages and an area of in this way, covering the north-western part of today's district
Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis
Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the north of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) the districts Eichsfeld, Kyffhäuserkreis, Sömmerda, Gotha, Wartburgkreis and the district Werra-Meißner ...
. The villages had to pay taxes to Mühlhausen and were secured by the Mühlhausen , a moat of length with several towers () to observe the region.
The economic heyday between the mid-13th and the early 16th century was a result of long-distance trade with textiles,
woad
''Isatis tinctoria'', also called woad (), dyer's woad, dyer's-weed, or glastum, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family) with a documented history of use as a blue dye and medicinal plant.
Its genus name, ''Isati ...
and other goods. In 1286, Mühlhausen had joined the
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...
. By the mid-15th century it was one of the largest cities in Germany.
Early modern period
The
Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
brought disturbances to Mühlhausen. The monk and peasant leader
Heinrich Pfeiffer from
Reifenstein Abbey preached at St. Mary's in February 1523 for the first time, followed by
Thomas Müntzer
Thomas Müntzer ( – 27 May 1525) was a German preacher and theologian of the early Reformation whose opposition to both Martin Luther and the Catholic Church led to his open defiance of late-feudal authority in central Germany. Müntzer was f ...
in August 1524. Both had not only religious demands (they were members of the
Anabaptist
Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...
movement) but also political ones, aimed against the privileges of the magistracies and their oligarchic rule over the city. The city council was deposed and replaced by an "Eternal Council" ().
During the
German Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt () was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It was Europe's largest and most widespread popular uprising befor ...
1524/25, the city's monasteries were looted and the ''
Bildersturm'' devastated the churches. After the emperor's army defeated the uprising, Müntzer, Pfeiffer and other leaders were executed. Müntzer's execution on 27 May 1525 took place right outside the city.
Furthermore, the city had to pay a fine of 40,000 guilders to the empire and partially lost its independence, because the
Hessians and both lines of the
Wettins (Ernestines and Albertines) were appointed to control the city government. By contrast to these three rulers, Mühlhausen remained Catholic and became a secret member of the
Nuremberg League, an alliance of catholic territories in the empire, founded in 1538. After the three rulers realized that in 1542, the Reformation was introduced by force in Mühlhausen by
Justus Menius. The
Schmalkaldic War
The Schmalkaldic War (; July 1546May 1547) was fought within the territories of the Holy Roman Empire between the allied forces of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Maurice, Duke of Saxony against the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League, with the forc ...
resulted in the defeat of the Hessians and the Ernestines by the emperor in 1547 and partially returned the city's independence. In foreign policy it had to coordinate with the Albertines and it had to pay taxes to the empire. After 1710,
Hanover
Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
was Mühlhausen's protecting power.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...
was organist of the church
Divi Blasii
''Divi Blasii'' is a Gothic architecture, Gothic church in the Thuringian town of Mühlhausen, central Germany. Besides St. Mary's Church, Mühlhausen, St Mary's, it is one of Mühlhausen's two principal churches.
Divi Blasii is a three-a ...
from 1707 until 1708.
Among the works Bach composed while living in the town was an elaborate, festive cantata,
''Gott ist mein König'', BWV 71, for the inauguration of the new council in 1708.
Internal dissensions and destruction caused during 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 ...
(1618–1648) and the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
(1756–1763) helped in bringing about Mühlhausen's decline. In addition,
Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
's rise as a trade fair town and new long-distance trading routes like also contributed by decreasing the city's trade and damaging the finances of the city.
The
German mediatization
German mediatisation (; ) was the major redistribution and reshaping of territorial holdings that took place between 1802 and 1814 in Germany by means of the subsumption and Secularization (church property), secularisation of a large number of ...
led to the formal loss (that had de facto already occurred) of Mühlhausen's independence in 1803, as the city became part of
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
. During the
Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
it was part of the
Kingdom of Westphalia
The Kingdom of Westphalia was a client state of First French Empire, France in present-day Germany that existed from 1807 to 1813. While formally independent, it was ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte. It was named after Westphalia, ...
from 1807 until 1815, when it became part of Prussia again according to the decisions of the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
.
Since 1815
After 1815, Mühlhausen was part of the newly created Prussian
Province of Saxony
The Province of Saxony (), also known as Prussian Saxony (), was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg.
It was formed by the merger of various territories ceded ...
, where the Mühlhausen district was established. In 1831, the Mühlhausen-born civil engineer
John A. Roebling, later constructor of the
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is a cable-stayed suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It w ...
, emigrated to the United States. The era of industrialisation and urbanisation reached Mühlhausen relatively late, around 1870, when the city was connected to the railway by a line from
Gotha
Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...
to
Leinefelde. In 1892, Mühlhausen became an independent city district. In 1898, the municipal power station was founded and the tramway network started its operation in Mühlhausen. Major industries were textiles and engineering.

Between 1910 and 1917, the provincial hospital of Pfafferode was built on the western edge of the city, one of the largest hospitals in the Prussian Province of Saxony. The
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 ...
after 1929 hit Mühlhausen very hard and led to massive unemployment. In 1935, the Nazi armament campaign resulted in the building of a large military complex with several barracks with the deliberate side effect of boosting the city's weak economy. The synagogue was damaged during the ''
Kristallnacht
( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...
'' in November 1938, but as one of only a few in Germany, it was not completely destroyed and still stands today. At the Pfafferode hospital, nearly 2,000 patients were killed or died during the Nazi period (
Action T4
(German, ) was a campaign of Homicide#By state actors, mass murder by involuntary euthanasia which targeted Disability, people with disabilities and the mentally ill in Nazi Germany. The term was first used in post-WWII, war trials against d ...
), most of them were mentally or physically disabled. From 1944 to March 1945, a women's forced labour camp was located directly outside Mühlhausen (a branch of the
Buchenwald
Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (Old Reich) territori ...
camp), producing arms. The women were deported in April 1945 to
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
Bergen-Belsen (), or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in Northern Germany, northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen, Lower Saxony, Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, ...
. The
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
arrived in Mühlhausen on 4 April 1945 and the city was handed over without a fight. On 5 July 1945, the
Soviet Army
The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army.
After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...
took over the city, which became part of the
GDR in 1949.
In 1975, the 450th obit of
Thomas Müntzer
Thomas Müntzer ( – 27 May 1525) was a German preacher and theologian of the early Reformation whose opposition to both Martin Luther and the Catholic Church led to his open defiance of late-feudal authority in central Germany. Müntzer was f ...
, the city was officially renamed ''Thomas-Müntzer-Stadt Mühlhausen''. Müntzer and the German Peasants' War received a lot of attention from the GDR government and East-German historians; they referred to it as ''Frühbürgerliche Revolution'' (early bourgeois revolution) and included it in their
Marxist
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
conception of history. Many exhibitions were set up (including some of the museums in Mühlhausen and the ''
Bauernkriegspanorama'' near
Bad Frankenhausen) and events celebrating the historical connection took place. After
German reunification
German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...
, the focus on Müntzer and the Peasants' War ended. The city name was changed back to plain "Mühlhausen" in 1991.
After reunification, many factories in Mühlhausen were closed, leading to another deep economic crisis with high unemployment rates during the 1990s and early 2000s. On the other hand, the city's architectural heritage was rediscovered and the restoration of the historic city centre began.
Geography and demographics
Topography
Mühlhausen is situated in the flat landscape of the
Thuringian Basin
The Thuringian Basin () is a depression (geology), depression in the central and northwest part of Thuringia in Germany which is crossed by several rivers, the longest of which is the Unstrut. It stretches about from north to south and around fro ...
, a very fertile area covering the northern centre of Thuringia at an elevation of approximately 215 metres above sea level. To the north and west, the terrain gets hilly, whereas to the south and east lie wide agricultural areas, much like most of the municipal territory itself. Furthermore, there are two forests within the territory: the ''Stadtwald'' (as part of the
Hainich) in the west and the ''Mühlhäuser Hardt'' between the Windeberg district and
Menteroda. Both are broadleaf forests with
beeches
Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted species i ...
prevalent. The Hainich hills south-west of Mühlhausen became Thuringia's only
National Park
A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
in 1997 because of their old near-natural beech forests. The highest hills within the Mühlhausen terrain reach approximately 400 metres of elevation. The main river crossing the city in northwest–southeast direction is the
Unstrut
The Unstrut ( or ) is a river in Germany and a left tributary of the Saale.
The Unstrut originates in northern Thuringia near Dingelstädt (west of Kefferhausen in the Eichsfeld area) and its catchment area is the whole of the Thuringian Ba ...
. Furthermore, there are many small tributaries running from the western hills through Mühlhausen to the Unstrut like the Schwemmnotte, which is dividing the inner city.
Germany's accurate geographical centre is located only south of the city in the neighbouring municipality of
Niederdorla, where a monument can be found at this spot.
Climate
The average annual temperature in Mühlhausen is .
With an annual precipitation of only , the climate in Mühlhausen is relatively dry, compared to other regions in Germany.
Administrative division
Mühlhausen abuts the following municipalities (all of them are part of the
Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis
Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the north of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) the districts Eichsfeld, Kyffhäuserkreis, Sömmerda, Gotha, Wartburgkreis and the district Werra-Meißner ...
):
Anrode,
Unstruttal
Unstruttal is a municipality in the Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis district of Thuringia, 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
Menteroda in the north,
Obermehler and
Körner in the east,
Vogtei in the south and
Rodeberg in the west. In the direction of Ammern (part of Unstruttal) there is no interruption in the build-up area, the ''Ruhrstraße'' forms an urban municipal border here.
The city itself (in addition to the core town) includes the following villages (population as of March 2021):
The former municipality
Weinbergen which consisted of the villages Bollstedt, Grabe, Höngeda, and Seebach was merged into Mühlhausen in January 2019. In January 2023 Mühlhausen absorbed the village Hollenbach from the former municipality
Anrode. In January 2024 it absorbed the village Eigenrieden from the former municipality
Rodeberg.
Demographics
Mühlhausen had approximately 10,000 inhabitants during the late Middle Ages around 1500, which made it the second-largest number within today's Thuringia, after
Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...
, the current capital. The
early modern period
The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...
brought stagnation to the city, so that the population was still 10,000 around 1800. Mühlhausen fell back behind the new ducal residence cities like
Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...
,
Gotha
Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...
or
Altenburg
Altenburg () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located south of Leipzig, west of Dresden and east of Erfurt. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district and part of a polycentric old-industrial textile and metal production region betw ...
in this period and lost its former importance. Furthermore, the traffic routes changed during the 19th century and Mühlhausen lost its good connections. Industrialization started later than in other German cities. Nevertheless, the population grew to 14,000 in 1850, 23,000 in 1880 and 35,000 in 1910, which was a significantly lower rate of growth than in other cities of comparable size during that period of rapid urbanisation in Germany. By 1940, the population had increased to 42,000 and with German refugees from eastern Europe, the peak was reached around 1950 with a population of 52,000. Since that time, the population has decreased to 43,000 in 1988, 39,000 in 2000 and 33,000 in 2012 (the statistical adjustment during the 2011 Census led to a loss of 3,000 persons).
The average decline in population between 2009 and 2012 was approximately 0.38% p.a, whereas the population in bordering rural regions has been shrinking with accelerating tendency. Suburbanization played only a small role in Mühlhausen. It occurred after the reunification for a short time in the 1990s, but most of the suburban areas were situated within the administrative city borders, others were
Unstruttal
Unstruttal is a municipality in the Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis district of Thuringia, 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
Weinbergen.
The birth deficit was 203 in 2012, this is −6.1 per 1,000 inhabitants (Thuringian average: -4.5; national average: -2.4). The net migration rate was +1.2 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2012 (Thuringian average: -0.8; national average: +4.6). The most important regions of origin of Mühlhausen migrants are rural areas of Thuringia as well as foreign countries like Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria.
Like other eastern German cities, foreigners account for only a small share of Mühlhausen's population: circa 1.6% are non-Germans by citizenship and 4.2% overall are classified as migrants (according to the
2011 EU census). Differing from the national average, the largest groups of migrants in Mühlhausen are
Russians
Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...
and
Ukrainians
Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...
.
Due to the official atheism of the former
GDR, most of the population is non-religious. 19.8% are members of the
Evangelical Church in Central Germany and 10.3% are Catholics (according to the 2011 EU census).
Culture, sights and cityscape
Museums
There are several museums in Mühlhausen:
* The ''Müntzergedenkstätte'' inside St. Mary's Church was opened in 1975 and shows an exhibition about
Thomas Müntzer
Thomas Müntzer ( – 27 May 1525) was a German preacher and theologian of the early Reformation whose opposition to both Martin Luther and the Catholic Church led to his open defiance of late-feudal authority in central Germany. Müntzer was f ...
and various other items of cultural history.
* The ''Bauernkriegsmuseum'' inside the Corn Market Church shows an exhibition about the ''Bauernkrieg'' (German Peasants' War) and its importance for German history.
* The ''Museumsgalerie'' inside the All Saints Church hosts some art exhibitions: a permanent one with Thuringian art of different epoques and temporary ones of modern art.
* The ''Museum am Lindenbühl'' exhibits the municipal history of Mühlhausen and the regional history of north-western Thuringia including natural history and archaeology.
* The ''Wehrgang'' is part of the medieval city wall, accessible next to the Frauentor gate. It gives access to a large stretch of the city walls and the towers.
* The ''
1st German Bratwurst Museum'' was reopened in Mühlhausen on 16 August 2023 after moving from
Holzhausen.
Cityscape
The historic city centre of Mühlhausen consists of three parts. Within the inner city wall are the ''old town'' (south of Schwemmnotte river around Untermarkt and St. Blaise's Church) and the ''new town'' (north of Schwemmnotte river around Obermarkt and St. Mary's Church). The former suburbiums of Mühlhausen are situated between the inner and the outer city walls. Like the inner city, they are of medieval origin, but in contrast from the core, this area was overbuilt often during the city's later history and today shows a mixture of old and new buildings. Within the inner city walls, most buildings date back to the Middle Ages. In the late 19th and the 20th century, the city grew into all directions and a relatively low density of buildings is typical for Mühlhausen, so that the built-up area is very large in relation to the number of inhabitants.
Characteristic for Mühlhausen's buildings is the predominant use of one kind of material –
Travertine
Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and rusty varieties. It is formed by a process ...
. It was found near the city in large quantities and is both light and solid, so that the Gothic churches with their filigree masonries and other important buildings could be built relatively cheaply. Nevertheless, many older citizens' houses were half-timbered constructions, with only the ground-floors made of stone.
Sights and architectural heritage
Churches and synagogue
Mühlhausen is primarily known for its large number of intact
Gothic churches:
= Inside the inner city walls
=
* ''
St. Blaise's Church'' is the main church of the medieval Old Town at Untermarkt. It was built during the 13th century in early-Gothic style and is one of the most important 13th-century church buildings in Germany. It was first mentioned in 1227.
The
Teutonic Knights
The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...
, owners of the church, had it expanded after 1270 using architects/builders from
Maulbronn
Maulbronn () is a city in the district of Enz in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.
History
Founded in 1838, it emerged from a settlement, built around a monastery, which belonged to the Neckar Community in the Kingdom of Württemberg. In ...
and
Walkenried.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...
worked here in 1707–1708 as organist. Today, it is the main
Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...
of Mühlhausen.
* ''
St. Mary's Church'' is the main church of the medieval New Town at Obermarkt. It was built in the early 14th century in high-Gothic style and is Thuringia's second-largest church after
Erfurt Cathedral
Erfurt Cathedral (, officially ''Hohe Domkirche St. Marien zu Erfurt'', English: Cathedral Church of St Mary at Erfurt), also known as St Mary's Cathedral, is the largest and oldest church building in the Thuringian city of Erfurt, ...
, sporting Thuringia's highest steeple (). In 1975, the church was deconsecrated and is used as a museum today.
* ''All Saints Church'' at Steinweg was built in the late 13th century and has been a museum since 1989.
* ''St. Anthony's Chapel'' at Holzstraße was built in the 13th century and is a hostel today.
* ''Corn Market Church'' at Kornmarkt was built as a Franciscanian monastery c. 1250. The monastery was abandoned in 1568. In 1702–22 the church was redesigned in the
baroque style
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...
. The last service was held here in 1802 after which the church became a warehouse. Since 1975 it has been used as a museum.
* ''St. James's Church'' at Jakobistraße was built in the 14th century and hosts the city library today.
* ''St. Kilian's Church'' at Kiliansgraben was built during the 14th/15th century and hosts a theatre today.
* ''St. Peter and Paul's Church'' between Steinweg and Mönchgasse was the church of the Dominican monastery, built in the early 14th century and demolished after a fire in 1689. Today, there are only a few walls remaining.
Divi-Blasii-Kirche Mühlhausen.jpg, St. Blaise's Church
Thueringen-Muehlhausen-Kirche-St-Marien bearbeitet.jpg, St. Mary's Church
Allerheiligenkirche Mühlhausen von Süden.JPG, All Saints Church
Turm Kornmarktkirche Mühlhausen.jpg, Corn Market Church
Jakobikirche Mühlhausen-Thüringen 01.png, St. James's Church
Kilianikirche Mühlhausen2.JPG, St. Kilian's Church
= Outside the inner city walls
=
* ''St. George's Church'' at Sondershäuser Straße was built in the 14th century and is a Protestant parish church today.
* ''St. Martin's Church'' at Kiliansgraben was built in the 14th century and is a Protestant parish church today.
* ''St. Nicholas' Church'' at Bastmarkt is a Protestant parish church and was built in the early 14th century in Gothic style as the largest church outside the inner city walls.
* ''St. Peter's Church'' at Petristeinweg was built between 1352 and 1356 and is a Protestant parish church today.
* ''St. Boniface's Church'' at Blobach was built in 1851 in
Gothic Revival style and hosts a Catholic kindergarten today.
* ''
St. Joseph's Church'' at Karl-Marx-Straße was built in 1903/04 in Gothic Revival style. Today, it is the Catholic parish church.
Georgikirche Mühlhausen 1.jpg, St. George's Church
Mühlhausen St. Martini 148.JPG, St. Martin's Church
Nicolaikirche Mühlhausen.JPG, St. Nicholas' Church
Petrikirche Mühlhausen.JPG, St. Peter's Church
Josefskirche Mühlhausen Ostseite.JPG, St. Joseph's Church
Bonifatiuskirche Mühlhausen.jpg, St. Boniface's Church
= Synagogue
=
The Mühlhausen Synagogue at Jüdenstraße was first mentioned in 1380. Today's building is of younger origin: it was established in 1840/41 after the
emancipation of the Jews in
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
. The Synagogue was damaged during the pogrom of ''Kristallnacht'' in 1938, but it was one of only a few in Germany that survived the
Nazi
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
period and
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 ...
. In 1998, it was reconsecrated and it is in use by the Jewish Community of Thuringia. It is also open for visitors.
Secular buildings
* The ''inner city walls'' were built during the 12th century with a length of , a height of and a thickness of . They are mostly intact, with the exception of most of the gates, laid down during the 19th century to improve traffic access. The only existing gates are the ''Frauentor'' in the west (inner and outer one), out of an original total of 23 gates. Next to the inner Frauentor stands the ''Rabenturm'', which is accessible via the ''Wehrgang-Museum''.
* The ''Rathaus'' (town hall) at Ratsstraße is unusual, because it is not located in a square, not even on a main street but more inside a city block. It stretches across Ratsstraße with an arch. It was built after 1310 and several times expanded on until 1596.
* The ''Brotlaube'' (bread storage) is a large building at Obermarkt, first mentioned in 1304 and rebuilt after a fire in 1689. It was the market hall of the bakers. The façade mainly dates to 1722.
* The Order of the Teutonic Knights had two courts in Mühlhausen. The one in the old town at Untermarkt was rebuilt in 1720 and hosts the superintendenture today. The one in the new town next to St. Mary's Church was rebuilt during the 16th century. It was the residence of Thomas Müntzer and later the birthplace of
Friedrich August Stüler.
* The ''Pfafferode Hospital'' is a large hospital complex within a park, built between 1910 and 1917 at the western edge of the city and is a typical example of the early-20th-century sanatorium architecture in Germany.
* The ''Brunnenhaus Popperode'' is a small
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
building in the south-western periphery of Mühlhausen, built in 1614. The well was first mentioned in 1199 as part of the medieval city's water supply.
* There are also many architecturally interesting citizens' and patricians' houses within the centre of Mühlhausen, especially along the Steinweg street and at the Untermarkt square.
File:Vor dem Frauentor Mühlhausen.JPG, Inner city walls with the ''Frauentor'' on the right and the ''Rabenturm'' on the left
File:Rathaus Mühlhausen3.JPG, Town hall
File:Brotlaube Mühlhausen.JPG, ''Brotlaube''
File:Müntzerhaus Mühlhausen.JPG, Court of the Teutonic Knights in the new town
File:Muehlhausen untermarkt ds wv 09 2009.jpg, Some citizens' houses at Untermarkt
File:Holzstraße Mühlhausen.JPG, Smaller houses at Holzstraße
Economy and infrastructure
During recent years, the economic situation of the city has improved: the unemployment rate in the Unstrut-Hainich district declined from 21% in 2005 to 10% in 2013 with higher rates in the city than in the bordering rural municipalities. Still, Mühlhausen itself has one of the highest unemployment rates in Thuringia.
Agriculture, industry and services

Agriculture still plays an important role in the Mühlhausen region today. Approximately 55% of the municipal territory is in agricultural use, mostly for growing cereals and vegetables. The region is a centre of the food industry in Germany, especially in the production of conserves like
pickles
Pickle, pickled or Pickles may refer to:
Food
* Pickle, a food that has undergone pickling
* Pickled cucumber
* Pickle, a sweet, vinegary pickled chutney popular in Britain, such as Branston Pickle, also known as "sweet pickle" or "ploughman's ...
,
sauerkraut
Sauerkraut (; , ) is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferment the sugar ...
,
apple sauce
Apple sauce is a purée (not necessarily served as a true sauce) made of apples. It can be made with peeled or unpeeled apples and can be spiced or sweetened. Apple sauce is inexpensive and is widely consumed in North America and some parts of ...
, cherries and other fruits and vegetables. A well-known product is the ''Mühlhäuser Pflaumenmus'' (Mühlhausian plum jam), which has been produced here since 1908.
Production of textiles, machines and electrical engineering were major manufacturing industries in Mühlhausen. Nevertheless, most factories were closed after German reunification in 1990. Since that time, Mühlhausen has had some problems finding a new economic core. Compared to other cities in Thuringia, the economic situation is relatively poor. In 2012, there were only 23 companies with more than 20 workers in the industrial sector, employing a total of 1,800 persons and generating an annual turnover of €314 million.
As district capital, Mühlhausen is a regional service hub in retail, health care, cinemas, education, government etc. One of the largest employers was the
Bundeswehr
The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...
, but the closure of the barracks in 2015 lead to a loss of more than 800 jobs in the city. Tourism does not play an important role yet, although the city has many historic sights and the
Hainich National Park is only away. In 2012, there were 52,000 overnight visitors staying for a total of 118,000 nights in Mühlhausen.
Transport
Mühlhausen is connected to the railway by a
station
Station may refer to:
Agriculture
* Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production
* Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle
** Cattle statio ...
at the Gotha–Leinefelde line, opened in 1870. There are some regional express trains to
Göttingen
Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...
and to
Zwickau
Zwickau (; ) is the fourth-largest city of Saxony, Germany, after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz, with around 88,000 inhabitants,.
The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ''Zwickauer Mulde''; progression: ), ...
/
Glauchau
Glauchau (; , ) is a town in the German federal state of Saxony, on the right bank of the Mulde, 7 miles north of Zwickau and 17 miles west of Chemnitz by rail ( its train station is on the Dresden–Werdau line). It is part of the Zwickau dist ...
(via
Gotha
Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...
,
Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...
,
Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...
,
Jena
Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...
and
Gera
Gera () is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt and Jena as well as the easternmost city of the ''Thüringer Städtekette'', an almost straight string of ...
) running every two hours and some local trains to
Leinefelde and Erfurt (unlike the express via
Kühnhausen
Erfurt () is the capital and largest city of the Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the River Gera, in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest ...
), running every one to two hours. Former local railway connections to
Sondershausen in the east and
Treffurt in the west were discontinued.
Mühlhausen is the largest city in Thuringia without a direct connection to the
Autobahn
The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'.
Much of t ...
. The
Bundesautobahn 4
is an autobahn in two discontinuous segments that crosses Germany in a west–east direction. The western segment has a length of , while the part in the east is long.
Route
The western A 4 starts north-west of Aachen, where the A ...
near
Eisenach
Eisenach () is a Town#Germany, town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia, and bordering northeastern Hesse, Hessian re ...
is to the south and the
Bundesautobahn 38 near
Leinefelde is to the north. The connection to the city is via the
Bundesstraße 247 (which is the most important route) to Leinefelde in the north and
Bad Langensalza
Bad Langensalza (; until 1956: Langensalza) is a spa town of 17,500 inhabitants in the Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis, Unstrut-Hainich district, Thuringia, central Germany.
Geography Location
Bad Langensalza is located in the Thuringian Basin, the fe ...
(with further connection to Erfurt and Gotha) in the south, the
Bundesstraße 249 to
Eschwege
Eschwege (), the district seat of the Werra-Meißner-Kreis, is a town in northeastern Hesse, Germany. In 1971, the town hosted the eleventh ''Hessentag'' state festival.
Geography
Location
The town lies on a broad plain tract of the river Wer ...
in the west and
Sondershausen in the east and secondary roads to
Bleicherode
Bleicherode () is a town in the district of Nordhausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Wipper, 17 km southwest of Nordhausen. On 1 December 2007, the former municipality Obergebra was incorporated by Bleicherode. The f ...
in the north, Eisenach in the south and
Küllstedt in the north-west. Municipal traffic is mainly via the ring road along the inner city walls, where the load is high on the eastern side at Kiliansgraben. Therefore, a bypass road east around Mühlhausen is in planning to keep the transit traffic out of the city. This is part of a larger set of measures to improve the connections of Mühlhausen by extending the B 247 between Leinefelde, Mühlhausen and Bad Langensalza.
The next local airport is the
Erfurt-Weimar Airport, approximately to the south-east and the next major airport is the
Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport ( ) , is Germany's busiest international airport by passenger numbers, located in Frankfurt, Germany's fifth-largest city. Its official name according to the German Aeronautical Information Publication is Frankfurt Main Airpor ...
, approximately to the south-west.
Biking is getting more and more popular since the construction of quality cycle tracks began in the 1990s. The ''Unstrut Trail'' and the ''Unstrut-Werra Trail'' are long-distance biking trails. Both connect points of touristic interest, the former along the
Unstrut
The Unstrut ( or ) is a river in Germany and a left tributary of the Saale.
The Unstrut originates in northern Thuringia near Dingelstädt (west of Kefferhausen in the Eichsfeld area) and its catchment area is the whole of the Thuringian Ba ...
river from the
Eichsfeld The Eichsfeld ( or ; 'Oak-field') is a historical region in the southeast of the state of Lower Saxony (which is called , 'lower Eichsfeld') and northwest of the state of Thuringia (, 'upper Eichsfeld') in the south of the Harz mountains in Germany ...
north-west of Mühlhausen to the
Saale
The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale ( ) and Thuringian Saale (), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the M ...
river near
Naumburg
Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNES ...
, the latter on an abandoned railway track through the Hainich hills from Mühlhausen to
Treffurt in the
Werra
The Werra (), a river in central Germany, is the right-bank headwater of the Weser. "Weser" is a synonym in an old dialect of German. The Werra has its source near Eisfeld in southern Thuringia. After the Werra joins the river Fulda in the to ...
valley.
The Mühlhausen tramway network was established in 1898 and discontinued in 1969. Since that time, there has been a bus network for local transport within the city and to neighbouring communities.
Education
There are two ''
Gymnasiums'' in Mühlhausen: one state-run and one Protestant. There was a school of education in Mühlhausen until 1990, when it was merged into the later
University of Erfurt
The University of Erfurt () is a public university located in Erfurt, the capital city of the German state of Thuringia. It was founded in 1379, and closed in 1816. It was re-established in 1994, three years after German reunification. Therefore ...
.
Politics
Mayor and city council
The first freely elected mayor after German reunification was
Hans-Dieter Dörbaum, who served from 1990 to 2012. Since 2012,
Johannes Bruns of the
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
Form ...
(SPD) has been mayor. The most recent mayoral election was held on 15 April 2018, and the results were as follows:
! colspan=2, Candidate
! Party
! Votes
! %
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Johannes Bruns
, 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
Form ...
, 6,917
, 62.7
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Ines Goldmann
, align=left,
Christian Democratic Union
, 2,042
, 18.5
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Charlott Zitschke
, align=left,
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
, 1,489
, 13.5
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Björn Kirchner
, align=left,
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
, 576
, 5.2
, -
! colspan=3, Valid votes
! 11,024
! 98.6
, -
! colspan=3, Invalid votes
! 155
! 1.4
, -
! colspan=3, Total
! 11,179
! 100.0
, -
! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout
! 27,957
! 40.0
, -
, colspan=5, Source
Wahlen in Thüringen
The most recent city council election was held on 26 May 2019, and the results were as follows:
! colspan=2, Party
! Lead candidate
! Votes
! %
! +/-
! Seats
! +/-
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left,
Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
, align=left, Volker Bade
, 8,453
, 18.7
, 2.3
, 7
, ±0
, -
,
, align=left, Citizens' List for Mühlhausen
, align=left, Stefan Sippel
, 8,266
, 18.3
, 2.9
, 7
, 1
, -
, 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
Form ...
(SPD)
, align=left, René Seyfert
, 7,158
, 15.8
, 12.5
, 6
, 4
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left,
Alternative for Germany
Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...
(AfD)
, align=left, Ronny Hermann Poppner
, 6,806
, 15.1
, New
, 5
, New
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left,
The Left (Die Linke)
, align=left, Steffen Thormann
, 5,504
, 12.2
, 6.6
, 4
, 3
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left,
Alliance 90/The Greens
Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...
(Grüne)
, align=left, Micha Hofmann
, 3,827
, 8.5
, 2.2
, 3
, 1
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left,
Free Voters
Free Voters (, FW) is a political party in Germany. It originates as an umbrella organisation of several Free Voters Associations (), associations of people which participate in an election without having the status of a registered party. These a ...
(FW)
, align=left, Thomas Ahke
, 3,678
, 8.1
, New
, 3
, New
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left,
Free Democratic Party (FDP)
, align=left, Bastian Boelecke
, 1,527
, 3.4
, 0.9
, 1
, 1
, -
! colspan=3, Valid votes
! 15,206
! 97.6
!
!
!
, -
! colspan=3, Invalid votes
! 373
! 2.4
!
!
!
, -
! colspan=3, Total
! 15,579
! 100.0
!
! 36
! ±0
, -
! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout
! 30,268
! 51.5
! 10.7
!
!
, -
, colspan=8, Source
Wahlen in Thüringen
Twin towns – sister cities
Mühlhausen is
twinned with:
*
Tourcoing
Tourcoing (; ; ; ) is a city in northern France on the Belgian border. It is designated municipally as a commune within the department of Nord. Located to the north-northeast of Lille, adjacent to Roubaix, Tourcoing is the chef-lieu of two ca ...
, France
*
Eschwege
Eschwege (), the district seat of the Werra-Meißner-Kreis, is a town in northeastern Hesse, Germany. In 1971, the town hosted the eleventh ''Hessentag'' state festival.
Geography
Location
The town lies on a broad plain tract of the river Wer ...
, Germany
*
Münster
Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...
, Germany
*
Kronstadt
Kronstadt (, ) is a Russian administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg, near the head ...
, Russia
*
Saxonburg, United States
Notable people
*
Yom-Tov Lipmann-Muhlhausen (? – after 1420), 14th century
Talmudist
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
*
Joachim von Burck (1546–1610), composer
*
Johannes Eccard
Johannes Eccard (1553–1611) was a German composer and kapellmeister. He was an early principal conductor at the Berlin court chapel.
Biography
Eccard was born at Mühlhausen, in present-day Thuringia, Germany. At the age of eighteen he went t ...
(1553–1611), composer and
kapellmeister
( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...
*
Wilhelm Gottlieb Tilesius von Tilenau
Wilhelm Gottlieb Tilesius von Tilenau (17 July 1769 – 17 May 1857) was a German people, German natural scientist, naturalist and List of explorers, explorer, physician, draftsman and engraver. He was a member of the Order of St. Vladimir an ...
(1769–1857), scientist, doctor, draftsman and member of the first Russian sailing expedition around the world
*
John Adolphus Etzler (1791–1846?), American author, socialist theorist
*
Friedrich August Stüler (1800–1865), architect
*
John (Johann) August Roebling (1806–1869), civil engineer famous for the design of the
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is a cable-stayed suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It w ...
*
Wilhelm Gerhard Walpers
Wilhelm Gerhard Walpers (26 December 1816 in Mühlhausen – 18 June 1853 in Berlin) was a German botanist. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation when citing a botanical name.
He received his education at the Universities of Greif ...
(1816–1853), botanist
* (1807–1878), composer
* (1811–1886), composer
*
Paul Mankiewitz (1857–1924), bank manager
* (1926–1994), author
*
Werner Leich (1927–2022), Lutheran bishop
References
External links
Official city websiteDistrict websiteNational Park HainichThuringia Tourism
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muhlhausen
Free imperial cities
Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis
Members of the Hanseatic League
Holocaust locations in Germany