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Uhldingen-Mühlhofen is a town at the northern shore of
Lake Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (). These ...
,
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 the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
between
Überlingen Überlingen (; ) is a German city on the northern shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in Baden-Württemberg near the German-Swiss border, border with Switzerland. After the city of Friedrichshafen, it is the second-largest city in the Bodenseek ...
and Meersburg. The town is a popular holiday destination and home to the Pfahlbauten open-air museum in Unteruhldingen and the Birnau basilica.


Composition

The town consists of the three villages Unteruhldingen, Oberuhldingen und Mühlhofen. Further, the hamlets of Seefelden, Maurach, Obermaurach, Gebhardsweiler and Hallendorf are included in the area of the commune.


History

Archeological finds show that the shore of Lake Constance near Unteruhldingen was already inhabited during the
Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
and
Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...
ages. During the time of the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
there may have been a port, as the discovery of coins from the 1st century AD suggests. Oberuhldingen is situated at a Roman road from Meersburg to the valley of Salem (Baden) where remains of a Roman estate have been found. The parish of Seefelden was possibly founded already in the 7th century and, along with Bermatingen, Aufkirch und Reichenau Monastery, is one of the first churches of the northern Lake Constance area. Thus it may have been witness to the first Christian conversions through the Frankish Empire. (Official documents mention it for the first time in 1165.) It was subject to the Bishop of Constance. The name Uhldingen was mentioned for the first time in documents from 1058 as Oweltinga/Ouweltingen; later the names Uoldingen and Ueldingen were used. The town carries the name of the eldest Owalt from Alemannic times. Mühlhofen was first mentioned in 1165 as Mulnhoven. For the year 1175 a document by
Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...
states the existence of ship traffic between Unteruhldingen and Konstanz. In the 12th century Salem Abbey began targeted property purchases in Uhldingen and the surrounding area. Presumably in Seefelden a monastery was founded in 1227, which belonged to Salem. A few years later it was moved to Baindt. In 1348 the plague devastated the area. At the hill of Zihlbühl, in the Knappenhöhle cave, medieval efforts to dig for
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
were only scarcely successful. On the lower Lichtenberg there was a
castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
which was destroyed in 1499 during the Swabian War. It was the residence of the lord of Oberrieden. From 1264 the villages Oberuhldingen, Mühlhofen and Seefelden belonged to the territory of Salem Abbey. Unteruhldingen was on the neighbouring territory of the county of Heiligenberg, which became part of the
Principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchy, monarchical state or feudalism, feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "prin ...
of Fürstenberg in 1516. The port villages of Maurach and Unteruhldingen were hubs for goods from the Salem valley and for salt, which were imported by Salem from their own salt mines. A sunk salt ship still lies on the bottom of the lake in front of modern Unteruhldingen harbour. The Bishop of Constance also owned land here. From 1733 Uhldingen harbour was the main port of the county of Heiligenberg. After
secularization In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...
in 1803/1804, the villages of Oberuhldingen, Unteruhldingen and Mühlhofen were given to the Margraviate of Baden and became independent towns. From 1939 until the county reform of 1973 they belonged to the county of
Überlingen Überlingen (; ) is a German city on the northern shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in Baden-Württemberg near the German-Swiss border, border with Switzerland. After the city of Friedrichshafen, it is the second-largest city in the Bodenseek ...
. Since then, they are part of the
Bodenseekreis Bodenseekreis ("Lake Constance district") is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the south-east of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from west, clockwise) Konstanz, Sigmaringen and Ravensburg, and in Bavaria, Lindau district. ...
. On 1 January 1972, Unteruhldingen, Oberuhldingen and Mühlhofen were united into the commune of Uhldingen-Mühlhofen.


Politics

Uhldingen-Mühlhofen, the city of Meersburg and the communes of Daisendorf, Hagnau and Stetten are joined in an administrative association.


Coat of arms

The coat of arms of Uhldingen-Mühlhofen symbolises the flourishing of the three member villages with three white
rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
s on a red background. The three segments with blue waves on a white background represent Lake Constance and the Seefelder Aach, which flows from Salem valley through the territory of the commune into the lake.


Mayors

* 1972-1996: Karl-Heinz Weber, CDU * 1996-2004: Ralph Bürk, GRÜNE * 2004–2020: Edgar Lamm, CDU * 2020–present: Dominik Männle


Economy and infrastructure

Around 12 km2 of the commune's territory are still used agriculturally dominated by orchards and vineyards. A part of the working population commutes into the nearby cities like
Überlingen Überlingen (; ) is a German city on the northern shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in Baden-Württemberg near the German-Swiss border, border with Switzerland. After the city of Friedrichshafen, it is the second-largest city in the Bodenseek ...
and Friedrichshafen. In the town itself people work predominantly in middle class professions. There has been a continuing trend from a producing to the service sector. In particular, tourism plays an important role.


Traffic

Uhldingen-Mühlhofen is on the
Bundesstraße ''Bundesstraße'' (, ), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraßen'' are labelled with re ...
B 31 about 7 km east of
Überlingen Überlingen (; ) is a German city on the northern shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in Baden-Württemberg near the German-Swiss border, border with Switzerland. After the city of Friedrichshafen, it is the second-largest city in the Bodenseek ...
and 3 km west of Meersburg. The holiday resort of Unteruhldingen is located distant from the Bundesstraße at the less used Meersburger Straße near the shore of the lake. The town can also be reached by trains of the Deutschen Bahn AG on the Stahringen–Friedrichshafen railway. The train station is in Oberuhldingen. A bus line connects it to Salem and other neighbouring towns and holiday destinations. From the lake Uhldingen-Mühlhofen can be reached by the ships of Bodensee-Schiffsbetriebe. In particular, there is a connection to the island of Mainau. Parallel to the shore is a cycling path from Meersburg to Unteruhldingen, through the protected natural reserve near Seefelden and on to Überlingen.


Main sights


World heritage site

Uhldingen-Mühlhofen is home to one or more prehistoric pile-dwelling (or stilt house) settlements that are part of the Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
.UNESCO World Heritage Site - Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps
/ref>


Museums

The Pfahlbauten open-air museum in Unteruhldingen displays archeological finds and reconstructions of Neolithic and Bronze Age pile dwellings. The buildings are idealized reconstructions from between the 1922 and 1941, which were designed based on digs of the Wasserburg Buchau at Federsee. After 1945 the museum was led by the controversial archeologist Hans Reinerth, one of the leading Nazi archaeologists of the Amt Rosenberg. This museum has been expanded since to incorporate modern research.


Buildings

* Visible from afar is the pilgrimage church and Cistercian Monastery of Birnau, erected by Franz Beer from 1746-1759 for Salem Abbey. Its
baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
style, the interior
rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...
design by Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer and Gottfried Bernhard Göz, as well as the picturesque view from the square before the cathedral made Birnau one of the most popular tourist destinations at Lake Constance. * The baroque Castle Maurach below the cathedral once served the monastery as a port and as summer residence for the abbots. Today it is used as a conference centre. * Moreover, there are the parish church of St Martin in Seefelden whose tower is from the 12th century. The new gothic altar is from the year 1912 and depicts the life of
St Martin of Tours Martin of Tours (; 316/3368 November 397) was the third bishop of Tours. He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe, including France's Third Republic. A native of Pannonia (present-day Hungary), he converted ...
; the confessionals were carved in Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer's workshop and were in Birnau until 1806. * The chapel of Unteruhldingen is from the year 1505. It has a baroque altar, which was original in Seefelden, as well as a number of wood carvings from the time of its foundation. The historical Unteruhldingen town hall, once the bath house, is also from this era. * In the Chapel of St Wolfgang Oberuhldingen also possesses a historical attraction from the 16th century. The abbot of Salem, Stephan I. Jung had her decorated in 1711 in baroque style. The altar shows a view of Salem Abbey.


Monuments

* About 200 metres east of the cathedral of Birnau, just above the B31, is the monument and a cemetery for inmates of a
concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...
who died during the construction of tunnels near Goldbach.


Personalities


Honorary citizen

* 1996: Karl-Heinz Weber, Mayor


Literature

* ''Überlingen und der Linzgau am Bodensee.'' Stuttgart: Theiss 1972.


References


External links

*
Pfahlbauten open-air museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uhldingen-Muhlhofen Bodenseekreis