Mühlhausen

For other uses, see Mühlhausen (disambiguation).

Mühlhausen
Mühlhausen
Location of the town of Mühlhausen within Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis district
Coordinates	51°13′N 10°27′E / 51.21667°N 10.45°E / 51.21667; 10.45Coordinates: 51°13′N 10°27′E / 51.21667°N 10.45°E / 51.21667; 10.45
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Thuringia
District	Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis
Lord Mayor	Hans-Dieter Dörbaum
Basic statistics
Area	86.34 km2 (33.34 sq mi)
Elevation	216 m  (709 ft)
Population	35,978 (31 December 2010)[1]
- Density	417 /km2 (1,079 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	UH
Postal code	99974
Area code	03601
Website	www.muehlhausen.de

Mühlhausen (official Mühlhausen/Thüringen) is a city in the federal state of Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Unstrut-Hainich district, and lies along the river Unstrut. Mühlhausen had c. 37,000 inhabitants in 2006.

Inner view of one of the city's wall gates.

History

Mühlhausen is one of the oldest towns in Thuringia. It said to have been fortified in 925, and is first documented in 967 as an Ottonian village. Its early importance is shown by the grant of privileges made to it by the German King Henry the Fowler (876–936), and by the Imperial Diet held here in 1135. Its period of glory was the 13th through the 15th century.

During the Reformation, Mühlhausen became one of the chief seats of the Anabaptists. The radical reformer Thomas Müntzer preached in the Church of Saint Mary in 1525, and was captured in the vicinity and executed in the town.

Johann Sebastian Bach was an organist in the Church of Saint Blaise from 1707-1708.^[2]

Internal dissensions and injuries received during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and the Seven Years' War (1756–1763) reduced Mühlhausen to unimportance. In 1802 it lost its independence and passed to Prussia. In 1807 it was attached to the Kingdom of Westphalia, but in 1815 it again became part of the Prussian Province of Saxony.

From 1944 to March 1945, a women's slave labor camp was directly outside Mühlhausen (a branch of the Buchenwald camp). The women were deported in April 1945 to Bergen Belsen.

Main sights

• Historic city wall
• City archives
• 11 churches
• National Park Hainich

Districts

The city of Mühlhausen consists of five districts:

• Mühlhausen (33,660 inhabitants)
• Felchta (990 inhabitants)
• Görmar (1,109 inhabitants)
• Saalfeld (211 inhabitants)
• Windeberg (260 inhabitants)

Notable people

• John (Johann) A. Etzler, author, socialist theorist
• Günter Fromm (1926–1994), author
• Adolph Methfessel (1807–1878), composer
• Ernst Methfessel (1811–1886), composer
• John (Johann) August Roebling (1806–1869), civil engineer famous for the design of the Brooklyn Bridge.
• Friedrich August Stüler, architect

Twin towns — sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Mühlhausen is twinned with:

• Tourcoing, France
• Eschwege, Germany
• Münster, Germany
• Kronstadt, Russia
• Saxonburg, USA

References

1. ^ "Bevölkerung nach Gemeinden, erfüllenden Gemeinden und Verwaltungsgemeinschaften" (in German). Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik. 31 December 2010. http://www.statistik.thueringen.de/datenbank/TabAnzeige.asp?tabelle=gg000102%7C%7C. 
2. ^ Christoph Wolff, et al. "Bach." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. 19 May. 2010 <[1]>.

External links

• Official website
• district site
• National Park Hainich
• Thuringia Tourism
• Wikitravel on Mühlhausen
•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Mühlhausen". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
•  "Mühlhausen". Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921.