Blumberg

Blumberg is a municipality situated in the Schwarzwald-Baar region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, 19 kilometres south of Donaueschingen, on the southern edge of the Schwarzwald, The Black Forest and lying directly on the border with Switzerland’s Canton of Schaffhausen.

History

The town of Blumberg lies in the region where the ancient source of the Danube is situated, the former glacial valley between Eichberg and Buchberg, and its official origins date from the 13th Century, with the Masters of Blumberg first mentioned in 1260. However one of the oldest settlements, the Steppacher Hof, was already documented in the 12th century.

Nevertheless the town itself is believed to have originated long before that time, as archaeological discoveries have shown the area was inhabited during the Stone Age.

The Wutach is a 90km long tributary of the River Rhine that changes its name twice as it passes through the southern Black Forest, and Blumberg was established in the Wutach valley near the ancient Wutachschlucht, the spectacular 'Wutach Gorge' which is now a nature reserve and conservation area known as the Grand-Canyon des Schwarzwaldes.

Blumberg castle was built above the town in the Middle Ages, and this contributed significantly towards the development of the surrounding settlements, and from 1559, while under the rule of the princely Fuerstenberg family who from 1283 until 2004 also owned a brewery, Blumberg grew enough in importance to be elevated from a Städtle (town) to a 'city'.

During the Thirty Years' War, 1618 -1648, Blumberg castle was destroyed, however after 1648, and thanks to its Doggererz iron ore reserves, the town did experience a short lived expansion.

The Doggererz mine was reopened and ore extracted once again from 1934 to 1942, the time of Germany’s National Socialism, and the population in what had been until then a predominantly agricultural town increased considerably. By 1945 it had risen from 700 to 7,000.

It was during this period that Doggererz AG also used forced labourers as miners.

In 1945 the town and surrounding region was occupied by French forces, as part of South Baden, after the previous states of Baden and Württemberg had been divided into US and French occupation zones.

The 1950's saw various industrial works established in the district which helped Blumberg's expansion, currently there are approximately 10.800 inhabitants, while the town has also become a thriving tourist area.

At the same time Blumberg has retained its small town sense of community and traditional character, with time honoured seasonal festivities, decorations, customs, street parties and parades such as for Swabian–Alemannic Fastnacht, Carnival, as well as many small specialised local stores. Artisanal bakers with daily supplies of fresh handmade breads, and elaborately made cakes and cookies to be ‘taken away’ or enjoyed on the spot, including a few weeks when multicoloured filled carnival doughnuts are on offer, and master butchers where cold cuts, sausages, terrines, fresh meats, and Silesian specialties from what is now mainly Poland, are produced and supplied by Metzger working from the early hours of the morning.

Tourism

Blumberg is set in the centre of one of the most scenically beautiful areas of Germany, offering everything from castles, nature parks, forests, lakes and mountains, to skiing, sailing, spas and tourist routes. While it is close to cities filled with history, culture and endless shopping possibilites, and just minutes away from Switzerland.

It is also the starting point for the legendary Sauschwänzlebahr, literally the Pigtail Line, The Wutach Valley Railway. An old fashioned steam locomotive with original carriages, which is run as a railway museum and travels on elevated tracks across the countryside throughout the summer months.

Geography

Districts

The municipality of Blumberg is made up of the districts of Blumberg Achdorf, Blumberg, Epfenhofen, Fützen, Hondingen, Kommingen, Nordhalden, Riedböhringen and Riedöschingen. With the exception of Blumberg itself, each of these has its own district council, as is the custom in Baden-Württemberg.

The village of Achdorf is the only one remaining of the settlements that were alongside the river Wutach, which lies within the 30 km length of the scenic Wutachschlucht, the pre-historic Danube Wutachschlucht gorge.

Religion

Even after the Reformation the Blumberg region remained predominantly Roman Catholic, and produced a Cardinal, Curial Cardinal Augustin Bea. Born the son of a carpenter on May 28, 1881 in Riedböhringen near Donaueschingen, he died in Rome on 16. November, 1968. A museum has been created in the house where his birth took place, and this can be visited by appointment.

Today the area has four Roman Catholic parishes which follow the new theology together with two continuing to use the old traditional Catholic theology, as well as a Protestant and a New Apostolic Church.

References

External links

• Blumberg Tourist Office (English)

• Blumberg: Bilder & Ortsgeschichte (German)