Titisee-Neustadt


Titisee-Neustadt is a municipality in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is made up of the six communities of Neustadt, Langenordnach, Rudenberg, Titisee, Schwärzenbach and Waldau.
The town of Neustadt is a spa known for its Kneipp hydrotherapeutic and curative methods. Furthermore, it is a winter sport center.

Geography

The community of Titisee lies on the north shore of Titisee, a lake in the eastern Feldberg in the Black Forest, which ranges from 780 to 1192m above sea level. The community of Neustadt is found 5 km to the east. The town lies on a small river called the Seebach as it comes in from Feldberg-Bärental to feed Titisee, as the Gutach as it flows out of the lake, and east of Neustadt, where it merges with the Haslach to become a whitewater torrent, as the Wutach. After flowing out of the town, it passes through the well known Wutachschlucht, and ends by emptying into the Rhine.
Titisee-Neustadt's highest point is the Hochfirst, a peak overlooking the lake on the municipal boundary with Lenzkirch and marked by the Hochfirst Tower. It is 1 192 m high.

History

Titisee-Neustadt is divided into six communities which historically have been separate, although they are now amalgamated into one municipality.

Neustadt

Neustadt was founded in 1250 by the Princes of Fürstenberg. There followed various name changes: the town was called Nova Civitas in 1275, in 1294 Neuwenstadt, in 1335 Neuwen-statt, in 1630 Neostadium and in 1650 New-Statt before it later became Neustadt. From 1669 to 1806 there was a Capuchin monastery in Neustadt. In 1817, a great deal of the town was destroyed in a great fire. In the 18th century, the clockmaking trade developed in the town to become a major part of the economy.
During the First World War, and shortly thereafter, a dearth of staple foods prevailed. In May 1919 came the first municipal elections, which saw both active and passive participation by women, who now had the franchise. This led to four women finding themselves on the town council. The mayor who took office in 1923, Karl Pfister created and safeguarded jobs. This he managed to do through a loan of, all together, 700,000 Reichsmark, which he obtained through negotiations with major banks in the United States, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Through further job-making measures, such as public building schemes, about the time of the Great Depression, he was in a position to keep the jobless rate in Neustadt at a comparatively low 12%, whereas it was then 18% in Germany as a whole.
Later came the Nazi régime, which used Der Hochwächter and the Echo vom Hochfirst, the local newspapers, for their own ends, later shutting them both down. Despite exerting this influence, the Party's share of the vote in Neustadt was always lower than in Titisee, where it compared with the national average. Nevertheless, the NSDAP local moved into the town hall in 1933, occupied its balcony and made an example of a few people in public life by removing them from office or sending them to the local concentration camp near Hüfingen. Blasius Müßle, who became mayor at that time, was replaced in 1935 by the later Kreisleiter Benedikt Kuner.

Langenordnach

In 1112 Langenordnach had its first documentary mention. In 1529 16 houses were named; the place did not yet have a chapel.

Rudenberg

In 1316 Rudenberg had its first documentary mention. In 1529 the place already had "several houses". In 1810, there were 191 inhabitants.

Schwärzenbach

In 1316 Schwärzenbach had its first documentary mention. In 1850, there were 427 inhabitants.

Titisee

In 1111 Titisee had its first documentary mention. In 1635 the names Dettesee and Titinsee first appear in documents. As of 1750 the name Titisee was commonly applied to the town. The town was put together from four parts, or valleys: Altenweg, Spriegelsbach, Schildwende and Jostal. For this reason, the town bore the name Vierthäler or Viertäler until 1929.

Waldau

Waldau was first named in 1111 and the first documentary mention followed in 1178 in a papal document. Since 1807 there has been a Catholic parish.

Common history

Titisee-Neustadt came into being in 1971 with the amalgamation of the until then independent district capital of Neustadt with the communities of Titisee and Rudenberg. In 1973 and 1974, the communities of Langenordnach, Schwärzenbach und Waldau were added to the amalgamation.

Religion

The following denominations, along with numbers of adherents and percentages, can be found in Titisee-Neustadt:

Mayor

Neustadt

The municipal elections on 25 May 2014 produced the following division of seats:
CDU42.07%11 seats–1
SPD21.24%6 seats±0
Greens18.61%5 seats±0
Citizens' List18.08%5 seats±0

International relations

Titisee-Neustadt is twinned with:

Transport

Roads

Titisee-Neustadt lies on Bundesstraße B 31 which joins both the A 5 and A 81 north-south Autobahnen. From the B 31, the B 317 to Weil am Rhein branches off in the town. The B 500 likewise runs through Titisee-Neustadt. Also, the B 315 lies nearby.

Public transport

The town has two railway stations at Titisee and Neustadt. A half-hourly electric train service on the Höllentalbahn connects Freiburg im Breisgau with Titisee. From Titisee alternate trains either continue on the Höllentalbahn to Neustadt, or diverge onto the Dreiseenbahn to Seebrugg, thus providing Neustadt with an hourly service to Freiburg. Beyond Neustadt, an hourly diesel train operates to Donaueschingen.
Buses cover areas not served by trains, for instance Titisee to Lenzkirch and Todtnau.

Airports

The nearest airports are:
Among the industrial firms established in the municipality are:
Titisee-Neustadt has at its disposal a Magistrates' Court which belongs to the state court region of Freiburg im Breisgau and to the supreme state court region of Karlsruhe.

Educational institutions

Titisee-Neustadt lies on the German Clock Road.

Museums

Buildings

On 26 November 2012, 14 people were killed and 8 injured in a major fire at a workshop for disabled people in Titisee-Neustadt. The blaze occurred at the centre run by the Caritas charity in the Black Forest town of Titisee-Neustadt, some 40 km east of Freiburg. About 50 people were believed to be in the building when the fire started. The cause is unclear, but local media reports that there may have been an explosion in a store room. The centre is reportedly used for woodwork and metalwork, but it is not known whether there were any flammable materials on site.