Rastatt (German: [ˈʁaʃtat]) is a town with a Baroque core, District of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain on the Murg river, 6 km (3.7 mi) above its junction with the Rhine and has a population of around 51,000 (2022). Rastatt was an important place of the War of the Spanish Succession (Treaty of Rastatt) and the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states.

Rastatt
Coat of arms of Rastatt
Location of Rastatt within Rastatt district
RhineFranceRhineland-PalatinateEnzkreisSinzheimSinzheimSinzheimBaden-BadenBaden-BadenBaden-BadenBaden-BadenBaden-BadenKarlsruheCalw (district)Freudenstadt (district)Karlsruhe (district)Karlsruhe (district)OrtenaukreisOrtenaukreisOrtenaukreisAu am RheinBietigheimBischweierBühlertalBühlertalBühlertalBühlDurmersheimElchesheim-IllingenForbachGaggenauGernsbachHügelsheimIffezheimKuppenheimLichtenauLoffenauMuggensturmMuggensturmÖtigheimOttersweierOttersweierRastattRheinmünsterRheinmünsterRheinmünsterRheinmünsterSinzheimSteinmauernWeisenbachRhine
Rastatt is located in Germany
Rastatt
Rastatt
Rastatt is located in Baden-Württemberg
Rastatt
Rastatt
Coordinates: 48°51′N 8°12′E / 48.850°N 8.200°E / 48.850; 8.200
CountryGermany
StateBaden-Württemberg
Admin. regionKarlsruhe
DistrictRastatt
Government
 • Mayor (2023–31) Monika Müller[1] (SPD)
Area
 • Total
59.02 km2 (22.79 sq mi)
Elevation
115 m (377 ft)
Population
 (2022-12-31)[2]
 • Total
51,310
 • Density870/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC 01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC 02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
76401-76437
Dialling codes07222, 07229
Vehicle registrationRA
Websiterastatt.de

History

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Schloss Rastatt
 
The fortress of Rastatt in 1849
 
Mercedes-Benz factory in Rastatt

Until the end of the 17th century, Rastatt held little influence, but after its destruction by the French in 1689, it was rebuilt on a larger scale by Louis William, Margrave of Baden, the Imperial General in the Great Turkish War known popularly as Türkenlouis.

It then remained the residence of the Margraves of Baden-Baden until 1771. It was the location of the First and Second Congress of Rastatt, the former giving rise to the Treaty of Rastatt while the second ended in failure in 1799. In the 1840s, Rastatt was surrounded by fortifications to form the Fortress of Rastatt. For about 20 years previous to 1866, it was occupied by the troops of the German Confederation.[3]

The Baden revolution of 1849 began with a mutiny of soldiers at Rastatt in May 1849 under Ludwik Mieroslawski and Gustav Struve, and ended there a few weeks later with the capture of the town by the Prussians. (See The Revolutions of 1848 in the German states and History of Baden.) For some years, Rastatt was one of the strongest fortresses of the German empire, but its fortifications were dismantled in 1890.

In the same year, the town's railway station was relocated closer to the centre of Rastatt, from a location formerly outside the town walls, in what is now an industrial area.

Between 1946 and 1954, about twenty major criminal proceedings (known as the Rastatt Trials) for crimes against foreign workers and prisoners in smaller camps in the National Socialist camp system in south-west Germany took place in front of the French Military Administration's Tribunal Général on the basis of Control Council Law No. 10, along with more than 2000 defendants.

In 1992, a new Mercedes-Benz car factory started production in Rastatt.[4]

Local attractions

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Rastatt and the surrounding area is home to a variety of historical buildings, includes palaces and castles such as Schloss Rastatt and Schloss Favorite. It lies in the vicinity of the Black Forest and the French border.

Climate

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Climate data for Rastatt (1991-2020)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Daily mean °C (°F) 2.6
(36.7)
3.5
(38.3)
7.1
(44.8)
11.1
(52.0)
15.3
(59.5)
18.7
(65.7)
20.5
(68.9)
19.9
(67.8)
15.6
(60.1)
11.1
(52.0)
6.4
(43.5)
3.4
(38.1)
11.3
(52.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 72.0
(2.83)
64.2
(2.53)
68.2
(2.69)
55.2
(2.17)
87.2
(3.43)
82.7
(3.26)
84.5
(3.33)
78.3
(3.08)
67.0
(2.64)
79.1
(3.11)
80.4
(3.17)
88.2
(3.47)
907
(35.71)
Mean monthly sunshine hours 49.1 76.8 133.7 187 209.3 229 243.5 227.1 166.1 100.9 51.1 37.1 1,710.8
Source: Deutscher Wetterdienst[5][6][7]

Twin towns – sister cities

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Rastatt is twinned with:[8]

Notable people

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Luise Adolpha Le Beau, 1872

Sport

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In literature

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The plot of the historical novel The Lenz Papers by Stefan Heym (published London 1964) is set in 1849 Rastatt, during the failed revolutions in Germany in 1848.

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References

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  1. ^ Oberbürgermeisterwahl Rastatt 2023, Staatsanzeiger. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Bevölkerung nach Nationalität und Geschlecht am 31. Dezember 2022" [Population by nationality and sex as of December 31, 2022] (CSV) (in German). Statistisches Landesamt Baden-Württemberg. June 2023.
  3. ^ Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Rastatt" . New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
  4. ^ "Rastatt passenger car assembly plant inaugurated". mercedes-benz-publicarchive. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Lufttemperatur: vieljährige Mittelwerte 1991 - 2020" [Air Temperature: Long-term averages for 1991-2020]. dwd.de (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Niederschlag: vieljährige Mittelwerte 1991 - 2020" [Precipitation: Long-term averages for 1991-2020]. dwd.de (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Sonnenscheindauer: vieljährige Mittelwerte 1991 - 2020" [Sunshine: Long-term averages for 1991-2020]. dwd.de (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved 23 February 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  8. ^ "GewachseneStädtefreundschaften über viele Grenzen hinweg". rastatt.de (in German). Rastatt. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  9. ^ "Frank" . The American Cyclopædia. Vol. VII. 1879. pp. 428–429, see page 429. ....by his son. II. Joseph, a German physician....born at Rastadt, Dec. 23, 1771....

Further reading

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