A walk through Munstertal Staufen - Germany

1  .  Market Square :   Town Hall & Town Museum

        The focal point of the market square is the Late Gothic town hall, built in 1546.  The original toen
        council hall and town museum are on the first floor.  The building's facade is decorated with the            coats of arms of houses that ruled Staufen since its first documented mention in the year 770.  To            the right of the main entrance is the original pillory used to shame publicly any crooked sellers and
        petty criminal.

2   . Haupstrasse   Lowen Restaurant

       "The Lion" is first mentioned in 1407 and the current premises were constructed in 1536.  Facing            the main street is a mural depicting the Faust legend: invited to Staufen to produce gold for the
        noble lords, Johann Faust died herennaround 1540.
        The devil Mephisto is seen breaking his neck.

3   .  Market Square   The Fountain

        Similarly to the town, the fountain dates back to the 16th century.  The central figure bearing
        the Staufen coat of arms and banner symbolised the town's legal right to hold markets under

        Habsburg rule.  In 1784 two inhabitants of the town were sentenced for "wantonly"damaging
        the figure.

4   .  Haupstrasse   Stubenhaus & Huchel-Kastner Museum

         Through an archway opposite the Lowen Restaurant you reach the Stubenhaus courtyard.  First
          mentioned in 1436, this building used to operate as a public house.  Today it is home to an
          excellent concert venue, regularly hosting events and performances.  The Huchel-Kastner                      Museum remembers Staufen's two most famous writers and includes a multimedia exhibition.

5   .    Haupstrasse   The Lower Castle

           Built in 1566, the Lower Castle was designed as a town residence for the Lords of Staufen, and
           illustrates a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance features, most notably a staircase tower with a
           stone spiral staircase.  Today the building is home to the State Forestry Department and a branch
           of the State Museum Baden, Karlsruhe.

6   .      Schlossberg  The Castle Ruins

           The Lords of Staufen (a south-German noble family, first mentioned in 1248) were reeves of
            St Trudpert Abbey in Munstertal and used the Staufen Castle to protect access to the many
            silver mines in the valley.  The family line died out in 1602.  During the Thirty Years' War
            Swedish forces briefly occupied the abandoned ruins in 1632.  The town council acquired the
            ruins in 1896 and made structural repairs.

7  8.     Haupstrasse / Metergasse    Struve Passage & Krone Restaurant

            Named after the famous Baden militiaman Gustav Struve, this passage links the "Auf dem                      Graben" and   the "Im Grun" streets.  On the latter house number 15 bears marks of the
            suppression of the Struve uprising of September the 24th, 1848 in the form of a canonball
            lodged in the wall just above the passage entrance.  The decisive battle of Staufen signalled
            the end of the second phase of the Baden Revolution.  A mural on the facade of the Krone
            Restaurant commemorates the same events, depicting the landlord's  encounter with soldiers.

9   .     Freihofgasse   The Freihof

            The Staufen Freihof (since the Middle Ages these privately or church owned properties were
            exempt from taxes.  "frei" meaning "free")  first appears in deeds from 1542 St Trudpert Abbey,
            Munstertal, acquired it as a vicarage in 1669.  In 1773, the existing building was razed and a                  new building constructed according to plans by the famous master-builder Peter Thumb.
            The building has been in private hands since  1894.

10  .     Spitalstrasse   Staufen Back Streets

            Moving on from the Freihof and continuing into Spitalstrasse you reach the core of old Staufen,
            showcasing a range of architectural styles and renovations of mostly 17th-century buildings.
            The street takes you all the way to the impressive former infirmary, a charitable foundation
             donated by Ludwig of Staufen in 1534.

11  .      Kirchstrasse   St Martin Catholic Church

             St Martin is first mentioned as a vicarage of Kirchhofen in 1139.  The church's current
             appearance, integrating older parts, dates back to the 18th century.  The famous sculptor and
             wood carver  Sixt of Staufen, a contemporary of Durer's working in Staufen and Freiburg
             between 1515 and 1532, is the supposed artist behind three of the church's sculptures.  The
             beautiful organ is made by the Swiss organ builder dynasty Metzler.

12  .      Wettlebrunnerstrasse   Pottery Museum

              Staufen's Pottery Museum is a branch of the Baden State Museum and boasts an original 1898                workshop and a permanent exhibition.  It showcases both traditional pottery and decorative
              artifacts, and hosts two special exhibitions a year, including contemporary potters.

              Doctor Faustus

              On your walk you will have come across him at various points; Johann Georg Faust, alchemist
              and magician, who died in Staufen sometime around 1540.  His experiments in the quest to
              produce gold were his downfall - an "accident at work" killed him in his study.  Tours through
              town led by the devil himself ( in German only) imagine the circumstances.


  Tourist Information                                                            Tourist Information
  Mustertal                                                                            Ballrechten Dettingen
  Wazen 47 (D-79244 Munstertal                                         Alfred Leiffler Strabe 1
  Tel:   +49 (0)76 33 / 7 07-30                                              D 79282Ballrechten-Dottingen
  Fax:  +49 (0)76 36 / 7-07 -48                                             Tel:   +49 (0)76 34 /56 17 0
  touristinformation@munstertal-staufen.de                          Fax:  +49(0)76 34 / 56 17 -99
                                                                                             gemerinde@ballrechten-dottingen.de

                                   www.muenstertal -stauffen,de