Durlach

Durlach lies on the left bank of the Pfinz at the foot of the vineyard-covered Turmberg, the northernmost part of the Black Forest. The hill rises above a plain opening toward the Rhine valley; from its castle ruin and watchtower, the view reaches across Karlsruhe and, on clear days, toward the Vosges. Emperor Frederick II bestowed the settlement on Margrave Hermann V of Zähringen as an allodial possession, tying its early lordship to one of the region’s leading noble houses.

In 1565 Margrave Charles II chose Durlach as the residence of the rulers of Baden-Durlach. Karlsburg Castle was erected that year, giving the town a princely center, and the French almost totally destroyed the settlement in 1689. Margrave Charles III William later concluded that his court needed more space, a decision that led to the foundation of Karlsruhe in 1715. Three years later the new city became the capital. Durlach remained an established town beside a larger successor, retaining its castle, streets and urban identity.

In 1771 the margraviates of Baden-Durlach and Baden-Baden were united under Charles Frederick, who ruled from Karlsruhe. Durlach, only a few kilometres east of the new capital, remained closely tied to it as a neighbouring town of the same state.