Michelstadt - A Jewel in the Odenwald

The lovely town of Michelstadt (population 16,000), as one of the oldest settlements in the Odenwald, is certainly worth exploring, and visitors can easily spend at least a day there, perhaps also taking time to visit the neighbouring town of Erbach, which is very charming and only three kilometres away.

In the historic centre and outlying areas, you will find many quaint half-timbered houses, as well as, a magnificent 15th century town hall, the city castle, a late-Gothic church, the Thief’s Tower (Diebsturm), the Einhard Basilica, and the palace of the Counts of Erbach-Fürstenau.

From the Celts to the Franks

Michelstadt appears to have a long history, with place-name and archaeological evidence pointing to the fact that the Celts inhabited the area prior to the arrival of the Romans and the Germanic tribes. For example, the local Mümling River takes its name from the Celts, and hill graves dating from sometime between 800 - 500 b.c. have also been found in the vicinity.

At the end of the 1st century, the Roman Emperor Vespasian occupied the area between the Rhine and the Danube, including Michelstadt, creating the Agri Decumantes.  Historians dispute whether this term refers to the division of the area into ten districts or whether it refers to a type of tithe system imposed upon the native inhabitants.  Regardless of which idea is correct, the area remained under this administration until the construction of the border fortification system known as The Limes, which allowed the Romans to have greater control of the area.  It was after this fortification of the frontier, no later than 125 a.d.,  that the territory came under civil rather than military administration, and it became a civitas known as the Civitias Auderiensuim with the town of Dieburg as its administrative center.

It is thought that Michelstadt, lying about 30 kilometres from the main centre of Dieburg, was a small Roman settlement built to support the needs of the nearby Limes fortifications, though that function would have ceased with the invasion of the Germanic tribe, the Alemanni, in the first half of the third century.  Civil unrest back in Rome caused the recall of  Roman soldiers from many of the outlying provinces, including the area between the Rhine and The Limes. The soldiers return to Rome allowed the Alemanni to move west across The Limes and gain dominance in the Odenwald region, a situation which remained in place until 496 when the Alemanni were defeated by King Clovis of the Franks. It was under the Franks that the area became Christian in the late 7th century, largely through the auspices of the Irish missionary, Killian.  

The Middle Ages to the Modern

During the early middle ages, Michelstadt seems to have been a small, relatively unimportant village. The first written mention of the community can be found in a document from 741, belonging to the Mayor of the Palace, Carlomon, an uncle of Charlemagne and functionary of Charlemagne’s grandfather, Charles Martel.  In that year, Carlomon donated the village to Buchard, the first Bishop of Würzburg.  After the death of the bishop, Michelstadt was returned to the Frankish crown until it was later donated to Einhard, who, before directing his ambitions elsewhere, planned to make the town a center of religious pilgrimage.

The growth of the town seems to have been relatively slow as it was not until the 17th century that houses began to be built outside the city walls. More changes occurred in the 19th century.  The town, along with the county of Erbach, became part of the Grand Duchy of Hesse, and a railway was built that connected the town to Darmstadt and later to Eberbach.  With the railway, came a marked increase in industry, including iron works and clothing factories.

Sights

The Old Town Hall (das alte Rathaus)

Directly in the old town center in the market square, you come upon Michelstadt’s beautiful old town hall, built in 1484.  With its pointed gables and bay turrets, it is one of the best examples of late-Gothic, half-timbered architecture in Germany and is well-recognised throughout the country due its image being on a postage stamp in the 1980s.  

Just across from of the town hall, you will find a beautiful Renaissance fountain, which was donated to the town by Count George II of Erbach in 1575.  The fountain is topped by a statue of St. Michael with a scale and a sword and is one of several attractive fountains found in Michelstadt’s old town.

Michelstadt Castle (Burg Michelstadt)  

Also known as The Winery (Kellerei), this is a former city castle which was built on the site of a Franconian Meierhof, the residence of an estate administrator. The Meierhof was itself possibly constructed on the site of an even earlier Alemanni noble farm house. A castle was first built on the site in the 10th century; however, this was destroyed in 1307 when Palatine Count Rudolf I overran the city during the conflict between the Rhineland Palatinate and the Electorate of Mainz. What you see now is from the reconstruction work in the 14th century, together with further renovations and additions from the 16th and 17th centuries.

The main residence building is no longer preserved. What is left is part of the Vorburg, or that part of a castle compound that supplied the needs of the inhabitants of the castle complex. A Vorburg  would include not only cowsheds, servants housing, warehouses, barns, workshops, etc., but also administrative buildings and guest houses.

The remaining structures of the castle that can be seen today are: the Thieves’ Tower (see below), the 16th century main hall, a 13th century vaulted storage building which now houses the museum, the Amtshaus, and the former Remise, which is now a mill.

The Thieves’ Tower (Diebsturm)

The Thieves’ Tower was built in the 13th century and used as a prison, thus giving the structure its name.  Because the ground-level floor had no doors or windows, prisoners were dropped by use of a rope into the prison from the floor above. The original tower roof is no longer part of the structure as it was removed in 1798. The half-timbered roof you see now is a modern addition. About ten meters up the tower, you can see a copy of a relief of the Roman god, Mercury. The original has been removed and can be seen in the town museum.

The Evangelical City Church

Having a prominent position in the old town centre, almost directly behind the town hall, lies Michelstadt’s evangelical church. Documentary evidence shows that the location has been the site of a church since at least 815. The Frankish court administrator, Einhard, mentions the existence of a wooden church being here, and historians speculate that the construction could date back to the time of the Irish missionary, Killian.   The present church, however, is from the 15th century and was built in the late-Gothic style, though there are Carolingian elements from its predecessor still to be seen.  Though the church itself is older, the tower was not completed until 1537.

Inside the church, you can find many sculptures and monuments from the high-middle ages and neo-Gothic periods, particularly those dedicated to the Count of Erbach’s family.  There is also a small remnant of a fresco of St. Martin and a sacramental niche in the choir dating from the late medieval period. The stained glass is modern, from the 20th century, as is the baptismal stone.

Getting There and Back

By Train From Frankfurt Trains depart from Frankfurt’s main station regularly throughout the day for the 20-minute ride to Darmstadt where you will change to the local Odenwald train for Michelstadt. The entire journey from Frankfurt to Michelstadt only takes about an hour and a half. Be sure to check time schedules as the regional trains are limited.
By Train From Mannheim Trains leave from Mannheim going to Eberbach (direction Osterburken) where you then change to the regional train to Michelstadt. As from Frankfurt, the total journey takes approximately an hour and a half.
By Car Michelstadt is about 80 kilometers southeast of Frankfurt. Take the A-5 Autobahn to the Bensheim exit and then the B-47 (the Nibelungenstrasse) to Michelstadt. If you are coming from Mannheim, the shortest and one of the most scenic routes is the B38 across the Odenwald.