Mühlheim & Fridingen

The first documented record of Mühlheim dates from 799. Monks and noble families settled here, taking advantage of its favourable location. Mühlheim was granted a town charter in around 1300, and that too is an indication of its importance in the late Middle Ages. Since that time, the character of the town has hardly changed at all, at least not in the historical upper part of town with the town gate and Gothic town hall, one of the oldest buildings in Mühlheim and perhaps the most beautiful as well.

The Romanesque Church of St. Gall in the old quarter, dating from the 10th and 11th centuries, contains frescoes from the 14th and 15th centuries and an organ from 1759. St. Sebastian's Chapel, founded in 1610 by the survivors of a devastating outbreak of the plague, bears witness to the town's rich, but not always untroubled, history. So too do the two palaces in Mühlheim: Schloss Mühlheim (the palace of the Lords of Enzberg, dating from around 1200) and the Vorderes Schloss ('front castle') near the town hall. Both still look as they did in the 18th century.

The small neighbouring town of Fridingen can also boast a noble residence – the beautifully renovated Ifflinger Schloss, today the prestigious home of the Upper Danube Valley Museum. Just like in Mühlheim, the historical centre of Fridingen makes you feel as if you have stepped back in time – particularly when you pass the Scharf Eck inn, the oldest town house in Fridingen.

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