Rastatt

Rastatt, a town of Germany, in the grand duchy of Baden, on the Murg, 4 miles above its junction with the Rhine and 15 miles by rail south-west of Karlsruhe. Pop. (1905) 14,404.

History

Until the end of the 17th century Rastatt was unimportant, 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 Turkish wars. It was then the residence of the margraves until 1771. The Baden revolution of 1849 began with a mutiny of soldiers at Rastatt in May 1849, and ended here a few weeks later with the capture of the town by the Prussians. For some years Rastatt was one of the strongest fortresses of the German empire, but its fortifications were dismantled in 1890.

It was the location of the first and second congress of Rastatt.

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This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.