From Walking with Snowshoes to Ski-racing

In the 1880s, former ship's doctor Dr. Tholus, who is living and working in Todtnau at that time, orders a pair of skis from Norway. His attempts at skiing fascinate his friends. In 1891, Germany's first skiing club is founded at Todtnau. Shortly later, skiing became popular in Muggenbrunn, too. The first national ski race at "Franzosenberg" (Mountain of the French) takes place in 1906. The winner is Hilda Maier. In those days, skis are made of ash-wood and have a highly curved tip which helps the skis to cope with deep snow.

Skiing Club and Ski School

In 1922, a ski club is founded at Muggenbrunn. It also organizes ski tours. Adolf Thoma and Karl Bernauer are among the pioneers of skiing in the Black Forest. They pass the instructor exams of the German Ski Association in 1930. From then on, qualified ski lessons are available at Muggenbrunn. One of the most active instructors after World War II is Franz Bernauer, who has already assisted his father during ski lessons. From 1949/50 on he conducts the ski school; in 1952 he passes the national ski instructor exam. From 1955 to 1987 he is member and coach of the German ski instructor team.

Skiing at the "Franzosenberg"

The "Franzosenberg" as our home mountain is often the venue of regional, national and international ski races. Today, the Alpine and Nordic skiing are an essential element of tourism.

Caption:

Ski Race 1906

Muggenbrunn around 1900

The "Salzhaus" - an "Ark" (5)

An "Ark" in Muggenbrunn: the "Salt House"

The Salzhaus probably dates back to 1770. The house got its name from saltpetre extraction, just like the neighbouring Black Forest house. Saltpetre, which is needed for the production of gunpowder, can also be won by scraping off manure heaps and stable floors. Saltpetre is needed for the production of gunpowder.

The length of the Salzhaus is striking. Several factors make building semi-detached houses popular: a growing population, economic considerations and also the availability of fairly even sites. The families live under the hipped roofs; the stables are in the centre. A common feeding corridor separates the different parts. Long-stretched houses like this one are called "Archen" (arks). This name conveys a sense of security in turbulent times in an inhospitable environment.
Later on, the central part of the house is also converted into flats, so that, after having been divided lengthwise, six families can live in the ark.

An Occupant of the Ark Describes his Living-room

Fritz Ludin writes into his hostel register: "Today I arranged the "Herrgottswinkel" (a domestic shrine) in the living-room. There is an alcove in the dark corner in the front ... I painted Muggenbrunn with its chapel and all its farms and the mountains with a blue cast in the background on the lower part of the wall ... and put a crucifix into it, just like the plain wayside crosses you can find around here. So at night, in the light of the lantern, I can conjure the whole village into the room … Onto the small board, I put a statuette of God the Father and angels next to as well as behind it."

Captions:

"The occupants of the Salt House in 1917 drawn by Fritz Ludin, professor from Freiburg and occupant of the Salt House"

The "Herrgottswinkel" at the Salt House drawn by Fritz Ludin on 5 April 1917

Muggenbrunn around 1900

"S'Molerhüsli" (6)

Hermann Wolff - Teacher and Artist

After he has finished school, Hermann Wolff, born on 9 September 1893 in Steppach, studies to become a teacher. In 1914, he is called to the army and fights at the river Somme in France where he is severely wounded and loses a leg.
After the war, he can finally put his plan into practice: In 1917, he begins his studies at the college of art in Karlsruhe and teaches in Mannheim afterwards. His artistic development is strongly supported by Professor Walter Conz. Herrmann Wolff is appointed to the Ministry of Education and Arts of Baden at Karlsruhe and got a teaching assignment at the academy of art at the same time. Unfortunately, many of his works are destroyed by fires in 1942 and 1944.

Artistic Activity in Muggenbrunn

After World War II, Mr Wolff moves to Muggenbrunn with his family, where they live in the so-called "Molerhüsli" (dialect for "painter's little house"). He draws many of his landscape paintings of the Feldberg area here, especially ones with strikingly beautiful motives from the area around Muggenbrunn. You can admire his works in our inns, at the town hall and in several private houses. During the post-war period Wolff certainly exchanges his paintings for bread, butter, milk or other natural produce to supply his family.
 
After his wife's death Mr Wolff leaves his beloved Muggenbrunn and moves to Karlsruhe, where his children live. He dies in Karlsruhe at the age of 98.

Muggenbrunn around 1900

Die Mühle (7)

Bread and Electricity from the Mill

The mill of Muggenbrunn, with a water wheel driven by the brook Langenbach, is mentioned in 1724 for the first time. Water is being led to the mill in an open wooden channel.
 
In 1869, miller Ferdinand Ernst buys the estate.
 
In the 1920s, miller Alfred Ernst closes down the mill. However, the bakery and the grocery shop continue to exist until 2001.

The Village Provided Itself with Electricity

Even before 1900 Muggenbrunn starts to generate electricity, first in Gregor Mühl's hammer mill near the village bridge. Later on, miller Alfred Ernst, who also runs a turbine in a water house, joins in.
 
Die Schmiede (forge) delivers electricity to the northern-, the mill to the southern part of the village. The two of them supply around 30 families with the electricity they need to light their houses. During daytime, electricity for engines, irons etc. can be delivered, too. In summer, the turbines can be switched off in the afternoons. The upper part of the village called Oberhäuser doesn't get electric light before the 1920s.
 
Today, surplus electricity from the former mill is being fed into the grid.

Muggenbrunn around 1900

"Zum Grünen Baum" (8)

One of the oldest inns: "Zum Grünen Baum"

The building - built up about 1740 - is set up by Johann Wißler as an inn in 1758. He runs the inn for 50 years. In 1835 the district office in Schönau is reported that it is one of the oldest inns in this area. In 1839 they build a dwelling-house with a dance floor and some guest-rooms just on the other side of the street. The "Grüner Baum" (Green Tree) is the inn for superior people.

The post-station - a stop for the stage-coach and the cars route

A post-station and soon a telegraph office are established in the "Grüner Baum".
 
The post-station holder Jacob Wißler gets an annual salary of 50 marks. There also is the stop for the stage-coach traffic with a watering place and the possibility to change horses. In 1904 the "Motor-Traffic Freiburg - Todtnau GmbH"is founded which has also got its stop at the "Grüner Baum".
 
In 1915 the stage-coach traffic is finished and replaced by motor transport. The fare is 15 pence per kilometer.

Closing and re-opening

In January 1900 the inn is destroyed by a fire. In the same year it is rebuilt in Black Forest style. Helga hauf, born Wißler, is the last landlady of the Wißler family. The inn is closed in 1989. For some years it is set up for migrants.
 
In 1996 the hotel-keeper Hubert Albiez of the "Waldhotel Notschrei" takes over the hotel. After another fire it is completely renovated keeping the originality of the Black Forest style.

Caption:

Postcard of 1910

Muggenbrunn around 1900

The Chapel (9)

A chapel is longed for

All communities near to Muggenbrunn have got their church or chapel before 1900. A foundation of Martin Hölzle from Aftersteg finally allows the building of a chapel in the village being provided a building plot by the community Muggenbrunn for 75 marks. "On the 1st of October in 1899 … the first stone was laid for the chapel… Muggenbrunn currently being a branch of the rectory Todtnau… wished to possess a chapel since long. For years this wish was fruitless; for years they prayed the Sunday rosary in front of a detached cross in the fields…"
(from a document about the laying of the foundation stone in 1899)
 
Now prayers are possible in the chapel which is dedicated to St Cornelius; but the people of Muggenbrunn still take part in the Sunday worships in Todtnau till the 1950ies. Sometimes they go shopping there after church.

The new church St Cornelius

The chapel is too small after a while and a new church is built on the so-called melting place. It is consecrated in 1954. The vicar Joseph Vienenkötter coming from the Diocese of Münster renders outstanding services to the village with the construction of this new church. The people of Muggenbrunn support the construction with consistent monthly contributions. Even the children contribute some money by collecting blueberries.
 
The chapel tower of the small chapel is removed. For a short time it is the church for the Protestant community in the village. Nowadays it has a private owner.

Caption:

The village with chapel in winter 1926/27

Muggenbrunn around 1900

A brush wood factory (10)

From producing brush wood to brush manufacturing

At Muggenbrunn brush production is started in 1810 first with producing wood for brushes, followed by brush makers in home-work and finally with brush manufacturing.
 
At the end of the 19th century there are four brush-wood factories in the village; one of them is the factory of Johann and Gottlieb Andris. Parts of this factory are a dwelling house, a manufacturing building and a shed.
 
The water power of the Holzschlag-brook is used for driving the production machines. Andris perishes at the age of only 31 with a horse-cart in Freiburg.
 
In 1902 the enterprise is devolved to his widow and her second husband Karl Wissler, son of the innkeeper of the hotel "Grüner Baum".
 
The last manufacturer Matthäus Günter, the son-in-law of Anna Andris, even tries to continue the production after World War II.

Brush drill, brush maker and pedlar

In the village there are 26 wood borers and brush makers. The bristles are drawn into the wood of the brush in home-work. The whole family - including the children - is involved in the home-work. Pedlars - also coming from these families - sell the finished articles in a broad region up to the Alsace and Switzerland.

From manufacturing to a guesthouse with organic breakfast

From 1970 on modern guestrooms are equipped. Nowadays it is run by the name Landhaus Günter - a boarding house with organic breakfast and a emission-free house with self-sufficient energy

Pictures:

Letterhead of Matthäus Günter

Workshop of the brush-wood factory

Muggenbrunn around 1900

Die Säge (13)

A saw-mill behind Muggenbrunn

According to the new topographic maps the mayor's office of Muggenbrunn reports to Karlsruhe in 1874: "The saw-mill - situated about 1 km above the village - has been broken down and this one shall not be built up again." In fact a saw has been run at this place, which is still called "die Säge" for the two villages Muggenbrunn and Aftersteg since 1750. As it seems to be easier to transport the long timber down the valley a new common saw is built up above Aftersteg later on.

A Brush Factory is built on the old Saw Place

The place has been used further on. In the 1850ies the wood worker Donat Kiefer constructs a building with a roofed water wheel for producing brush woods. The water wheel is powered by the Trubelsbach and is driven by transmission for simple wood working machines. Even after a fire and the rebuilding after 1926 the water wheel is still running. In the 1950ies it supports a diesel engine till both are replaced by electric engines.
 
About 1900 horse-drawn carts transport the crude brush wood on the new street across the Notschrei-pass to Freiburg. They deliver brush wood to brush makers and to traders who transport the finished brushes to the farms on the old traders' routes. The descendents of Donat Kiefer have produced brush wood till 1989.
 
The factory building has been changed to a dwelling-house. In the name of a resident, "Säger's Frieda" (sawer's Frieda) the old name "Die Säge" lives on.

Captions:

water supply to the water wheel

brush trader

water wheel / transmission

Muggenbrunn around 1900

At the "Franzosenberg" (14)

A significant name: "Franzosenberg" (Mountain of the French)

At the end of the 17th century Freiburg gets under French government during one of the expansion wars of Louis XIV for predominance in Europe. Louis XIV orders his master builder Vauban to reconstruct Freiburg to a fortress. In the following war in 1689, the Palatine war of succession, Muggenbrunn is pillaged and burned down. A defensive line with redoubts and entrenches from Muggenbrunn down to Zell and Gersbach shall stop the aggressors. The name Franzosenberg and the field name Auf der Schanz (on the redoubt) on the crest date from that time.

From greenfields to a skiing slope in changing seasons

In summer the meadows of Franzosenberg bloom gorgeously, provide grass for hay and Öhmd (second cut of grass) and serve cattle and sheep for grazing. The small ravine at the foot of the Franzosenberg is called Höll which which means: steep slope. In winter alpine skiers swing elegantly down the ski slope that is 600 m long. They come downhill the 180 m difference in altitude in a few minutes. Since 1953 it is easy to get uphill. In this year the first ski-lift is inaugurated. By the way, it is the second ski-lift in the Black Forest. Together with the ski-lift Winkel the skiers have a descent of 1,5 km long with 320 m difference of elevation.

Picture:

The ski-lift at Franzosenberg in 1952

Muggenbrunn around 1900

"Altes Haus" (15)

A House - once Home to many Families

The house built in 1766 is home for up to four families in the nineteenth century. They all run their small agriculture. In addition, the father of the family works in different professions like glazier, tailor, butcher, brush maker, or street warden. One family immigrated to America - like many others at the end of the 19th century.

A House - later Clubhouse and Guesthouse

The western part of the house - today a protected monument - has a special history. After 1919 members of two clubs from Freiburg use this house. These club houses are becoming more and more popular at that time.
 
In the 1930ies the town council debates a request of Helen Edler from Freiburg for establishing a boarding house. The licence is accorded with the obligation to improve sanitation and not to sell alcoholic drinks. The "Vegetarische Pension Altes Haus" (vegetarian pension old house) is created corresponding to the anthroposophic thinking of the former landlady. There are five rooms for tourists' accommodation.
 
A Dr. Renz from Freiburg, in those days owner of this part of the building, calls it "Altes Haus" (Old House). In the village it is still well-known under this name. In the 1970ies the name changes to "Café Pension Altes Haus". In 1978 the restaurant is closed.

Muggenbrunn around 1900

"Das Schwarzwaldhaus" (16)

An original “Schwarzwaldhaus” (Black Forest House)

By 1900 there are 45 inhabited houses with 314 residents living in 72 households. The houses have been built at the end of the 17th century up to the 18th century. This house has preserved its original appearance. Houses of this type are called "Schauinslandhaus".

About the Construction of the house

The "Schauinslandhaus" is found at an altitude of 1100 m above sea level. It is built parallel to the contour line. To get a flat base few digging is necessary and only the uphold wall has to be built stronger and higher. The haystack in the roof can easily be reached from the mountainside. The huge hip roof covers the whole house and protects against wind and weather. It is covered with shingles - made of pine- and fir-wood: they are made by a shingle-maker on a Schniedesel (shingle plane) in long winter months.
 
The living part looks to the sunrise. Along the mountainside there is the shed with a well, a watering-place for the animals. The biggest part of the Schwarzwaldhaus is used as stable for the animals. In front of the house there usually is a small garden. The actual owner has created a beautiful flower- and vegetable garden.

Caption:

Shingle-maker

Haus Kunz (owner) - called "s'Dominis"

Muggenbrunn around 1900

Im Winkel (17)

Remote from the village: Im Winkel (in the Corner)

The name is easily explained by the location of the farm. It was built in 1784. The "Winkel" is described by fire insurance in 1855 as follows: "The house consists of a living house along with barn under one roof in wood, the roof is shingled, foundation, basement and walls are stone plinth."

The common land, field and pasture for all

Inhabitants of Muggenbrunn are mainly farmers. The grass cutting in early summer ("hay") and early autumn ("aftermath") on their own grassland provide the food for the animals in the winter.
 
The community has communal meadows, "Allmende" (commons). Common parts are parcelled for the residents in possession of citizenship. Common meadows are e.g. in the "Rütte" in the "Oberhäuser" (upper houses). The Rütte is the area above "Oberhäuser"-street today. Above the common meadows to up to the forest, from "Hohfels" (High Rock) to the Trubelsbach-Valley, extend the common pastures of the "Oberhäuser". 1904 in the village there are totalled 13 horses, 163 heads "Badisches Hinterwäldervieh" (badisch backwoods cattle), 62 pigs, 40 goats, 194 chickens. Around 1900 cattle owners drive their animals in the morning to the pasture; cattle, goats or sheep cost different agistment. By this the herders are paid. In addition to the herders each farmer of Muggenbrunn provides a supplementary herdsman to support the main herders on so many days, as they have grazing animals. School children as well take over this task.
 
Only electric fences from the mid-20th century have made herders expendable.

Caption:

Early morning driving cattle to pasture

Figure 2: Haymaking in the village street

Muggenbrunn around 1900

The forest (18)

The forest changes its appearance

In a document of 868 AD, found in St. Gallen (CH) for the first time first time the name "in saltu Svarzwald" appears. The serious and darksome appearance is cause for this designation. The Black Forest as species-rich mixed forests of oak, beech and fir trees has not really been "black". Only at the highest altitudes spruces are found. This changes until 1900 so that then 60% spruces and 40% beech trees are registered.

Unrestrained consumption of forest

Settlers clear the forest for pasture. The wood is used for multiple purposes: miners in silver mining, later in the iron ore, charcoal, glass blowers, natural resin, and all the wood-craftsmen are the big wood consumers in the Middle Ages and the early modern age.
 
In the 18th century extensive timber supplies are carried out to Basel and Freiburg, where exists a high demand for timber and firewood. Mainly the wood is transported by timber drifting: sawed logs and split logs are transported to Zell in the Wiese river, then in a raft channel to Basel. Thus, the slopes around Todtnau and Muggenbrunn become nearly bald in the middle of the 19th century. At these free slopes spruce is planted, which grows magnificently. With the spruce the forest becomes "black".

Proper forestry

The forest division of Todtnau of 1838 fixes the forest ownership of Muggenbrunn. With a strictly regulated forest management forest becomes an important source of income. By "extraordinary chops" it permits the building of the schoolhouse and the chapel as well as the expansion of the electricity grid. They have to be approved by the Ministry of Finance of Baden and must be compensated in subsequent years.
 
With the incorporation of Muggenbrunn in 1974, also the forest becomes property of the city of Todtnau, today the fourth largest forest owner in Baden-Württemberg.

Map:
"Plan of the community-forest Muggenbrunn" from 1832 - edited for illustration. It describes the 203-hectare forest inventory as "beech and spruce with white fir". Visible are the community-pastures around the village, the forest-free Trubelsbach-valley, the sawmill and the school building as a survey point.

Muggenbrunn around 1900

Public Functions (19)

The community awards public functions

Around 1900, there are several public posts in the community of Muggenbrunn, among them those of billing clerk, town clerk, town servant and policeman, field guard, mouse and mole catcher, setter of beacons, forest guard, road warden and midwife.

The Forest Guard

In 1878, Ferdinand Maier becomes the forest guard of the community. He wears a kind of uniform made of grey fabric and a grey cap with a dark green bandana. He always carries a bugle. He has to mend the forest paths and to look after the plant nursery. He also has to make sure that nobody steels wood or damages the forest tracks. F. Maier stays in function until he dies in 1911. His son Karl succeeds him in his function. In 1938, Karl is appointed as "Forester" but only on condition that the community wouldn't have to pay him higher wages.

The Road Warden

The road warden's job must have been very hard in winter. It is his task to clear the roads from snow and to make sure that the so-called "winter lane" stays open. The horse-owners living at Muggenbrunn have to provide him with horses to pull his sleigh. In case of heavy rain he has to open the drain pipes along the paths. He has to carry a badge, like the field guard.

The Midwife

Every independent community has to have a midwife. On 25 August 1894, 26 women from Muggenbrunn choose Maria Steck, who lives in the upper part of the village, as their midwife. Her husband has to sign the contract between herself and the community. Any woman who wants to work as a midwife has to establish proof of her qualification and her good reputation to the district authority. A midwife carries about 45 different medical devices as well as "Hoffmann's" anodyne and disinfectants in her case.

Caption:

Winter 1936 (House no. 22 - now Schauinslandstraße 9): A sleigh with seven horses clears the road between Notschrei and Todtnau

Muggenbrunn around 1900

A House from 1777 (20)

A Brush Maker's Work

The house whose lintel shows the year 1777 is one of the oldest houses. It is listed for preservation. At the end of the 19th century, Fidel Thoma lived here with his wife. He was a farmer and a brush maker. He got brush stocks (the wooden parts of the brushes) from a brush factory. At home, he inserted brush bristles into the stock holes. For this purpose he had a bench with a vice in his living-room in which he could fix the brush stocks. Making brushes helped Fidel Thoma to earn a living.

An Old Tiled Stove with a Carnation Pattern

The part of the house where the family lived faces the rising sun. A visitor wrote: "... there are a big pot of coffee, milk and bread on the oak table. At the moment, I am sitting at the old tiled stove with its green tiles. There is also a stove bench made of stone. Both are heated from the kitchen in the centre of the house ..."
 
The tiled stove is as old as the house itself. Some of the tiles are decorated with a carnation pattern, a symbol of prosperous farm houses from the 18th century. Carnation patterns like this one were common in southern Germany, in Upper Alsace and in northern Switzerland.
 
The names of the house's first inhabitants are engraved in the stove bench: Johan Wunderle and Veronika Kunz, names which are still common at Muggenbrunn today.

Muggenbrunn around 1900

Tourism begins (21)

Summer visitors open tourism

Tourism at Muggenbrunn goes back to the 1890s. Towards the end of the 19th Century it has come into fashion to leave the cities for the countryside in summer. Those who do not own a country residence rent a room in guesthouses or at privates. To get to the summer resorts, roads are important. So the Grand Ducal water and road inspection at Lörrach notes, that a new route via Notschrei- Halden -Schauinsland "would bring a considerable advantage of easier access for the always lively summertime tourism."

Muggenbrunn becomes a health resort

After the First World War Muggenbrunn implements a tourist fee in order to sustain rising tourism. 1934 the mayor's office notes: "Various private people rent rooms or entire homes. In this way, the money comes from abroad. It has been proved that tourist industry can combine well with small rural mountain farms."
 
In 1931 both guest houses accommodate about 1,250 guests from Germany, 90 from abroad. The tourism-association, founded in 1929 has been revived in the 1950s. With its own office the village can keep pace with the trend and joins the Black Forest Tourist Association. A "Guest's House" is established and in 1991 the village acquires the title of "health resort".
 
Muggenbrunn focuses its tourism on experience with nature in the mountain landscape between Feldberg and Belchen. The number of overnight stays is at the second place in the city of Todtnau, which illustrates this proper approach.

Caption:

Car of the Motor Traffic Co. Todtnau in 1920

Text:

Advertisement in the commemorative publication at the opening of the Schauinsland cable car on 17/07/1930