Blumenfeld Palace

In 1100 Blumenfeld was mentioned the first time in a document with the naming "Blumenegg". Long before the formation of the town, people had settled here. This is shown by the rests of a settlement from the Neolithic age found in the areas "Einfang" and "Hintere Breiten" as well as by the 15 mounds (over graves) from the Hallstatt period found in the forest-area "Langholz".

The Town Blumenfeld came out of a medieval castle complex. The point of time of its appointment as a town is assumed around 1275. The founding of the town goes probably back to the lords of Blumberg who had been resident here at that time. The town was part of a small authority under which in addition to Blumenfeld also the villages Beuren am Ried, Epfenhofen, Leipferdingen, Watterdingen and Weil stood; since 1488 this authority had belonged to the Teutonic commander of the knightly order Mainau. Until 1805 the Town and Council Offices of Blumenfeld were - in view of land sovereignty - under control of the land earldom Nellenburg that had been Austrian since 1465. However, the Teutonic knightly order held the superior jurisdiction and the power over life and death as well as the sovereignty over forest and hunt in pledge from the earldom Nellenburg.

In the course of the Teutonic commander of the knightly order Mainau, Blumenfeld and Tengen-Hinterburg were added to the grand duchy Baden in 1806. Until 1857 (around 50 years later), however, Blumenfeld remained a Baden town of jurisdiction with a relatively large area of jurisdiction. In 1857 the area of jurisdiction of Blumenfeld was abolished; the municipalities were allocated to the area of jurisdiction of Engen. The county court of Blumenfeld was also added to Engen in 1864. The market rights were given to this Town in 1449 by Kaiser Friedrich 111. Blumenfeld had the right to hold a fair on Monday after St Michael, but this market did not thrive - though many attempts were done.

In the course of the centuries Blumenfeld as well as the other towns and municipalities had gone through some tempestuous times. During the war between the Swabian towns and the rapacious Hegau nobility in 1441/42, the army of the Town tried in vain to take Blumenfeld - Tengen-Hinterburg was shot on fire and captured, however. At that time the surrounding
municipalities also suffered hard from the burden of the war. During the Swiss- or Swabian War in 1499 Blumenfeld was taken, plundered and burnt by the Swiss after a short siege.
In the Thirty Years' War the town suffered from several attacks, captures and pillages, but it apparently escaped bigger destruction. On the foundations of the castle, destroyed by the Swiss in 1499, the Teutonic lords of the Mainau erected a new building between 1500 and 1515; this is the older part of the castle.

The enlargement of the castle towards the Town followed from 1578 to 1582. Until 1805 this building was the house of office of the Teutonic order's deputies; from 1806 to 1857 it was Baden regional office, and then until 1864 the county court. Afterwards the archiepiscopal borstal St Joseph for poor children was put into the castle; this borstal was abolished as a result of the so called 'Kulturkampf' and was transferred to Riegel near Freiburg. From 1874 to 1876 the castle was unoccupied. On the occasion of a manoeuvre held in the vicinity in 1876 the castle had served for some months as a field hospital. The same year it was bought by twelve associated municipalities of the former officialdom Blumenfeld for an amount of about 12 000 Mark; they turned it into a poorhouse and hospital. Until 1973 it had served as a home for old people.
Due to a fantastic action of voluntary nature of the citizens of associated municipalities in the years from 1976 to 1978 inclusive the castle was preserved from decay.

In 1980 the association of convenience started to build a new building that replaced the extensions to the castle (kitchen, store rooms, etc.) built around the turn of the century. Until the town-hall was built outside the town wall the offices had been located in rented rooms of the 'Kaplaneihaus' , a 1750 built, two-storey, almost square building with hipped roof and round arched gate. The new building of the town hall from 1908 had located also the school until it was wound up in the year 1966.