A walk through the old town centre

	Historical background The history of Mühldorf goes back more than 1000 years. A first documentary evidence of its name can be found on a deed of 935. In 1190 King Henry VI bestowed the right to build a salt depository in "burgo suo Muldorf" on Archbishop Adalbert III von Salzburg. For several centuries Mühldorf remained under Salzburgian sovereignty. It became Bavarian in 1802, when the Bavarian Elector was compensated with new lands for the losses of areas on the left Rhine banks. For the sovereigns of Salzburg, Mühldorf with its passage across the river was of great importance. The Salzburgian sovereignty reached a climax between 1514 and 1519 under Cardinal Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg, who used Mühldorf as prince-episcopal residence. In Bavaria this Salzburgian enclave on the river Inn gave reason to numerous and lengthy feuds. Mühldorf was called "civitas" for the first time in 1239. Its coat of arms bore a red millwheel on a silver background. The town, repeatedly focus of military conflicts in the Middle Ages, was fortified with a belt of walls, towers and gates. Three times, in the years 1285, 1495 and 1646, large parts of Mühldorf were destroyed by fire. Mühldorf was called "civitas" for the first time in 1239. Its coat of arms bore a red millwheel on a silver background. The town, repeatedly focus of military conflicts in the Middle Ages, was fortified with a belt of walls, towers and gates. Three times, in the years 1285, 1495 and 1646, large parts of Mühldorf were destroyed by fire. In 1322, Ludwig the Bavarian and Friedrich the Beautiful of Austria fought the decisive battle for the crown of the German Empire in Dornberg, north-east of Mühldorf. This battle went down in the annals of history as the last battle of knights on German grounds. The town started to prosper centuries ago, when the river Inn was used as a trade route. Today the spaciousness of the market square with its town residences and arcades still give evidence of this prosperity. When the shipping trade came to a standstill in the 19th century, Mühldorf developed into an important railway junction.				next Nagelschmiedturm