Recall a time of raftsmen and timber, imagine the Rhine’s edge teeming with activity. That is Steinmauern. Today, we explore this town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Steinmauern sits in the district of Rastatt, under Karlsruhe’s administrative eye.
The town’s name, Steinmauern, suggests a stone wall. It is assumed this wall aided rafters in assembling fir trees into rafts. These rafts journeyed down the Rhine, all the way to the Netherlands.
Steinmauern first appeared in records around 1290 as Stein(n)mur. The village grew along the road from Rastatt. The church and city hall stood at its heart. A bridge crossed the Murg River connecting to an industrial area and new homes before entering Steinmauern.
Let us talk numbers. Steinmauern covers 12.40 square kilometers. About 109 hectares are meadows and 271 are forest. The elevation here is 110 meters. As of 2022, 3,231 people called Steinmauern home. That is a density of 260 people per square kilometer.
Now a bit about local leadership. Siegfried Schaaf served as mayor from 1992 to 2020. He won re-election in 2000, 2008, and 2016. Toni Hoffarth took office as mayor in 2020. He is expected to serve until 2028.
Imagine the hardships faced by early residents. The 18th and 19th centuries brought waves of emigration. Poverty was rife because of failed harvests. The Murg and Rhine Rivers often flooded the land. A long winter and wet spring meant no seeds could be sown. Hot, dry summers withered crops. The Rhine devoured fertile soil.
Heavy rains for three years caused widespread bad harvests starting in 1769. These years saw the highest emigration numbers from Steinmauern. In 1785, bitter cold threatened livestock feed.
In 1783, Margrave Karl Friedrich von Baden abolished bondage. People could leave without high taxes. Emigration became permissible. Many sought new lives across the ocean.
Consider Carl Schurz. He escaped through Rastatt’s canal network. Schurz later became the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
Emigration was a carefully planned process. In 1854, Steinmauern negotiated with an agent in Mannheim. They aimed to help immigrants find shelter and work in Quebec or the USA. The journey involved land travel to ports like Le Havre. Others went to Bremen or Hamburg by train. Ships crossed the ocean to Quebec. Steamships then carried them to Buffalo, Milwaukee, Erie, Detroit, and Chicago.
The cost of such a crossing in 1854 was significant. Train fare and ship to New York cost 56 1/2 Gulden. Provisions in the harbor town were 11 Gulden. Sea provisions added 26 Gulden. Miscellaneous needs and a life vest cost 7 Gulden. New clothing was 20 Gulden. Money in hand at the destination needed to be 30 Gulden. The total was 150 1/2 Gulden per person.
Let’s reflect on a local song from that era. It speaks of leaving for America. It mentions fears at sea and gratitude upon reaching Baltimore. It praises the abundance of rum and brandy. It ends with a call to brothers back in Steinmauern to sell all and join them.
The population of Steinmauern fluctuated. In 1788, there were 628 souls. By 1845, it had grown to 1,520. After the German Reich’s founding in 1871, industrial growth brought more jobs. Emigration slowed. Only after World War II did the population increase again.
From a small farming village to a modern community, Steinmauern has seen many changes. Yet, its story remains etched in the landscape.