Permanent exhibition on the city's history

Settlement in the Rastatt district dates back to the Bronze Age. Conveniently located at an important river crossing, Rasteten was first mentioned at the end of the 11th century. King Ruprecht granted the town market rights in 1404. The market developed into a preferred trading place for Alsatian wine. This is why the town of Rastatt has the wine ladder in its coat of arms. The Palatinate War of Succession in 1689 completely destroyed the market town. The town was then rebuilt as the new residence and model town of Margrave Ludwig Wilhelm von Baden-Baden.

The imposing complex of the Rastatt Residential Palace is slightly elevated above the town. High up on the roof shines the golden figure of Jupiter, popularly known as the "Golden Man". It symbolizes the builder of the palace: Margrave Ludwig Wilhelm von Baden-Baden, who ruled from 1677 to 1707. Rastatt was the residence of the Margraviate of Baden-Baden from 1705 to 1771. In 1700, Margrave Ludwig Wilhelm von Baden-Baden decided to build a modern Baroque residence in Rastatt instead of the hunting lodge he had already begun. The palace is one of the earliest German examples of the imitation of the architectural style of Versailles, in which the father of the state immortalized himself in the architecture. The margrave also displayed his military merits in the palace - as an imperial commander, he had been successful in the Great Turkish War and thus earned the nickname "Türkenlouis" (Turkish Louis). in 1705, the family moved into a side wing of the palace - but the margrave was hardly able to enjoy his new residence. Ludwig Wilhelm died in January 1707, leaving his wife Sibylla Augusta to rule the country - for 20 years as regent in place of his son Ludwig Georg, who was still a minor. Sibylla Augusta completed the interior of the palace and added further buildings to the residence. Her Favorite pleasure palace, located just a few kilometers away, still bears witness to her exceptional taste in art today. Both palaces were not destroyed in the Second World War and are still preserved in their original state.

In 1714, Rastatt was the scene where European history was written. It was here that the Peace of Rastatt ended the War of the Spanish Succession, in which all the major European powers had been involved since 1701. The castle provided the stage for the four-month peace negotiations that resulted in the Peace of Rastatt.

The last decade of the Catholic margraviate was characterized by numerous initiatives to ensure the religious freedom of the subjects: the founding of a convent for the education of Catholic girls, the completion of the Catholic parish of St. Alexander, the rich donations of the princely house to the new parish and the beatification of Margrave Bernhard. When the Baden-Baden line died out in 1771, the margraviate fell to the Protestant Baden-Durlach. Rastatt loses its residential privileges.

The new state government under Margrave Karl Friedrich took various initiatives to promote Rastatt's economy. These included the organization of the Rastatt Congress in the former Residential Palace as well as the founding of a carriage factory. The court and later the Middle Rhine district government were established in Rastatt. In the first half of the 19th century, the town developed into a prosperous administrative center. Portraits of citizens and everyday objects bear witness to this new civic culture.

The start of construction of the federal fortress in 1842 marked a turning point in the town's development. The townscape and life in the town changed fundamentally. The authorities moved away and economic development was henceforth very limited and heavily dependent on the military. The federal fortress itself was actually only under siege once. in 1849, it served as a final retreat for the revolutionary army.

In 1849, Rastatt became the central scene of the revolutionary events that took place in Baden and the Palatinate from the beginning of May to July. From July 1 to 23, over 5,500 men of the revolutionary army were trapped in the fortress, which finally capitulated to the Prussian besiegers. The federal fortress of Rastatt became a special symbol of the Baden revolution. For the Prussians it was the place of triumph, for the Baden democrats the place of defeat.

The fortification of Rastatt was a decisive turning point in the town's development and economic development. in 1890, the fortress ramparts fell and Rastatt became an open city again. New industries settled in Rastatt and brought prosperity to the town. The new Rastatt synagogue was also built at this time. The First World War and the Great Depression brought the upswing to an abrupt halt. Unemployment, housing shortages and poverty characterized life in the border town in the decades to come.

The First World War and the Great Depression left their mark in the first decades of the 20th century. During the Third Reich, Rastatt once again became a garrison town and narrowly escaped destruction during the Second World War. The Rastatt Trials were around 20 major criminal proceedings with a total of more than 2,000 defendants, which were held in Rastatt Castle between 1946 and 1954 in the French occupation zone against those responsible for the German Reich during the National Socialist era. After the war, French soldiers moved into the barracks and shaped life in the town until their departure in the 1990s. With the opening of a Daimler AG plant in 1997, Rastatt became an important location for the automotive industry. Today, the large district town of Rastatt is the seat of the district of Rastatt and a lively medium-sized center.