Maulbronn is a city in the district of Enz

Enz (district)

Enzkreis is a district in the north-west of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Karlsruhe, Heilbronn,Ludwigsburg, Böblingen and Calw...

 in Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...

 in southern Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

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History

Founded in 1838, it emerged from a settlement, built around a monastery, which belonged to the Neckar Community in the Kingdom of Württemberg. In 1886, Maulbronn officially became a German town and was an administrative centre until 1938. The return of many displaced persons following the Second World War significantly raised the local population.

Of particular note is the town's monastery, Maulbronn Abbey

Maulbronn Abbey

Maulbronn Monastery is the best-preserved medieval Cistercian monastery complex in Europe. It is situated on the outskirts of Maulbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany and is separated from the town by fortifications. Since 1993 the monastery is part of the Unesco World Heritage.- History :The...

, which features prominently in Hermann Hesse

Hermann Hesse

Hermann Hesse was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature...

's novel, Beneath the Wheel

Beneath the Wheel

Beneath the Wheel is a 1906 novel written by Hermann Hesse. It is also sometimes titled The Prodigy in English.-Plot summary:...

. The former Cistercian monastery has been a UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

 since 1993.

Legend has it that the settlement was founded by monks who followed a mule to a valley with a source of clean water. The valley was also blessed with large deposits of soft sandstone for building. The monks built the original abbey and erected a fountain to honour the mule. The town name means mule fountain.

According to legend, the monks of Maulbronn also invented the pasta dish Maultasche

Maultasche

Maultaschen are a Swabian specialty food, consisting of an outer layer of pasta dough with a filling traditionally made of minced meat, smoked meat, spinach, bread crumbs and onions and flavored with various herbs and spices...

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