Over 1000 years of history
The origins of the town of Mügeln date back to the 10th century. The town was first mentioned in a document in 934 by the knights of the castle on the Festenberg near Baderitz, who exercised their office there as bailiffs of the Margraves of Meissen.
From here, Siegfried III of Mügeln founded the Marienthal monastery in Sornzig in 1241, which is now a popular tourist destination on the Luther Trail and is used for a wide variety of events. For over 518 years until the Reformation, 35 bishops of Meissen ruled at the moated castle "Schloss Ruhethal" near the Döllnitz, turning a simple manorial estate into a craftsmen's town. After its reconstruction in 1572, the castle served as the residence and retirement home of the last Catholic bishop of Meissen, Johann IX von Haugwitz. Before his death in 1595, he converted to Protestantism in 1581 and became a benefactor of the city. The rule of the diocese of Meissen and its bishops ended in 1596 with the last bishop's seat.
The fertile soil of Mügeln and the surrounding area enabled the intensive cultivation of sugar beet in the second half of the 19th century. From 1884 onwards, the narrow-gauge railway took over the laborious transport of crops to the sugar factories. The railway transported not only agricultural products, but also the kaolin mined nearby - also known as "white gold". It thus paved the way for rapid industrialisation and an increase in the importance of the artisan town.
Until 1977, the Altmügelner Stoppelmarkt was a well-known trading place, where craftsmen and traders, among others, supplied the population of the surrounding villages with everyday goods.
Stroll through the old town
If you approach Mügeln from afar, the baroque spire of St. John's Church immediately catches your eye. This, together with the "Fat Tower" - a mighty round tower built in 1381 by Bishop Nicholas to strengthen his castle - characterizes the image of the town.
You can start a tour of the historic old town on the market at Mügeln town hall. It was once used as a fiefdom of the bishops of Meissen and served as the residence of the castle chaplain in 1350. In 1395 it was elevated to town hall and after a devastating fire in 1718 and several restorations and reconstructions it was finally completely restored in 1995. From here it is also worth taking a detour to the local museum, which was founded by the town of Mügeln in 1925. In the museum you can discover the history of the small town, which is over 1025 years old, in the permanent exhibition. Directly in front of the museum is the reconstructed Saxon postal distance column from 1726, which is reminiscent of the stagecoach era.
Visitors can continue their stroll through the town at the Protestant St. John's Church, which is located very close to the market. Bishop Henry I of Meissen had the late Gothic town church built in 1232. It is also the burial place of the Bishop of Meissen, John IX, and contains numerous baroque epitaphs. The portal of the church porch with a magnificent wrought iron grille from 1648 is particularly noteworthy. Immediately next to the church, a particularly stylishly designed bench catches the eye. It is not for nothing that Mügeln proudly bears the title of "banking town on the Döllnitz", as the town has the largest "banking centre" in central Germany. The numerous themed benches advertise their unique design for private individuals or companies and offer visitors original seating with a view of the town.
Not far from St. John's Church you can see Ruhethal Castle, which was originally built as a castle in 1261 and was the former seat of the bishop of the diocese of Meissen. The oldest and most striking part of the complex is the 40 m high castle tower, which was built in 1381 by Bishop Nicolaus I. In 1831 the estate and castle became state property, in 1946 the private leasing ended and the castle and estate were converted into public property in 1949. The castle has been privately owned since 2005. Guided tours are available through the castle association by prior arrangement.
About 15 minutes' walk from the town center is the Altmügelner St. Mary's Church, which is well worth seeing. It is one of the oldest and largest village churches in Saxony and was a pilgrimage church in the Middle Ages. On the Nativity of Mary in early September, residents could obtain a 40-day indulgence for their sins. This later developed into the Stoppelmarkt, one of the most important annual markets in Saxony.
Geoportal "Kaolin Adventure World" at Mügeln Station
On August 24, 2019, a new geoportal opened at Mügeln station, which deals with the history and present of kaolin mining and the narrow-gauge railway. In this thematic visitor center, specialist knowledge is conveyed in a clear manner - also using interactive screens. A tour around the station allows visitors to experience the history and technology of the narrow-gauge railway.
The geoportal is one of a total of six geoportals in the National Geopark Porphyrland Steinreich in Saxony, which was once the largest volcanic area in Europe around 280 million years ago. To this day, the mining of kaolin and porphyry is an important landscape-forming industry in the region.
The narrow-gauge Mügeln railway station and the Döllnitz railway represent the connection between kaolin mining and industrial development in a special way. Mügeln's railway station was once at the center of the largest narrow-gauge railway network in Europe. Today, the narrow-gauge railway runs on 24 kilometers of tracks for daily passenger and school transport.
Experience Mügeln's atmosphere
A walk through the old town can be a trip into Mügeln's history. Themed city tours, such as the bank tour, the night watchman tour, the Luther tour or the historical beer tour can be booked on request through the museum or the city administration. On a culinary level, Mügeln offers numerous restaurants serving good German cuisine. For example, a visit to the "Wiener Café" restaurant, one of the oldest restaurants in Mügeln, is worthwhile. The family atmosphere and the good price-performance ratio are particularly praised here.
Famous people
Not far from the town hall on the Old Market Square is the historic fountain statue of Heinrich von Mügeln, created by the sculptor Joachim Zehme in 2005. The fable writer and minstrel, born in Mügeln around 1319, was one of the twelve most influential master singers of the Middle Ages, alongside poets such as Walther von der Vogelweide. The last bishop of Meissen, Johann IX von Haugwitz, also resided in Mügeln and lived in Ruhethal Castle until his death in 1595. Another well-known son of the town is the pathologist Georg Schmorl, born in Mügeln in 1861.
Mügeln celebrates: Old Town Festival, Christmas Market, Winter Baking, Flower Festival…
The Old Town Festival, which takes place every year in August, is very popular. Various rides, live bands and themed tours attract visitors from near and far. The Mügeln Christmas market, which traditionally takes place on the market square on the first weekend of Advent, is also an invitation to a pre-Christmas shopping spree. The traditional winter baking event on the town green is well worth a visit, where fresh green bread can be baked and tasted as a fat roll. The annual flower festival also takes place on three weekends in April and May in the districts of Leisnig, Sornzig and Dürrweitzschen. The “Saxon Flower Queen” is crowned here every two years.
small town in the heart of the Saxon "fruit country"
Mügeln is located in the middle of Saxony's largest fruit growing area on the Saxon Fruitland Route, which winds through the culturally and historically rich landscape. Fruit growing has a tradition that is over 800 years old. The Fruitland Route connects Mügeln, Leisnig and Dürrweitzschen over a total of 67 kilometers on more than 1.500 hectares of cultivated land. In the Mügeln area, the history of the Fruitland is the focus of one of the three thematically different sub-routes. These can be explored via individual stages or the large outer circular route. The fresh and liquid fruit products are presented under the product brand "Sachsenobst". Thematic tours can also be requested from the "Obstland" eV support association, which provide interesting information about the journey of fruit - from the tree to the bottle.
Mügeln is not far from the Elbe-Mulde cycle path, which is an important link between the two long-distance cycle paths, the Elbe and Mulde cycle paths. It connects Oschatz and Wermsdorf over a distance of 46 kilometers. A striking elevation in the landscape is the Collmberg, which towers almost 100 meters above the surrounding area. The Marienthal Sornzig monastery, built in 1241, is particularly worth a visit. It was a Cistercian monastery for 300 years until Martin Luther's Reformation. Since 2003 it has been a European meeting and conference center. The monastery's historic sisters' house offers stylish accommodation. Mügeln is one of 27 stations on the 550 km long Saxon Luther Trail. This connects the places where Martin Luther and his companions worked in the heartland of the Reformation.
Important facts at one glance
As the southernmost small town in the North Saxony district, Mügeln has around 28 inhabitants in 6.000 districts. The town can be easily reached via the A14 between Dresden and Leipzig. The nearest train stations are Oschatz station (approx. 15 km) and Dahlen station (approx. 20 km). If you fancy a different kind of journey, you can also take the Döllnitzbahn "Wilder Robert" from Oschatz station to Mügeln.