Murnau am Staffelsee

History

The area around Murnau was already settled in pre-Christian times. From the reign of Septimius Severus, a Roman road called Via Raetia led above the Brenner Pass and Seefeld Saddle through the upper Isar-Loisachtal valleys all the way to Augsburg. The road continued under the name Via Imperii as an imperial road and trade route until the 19th century. Signs of Celtic and Roman settlements have been found on the now-eroded moss area around the Moosberg in the Murnauer Moos. At that time Murnau was no more than a stopping-off point for travellers, called Murau or Mureau. The name Murnau comes from Mure ("mudslide") and Aue ("meadow"), referring to the Murnauer Moos and Loisachtal. Murnau was first documented in 1150. The first official mention of the church of Saint Nicholas was in a document of 1300, and the castle (Schlossmuseum) is first mentioned in 1324. In 1350 Louis V, Duke of Bavaria granted Murnau the Blutbann (the right of high justice), the Niederlagerecht (the staple right), and the right to hold a market weekly on Wednesdays and at Michaelmas. It retains the title of "Markt" ("market") to this day. From 1632 to 1648, Murnau was occupied by Swedish and French troops during the Thirty Years' War. Plague broke out in 1634. The church of Saint Nikolaus was rebuilt between 1717 and 1734. In 1722 the town was granted the right to hold the Leonhardimarkt and Skapuliermarkt fairs. In 1803 the Ettal Abbey was dissolved, the office of Pfleger was abolished and Murnau was assigned to the district court of Weilheim. The town suffered a major fire in 1835 and subsequently was almost completely rebuilt, leading to the enclosed townscape seen today. In 1879 the Weilheim to Murnau railway opened. Ten years later in 1889 the connection to Garmisch opened, followed by the…

Most-observed species

• White-faced Darter

  Leucorrhinia dubia (Vander Linden, 1825) · Insecta
  1,268
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,073
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,029
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,019
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  862
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  833
• Common Chiffchaff

  Phylloscopus collybita (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  720
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  697

Most recent

• M 3.7 — 2021-08-16
  1 km S of Niederau, Austria
• M 3.6 — 2020-08-08
  5 km SE of Gramais, Austria
• M 3.8 — 2019-10-22
  4 km SE of Ebbs, Austria
• M 2.5 — 2017-11-20
  3 km SE of Medraz, Austria
• M 3.5 — 2017-11-03
  2 km N of Telfes im Stubai, Austria
• M 3.7 — 2013-08-09
  1 km ESE of Aldrans, Austria