The Wiesental, named after the river Wiese, is a valley in the Southern Black Forest. The Wiese is a right-hand tributary of the Rhine which has its source in Feldberg and flows into the Rhine in Basel, Switzerland. The Wiesental was one of the first industrialized regions of the former grand dutchy of Baden and an important production location for the textile industry.
Geography
With the exception of the two Swiss communes Riehen and Basel, as well as the Feldberg commune with the source of the Wiese (Landkreis Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald), the Wiesental belongs entirely to the district of Landkreis Lörrach. The 55 km long river Wiese flows through the valley in a South-Western direction from the Feldberg (1200 meters above sea level) to Basel (244 meters above sea level). The Wiese merges with its biggest tributary, the "Little Wiese", approximately below Schopfheim. The Köhlgarten- and Belchenwiese merge to become the Little Wiese nearTegernau. Its valley is known as Kleines Wiesental ("Little Wiesental").
The biggest city in Wiesental is Lörrach with around 48 000 inhabitants, followed by Schopfheim with around 19 000 inhabitants.
Geology
The back part of the valley is mainly made of Gneiss and Granite. However near Zell, the right side of the valley is mostly made of Sandstone while its left side is made of Limestone (see Dinkelberg, Homburger Wald or Eichener See).
Traffic
The 317 crosses the valley alongside the Wiese in a south-westerly direction. Near Schopfheim the 518 branches off in the direction of the Wehratal and Hochrhein. Additionally, near Lörrach the A98 crosses the valley on the Wiesental Bridge, resembling a viaduct. The Wiesentalbahn, which is operated by the Swiss SBB, runs parallel to the Wiese, connecting Zell and Basel SBB station.
Formerly a light railway ran from Zell to Todtnau ("Todtnauerli") but this has been out of use since 1967. The Wehratalbahn, which ran from Schopfheim, through Wehr, and ended in the Rhine valley, was also abandoned.
History
First Settlement
Roman remains near Maulburg and Brombach provide evidence that the Wiesental was inhabited fairly early. The population of the valley increased greatly later; remains near Fahrnau and Schopfheim suggest that settlement of the central part of the Wiesental began around 700 AD, while the far end of the valley was most likely not populated until the 10th and 11th century. The district of Brombach, Lörrach, was documented as early as the year 786. The Wiesental's oldest town is Schopfheim (first documented in 807), which was also the first to gain market rights from the Lords of Rötteln around 1250.
Land Tenure since the High Middle Ages
During the High Middle Ages the Wiesental was owned by numerous clerics and secular masters. Lörrach, Brombach and Rötteln were important locations for the Lords of Rötteln, who were reeves of the St. Alban cloister in Basel. Their castle sits above Lörrach. Additionally, the Röttler owned numerous parts of the centre of the Wiesental (e.g. Maulburg, Schopfheim) and the Little Wiesental. The Lords of Rotenburg, another Röttler line, owned a castle near Wieslet. The Lords of Waldeck had tenure and rights in Fahrnau, Steinen, Hägelberg and Fröhnd, the noble family Kaltenbach ruled in the neighbouring Kandertal, and the Kienberg family owned land on the Dinkelberg, as well as in . Other families with large properties were the Klingens of Langenau and Gersbach, and the Wehrs from the upper Wiesental. The noble family Wart held rights in Endenburg, Schlächtenaus and Weitenau, while the von Grenchens had theirs in Fröhnd, Schönau, Wembach and Höllstein. Moreover, numerous cloisters held rights and tenure in the Wiesental, namely St. Blasien and the cloister of Säckingen. Several houses (von Waldeck, von Eichstetten, von Wehr-Wildenstein, von Grenchen and Höllstein) handed over the entire territory of Schönau and Todtnau to the cloister of St.Blasien during the 12th century. Furthermore, the cloister received Fröhnd from the Lords of Stein and Künaberg and owned a church in Weitenau in the centre of the Wiesental. The territory around Zell and Häg-Ehrsberg belonged to the cloister of Säckingen. A large part of the gentry's property was acquired by cloisters during the 12th century. The Lords of Kaltenbach gave their property to the cloister St. Blasien and thereby founded the Bürgeln priory. The Weitenau priory's property can be traced back to the Lords of Wart. The Lords of Waldeck handed over their property to the cloister St. Blasien as well and the Wettingen cloister was given possessions from the Lords of Üsenberg.
