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{{Infobox German place 
|name = Rastatt
|type = Town
|image_photo = Aerial image of Schloss Rastatt (view from the southwest).jpg
|image_coa =  DEU Rastatt COA.svg
|state = Baden-Württemberg
|regbzk = Karlsruhe
|district = Rastatt
|Gemeindeschlüssel = 08216043
|area = 58.98
|elevation = 115
|coordinates = {{coord|48|51|N|8|12|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|image_plan = Rastatt in RA.svg
|postal_code = 76401-76437
|area_code = 07222, 07229
|licence = RA
|mayor = Monika Müller<ref>[https://www.staatsanzeiger.de/wahl/oberbuergermeisterwahl-rastatt-2023/ Oberbürgermeisterwahl Rastatt 2023], Staatsanzeiger. Retrieved 13 June 2024.</ref>
|leader_term       = 2023&ndash;31
|party             = SPD
|website = [http://www.rastatt.de/ rastatt.de]
}}
'''Rastatt''' ({{IPA|de|ˈʁaʃtat|-|De-Rastatt.ogg}}) is a [[town]] with a Baroque core, [[Rastatt (district)|District of Rastatt]], [[Baden-Württemberg]], [[Germany]]. It is located in the [[Upper Rhine Plain]] on the [[Murg (Northern Black Forest)|Murg]] river, {{convert|6|km|mi|abbr=on}} above its junction with the [[Rhine]] and has a population of around 51,000 (2022). Rastatt was an important place of the [[War of the Spanish Succession]] ([[Treaty of Rastatt]]) and the [[Revolutions of 1848 in the German states]].

==History==
{{stack|[[File:Schloss Rastatt Innenhof seitlich.jpg|thumb|[[Schloss Rastatt]]]]
[[File:Festung Rastatt, Plan 1849.jpg|thumb|The fortress of Rastatt in 1849]]}}
[[File:Mercedes-Benz-Werk-Rastatt (cropped).jpg|thumb|Mercedes-Benz factory in Rastatt]]
Until the end of the 17th century, Rastatt held little influence, but after its destruction by the French in 1689, it was rebuilt on a larger scale by [[Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden|Louis William]], Margrave of [[Margraviate of Baden|Baden]], the Imperial General in the [[Great Turkish War]] known popularly as ''Türkenlouis''.

It then remained the residence of the [[Margraviate of Baden-Baden|Margraves of Baden-Baden]] until 1771. It was the location of the [[First Congress of Rastatt|First]] and [[Second Congress of Rastatt]], the former giving rise to the [[Treaty of Rastatt]] while the second ended in failure in 1799. In the 1840s, Rastatt was surrounded by fortifications to form the [[Fortress of Rastatt]]. For about 20 years previous to 1866, it was occupied by the troops of the [[German Confederation]].<ref>{{Cite NIE|wstitle=Rastatt|year=1905}}</ref>

The Baden revolution of 1849 began with a mutiny of soldiers at Rastatt in May 1849 under [[Ludwik Mieroslawski]] and [[Gustav Struve]], and ended there a few weeks later with the capture of the town by the [[Prussia]]ns. (See [[The Revolutions of 1848 in the German states]] and [[History of Baden]].) For some years, Rastatt was one of the strongest fortresses of the German empire, but its fortifications were dismantled in 1890.

In the same year, the town's [[Rastatt station|railway station]] was relocated closer to the centre of Rastatt, from a location formerly outside the town walls, in what is now an industrial area.

Between 1946 and 1954, about twenty major criminal proceedings (known as the Rastatt Trials) for crimes against foreign workers and prisoners in smaller camps in the National Socialist camp system in south-west [[Germany]] took place in front of the French Military Administration's Tribunal Général on the basis of Control Council Law No. 10, along with more than 2000 defendants.

In 1992, a new [[Mercedes-Benz]] car factory started production in Rastatt.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rastatt passenger car assembly plant inaugurated |url=https://mercedes-benz-publicarchive.com/marsClassic/en/instance/ko/25-May-1992.xhtml?oid=4912564 |website=mercedes-benz-publicarchive |access-date=11 June 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

==Local attractions==
Rastatt and the surrounding area is home to a variety of historical buildings, includes palaces and castles such as [[Schloss Rastatt]] and [[Schloss Favorite (Rastatt)|Schloss Favorite]]. It lies in the vicinity of the [[Black Forest]] and the French border.

==Twin towns – sister cities==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany}}
Rastatt is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite web|title=GewachseneStädtefreundschaften über viele Grenzen hinweg|url=https://www.rastatt.de/index.php?id=95|website=rastatt.de|publisher=Rastatt|language=de|access-date=2021-03-12|archive-date=2017-07-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707001941/http://www.rastatt.de/index.php?id=95|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Fano]], Italy
*{{flagicon|BRA}} [[Guarapuava]], Brazil
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[New Britain, Connecticut|New Britain]], [[Connecticut]], United States
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Orange, Vaucluse|Orange]], France
*{{flagicon|FIN}} [[Vantaa]], Finland
*{{flagicon|CZE}} [[Ostrov (Karlovy Vary District)|Ostrov]], Czech Republic
*{{flagicon|ENG}} [[Woking]], England, United Kingdom
{{div col end}}

==Transport==
===Air===
Rastatt is served by [[Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport]], which is located {{convert|15|km|abbr=on}} to the south west of the town. Other nearby airports are [[Strasbourg Airport]], located {{convert|81|km|abbr=on}} south west and [[Frankfurt Airport]], located {{convert|151|km|abbr=on}} north of Rastatt. 
===Rail===
[[Rastatt station]] provides train services to other parts of [[Baden-Württemberg]]. It is an important station for the [[Karlsruhe Stadtbahn]], being served by four of its lines, which are operated by the [[Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft]] ("Alb Valley Transport Company", AVG). In addition, it is served by regional and long-distance trains operated by [[Deutsche Bahn]]. The station is located at chainage 96.5&nbsp;km on the [[Rhine Valley Railway]] and at chainage 82.9 on the [[Rhine Railway (Baden)|Rhine Railway]] (both chainages are based on the original distance from [[Mannheim Hbf|Mannheim]]). The station is also the beginning of the [[Murg Valley Railway]].

==Notable people==
[[File:Luise Adolpha Le Beau 1872.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Luise Adolpha Le Beau]], 1872]]
*[[Herman Fortunatus, Margrave of Baden-Rodemachern|Herman Fortunatus]] (1595–1665), Margrave of Baden-Rodemachern
*[[Charles William, Margrave of Baden-Rodemachern|Charles William]] (1627–1666), Margrave of Baden-Rodemachern
*[[Augustus George, Margrave of Baden-Baden|Augustus George]] (1706–1771), Margrave of Baden-Baden
*[[Joseph Frank (physician)|Joseph Frank]] (1771–1842), physician.<ref>{{Cite AmCyc |wstitle= Frank |volume=VII |pages= 428-429; see page 429 |quote= ....by his son. II. Joseph, a German physician....born at Rastadt, Dec. 23, 1771....|short=1}}</ref>
*[[Wilhelm Stemmermann]] (1888–1944), general in the Wehrmacht
*[[Luise Adolpha Le Beau]] (1850–1927), pianist and composer of classical music
*[[Bodo Uhse]] (1904–1963), writer
*[[Oliver Hassencamp]] (1921–1988), cabaret artist, actor and author
*[[Ricky King]] (born 1946), guitarist and musician
*[[Joachim Schuster]] (born 1962), politician (SDP)

=== Sport ===
*[[Christian Seifert]] (born 1969), football functionary
*[[Andria Lloyd]] (born 1971), Jamaican sprinter, studied locally, team bronze medalist at the [[1996 Summer Olympics]]
*[[Philipp Laux]] (born 1973), footballer, played 230 games
*[[Christian Essig]] (born 1986), retired footballer, played 295 games

==In literature==
The plot of the historical novel ''The Lenz Papers'' by [[Stefan Heym]] (published London 1964) is set in 1849 Rastatt, during the [[German Revolution of 1848|failed revolutions in Germany in 1848]].

==Gallery==
<gallery mode=packed>
Rastatt-Rathaus-04-2018-gje.jpg|Town hall
Rastatt-Murg-04-Wasserturm-Brauerei Franz-2016-gje.jpg|Murg river
Rastatt-Pagodenburg-10-Wasserturm-2006-gje.jpg|Pagodenburg and water tower
Rastatt-Franziskanerkloster-04-2018-gje.jpg|Former Franciscan monastery
Rastatt-Ludwig-Wilhelm-Gymnasium-06-2018-gje.jpg|Ludwig-Wilhelm school
Close Act-Saurus-120-gje.jpg|Street theatre festival
Rastatt-Hopfenschlingel-10-Bierwagen-2017-gje.jpg|Hopfenschlingel beer garden
Rastatt-Schloss Favorite-Hauptfassade-28-2006-gje.jpg|Schloss Favorite
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Rastatt}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Rastatt}}
{{Nuttall poster|Rastatt}}
*[http://www.rastatt.de/ Official website]
*[https://www.alemannische-seiten.de/deutschland/rastatt.php Rastatt pictures]
*{{Cite Americana|wstitle=Rastatt|year=1920 |short=x}}
*{{ws|The last half of [[s:The Reminiscences of Carl Schurz/Volume One/07 More Soldiering – Rastatt|Chapter 7 in Volume One]] of [[s:The Reminiscences of Carl Schurz|''The Reminiscences of Carl Schurz'']] describes [[Carl Schurz]]'s recollections as an involuntary inhabitant of Rastatt before its surrender to the Prussians in 1849, and his escape through a sewer after the surrender}}

{{Cities and towns Rastatt (district)}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Rastatt (district)]]