Wolfstein, Rhineland-Palatinate
Wolfstein was founded in 1275 on Habsburg King Rudolph I's orders, which called for a “fortified and free” town near his castle, “Woluisstein”, now known as the "Alt-Wolfstein" (“Old Wolfstein”) ruin. Rudolph forthwith granted the new town the same town rights and freedoms as the town of Speyer. As an “everlasting marketplace”, it was to be a sanctuary for commerce, trade and dealing. The first townsmen and -women came from the surrounding, much older villages.
Wolfstein, Rhineland-Palatinate
In 1852, the cantons were changed into district municipalities ("Distriktgemeinden"). On the district councils – 30 municipalities belonged to the Wolfstein district ("Distrikt Wolfstein") – farmers held the majority, as the voting rather favoured those who were most heavily taxed. Of the 43 councillors in the Wolfstein district, 35 were farmers.