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
While it was true that new ventures arose in the 19th century through Wolfstein citizens’ initiatives, such as chalk mining, coalmining, tanning, brewing, linen and cotton article manufacturing, bricks, and so on, these fell far short of employing everybody who sought a job. Thus, out of the need for a livelihood arose the "Musikant" business, not only in Wolfstein but also in many of the outlying villages. For a time, more than 750 professional musicians from the Canton of Wolfstein tried their luck “on the world’s roads”, in circus orchestras, on Siberian noblemen's estates, aboard pleasure boats and elsewhere. Within what is now the "Verbandsgemeinde" of Wolfstein, all together roughly 3,500 people were active as "Musikanten".