A Swabian Salomon

In the middle of the 19th century, the Oberamtsgericht, house number 7, was built on the site of the former monastery fruit box on the Ach. Chief District Judge Wilhelm Dodel worked here for 21 years. Because of his rough nature, he was an original who went down in history as the Swabian Solomon because of his subtle rulings. Dodel was born in Ebingen (today Albstadt) in 1850 as the son of a red tanner. Because the boy showed exceptional talent, he was allowed to study law. At the age of 28, he took up his first position as a district judge in Marbach and was very popular there thanks to his closeness to the people and subtle humor. Dodel applied several times for vacant senior magistrate positions in the country, but the then Stuttgart Minister of Justice prevented this, certainly also because of Dodel's “cheeky Gosch”. Only after his replacement did Dodel get the position of senior magistrate in Blaubeuren in 1892. In 1913, at the age of 63, he took off his famous floppy hat and moved to Ulm with his wife and son to make it easier for them to attend high school. Wilhelm Setz compiled the anecdotes about the Blaubeur magistrate and published them in the booklets “Dodeldum” and “Zaunigel”. Dodel apparently also had stories foisted on him that didn't actually happen and can be attributed to literary freedom. What is certain is that Dodel was a conscientious judge who persisted until the truth was revealed. Today the street in Blaubeuren leading to the sports hall is named after him.

Arresting Schubart

The elongated building at number 8 in the south of the monastery courtyard was the tax office in Dodel's time. The spacious building was originally built as a monastery bailiwick, with a large granary, bakery and administrative rooms. This later became the so-called camera office. This was the official residence of the monastery official Scholl, who in 1777 played the decoy on behalf of the Duke of Württemberg, Carl Eugen. He invited the rebellious Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart from the free imperial city of Ulm to Blaubeuren, where arrest awaited him instead of a fun dinner. Schubart was taken to Hohenasperg without a trial and imprisoned for ten years. In his memory, a small literary museum was housed here from 1990 to 2021.

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