Ortenau
48°28′23″N 8°00′11″E / 48.473°N 8.003°E
The Ortenau, originally called Mortenau, is a historic region in the present-day German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the right bank of the river Rhine, stretching from the Upper Rhine Plain to the foothill zone of the Black Forest. In the south, it borders on the Breisgau region, covering approximately the same area as the Ortenaukreis, a present-day administrative district with its centre at Offenburg.
History
The region was first mentioned as Mordunouva in a 763 deed. Then an early medieval county (
When the Zähringen dukes became extinct in 1218, quarrels broke out over their succession between their