DURLACH, a town of Baden, in the circle of Carlsruhe, 2⅜ miles by rail from the city of that name, with which it is connected by a canal and an avenue of poplars. It lies on the left bank of the Pfinz, at the foot of the vineyard-covered Thurmberg, which is crowned by a watch-tower; and it possesses a castle erected in 1565 and now used as barracks, an ancient Rathhaus, a church with an excellent organ, an upper Bürgerschule, an orphan asylum, and in the market-place a statue of the margrave Charles II. Its inhabitants manufacture tobacco, beer, vinegar, and chicory, and engage in agriculture and gardening. A chalybeate spring is utilized at the bathing establishment of Amalienbad.

Durlach was bestowed by the emperor Frederick on Hermann V. of Zähringen as an allodial possession, but afterwards came into the hands of Rudolf of Hapsburg. It was chosen as his residence by the margrave Charles IL, in 1565, and retained this distinction till the foundation of Carlsnιhe in 1715, though it was almost destroyed by the French in 1688. In 1846 it was the seat of a congress of the liberal party of the Baden, parliament; and in 1849 it was the scene of an encounter between the Prussians and the insurgents. Reichenbach the mechanician and Posselt the historian are natives of the town.