Heiligenstadt (Upper Franconia)
Encyclopedia
Heiligenstadt in Oberfranken (officially: Heiligenstadt i. OFr.) is a community with market rights in the Upper Franconia
n district of Bamberg
.
To further tourism
the old school was converted into today’s town hall, the historic marketplace
was remodelled, and at Easter
it is adorned with an Easter fountain. Furthermore, an old barn
was converted into a community centre.
The community with its houses under memorial protection and its historically interesting church is a well known outing destination.
Visitors are especially numerous at Easter when many come to see the Franconian Switzerland
’s Easter fountains.
The Evangelical St.-Veit- und St.-Michaels-Kirche (church) goes back to a former tithe
barn. The freestanding belltower stands on what is left of a former castle
. Unusual for an Evangelical church is the elaborate Baroque
painting on the wooden galleries and the panelled ceilings.
. The greatest elevation is the Altenberg (mountain) behind Zoggendorf at 583 m above sea level. The villages on the heights from Volkmannsreuth to Teuchatz belong to the Lange Meile (“Long Mile”). The North Jura joins with the Seigelstein near Lindach. The mountain villages east of the Leinleiter are part of the Aufseßer Gebirge (mountain range).
Heiligenstadt, in the Naturpark Fränkische Schweiz-Veldensteiner Forst (nature park), is the most important place in the Leinleiter Valley.
finds establish that the market community’s municipal area was already populated thousands of years ago, at least at times. However, permanent small communities only arose about the year 500 at the time of the Migration Period
(or Völkerwanderung). Documentary mention, though, came only much later.
The community’s villages arose about a thousand years ago. Heiligenstadt itself already existed before the Bishopric of Bamberg was founded in 1007.
In the Leinleiter Valley were lordly seats of the Knights of Streitberg. In 1525, the peasants revolted
and inflicted heavy damage upon the castles. In 1541, the Emperor granted Heiligenstadt market privilege.
In 1580, the Reformation
was introduced into Heiligenstadt and Unterleinleiter
. In 1690, the Prince-Bishop of Bamberg, Marquard Sebastian Schenk von Stauffenberg inherited the knightly estates of Greifenstein and Burggrub together with patronage over Heiligenstadt. The Counts Schenk von Stauffenberg
still live at Greifenstein Castle and the palatial estate of Burggrub today. The villages in the community’s northern area grew out of the former Bamberg Ämter. Here there was no change in the prevailing religion
.
Through the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss in 1803, the community passed to Bavaria
.
In the course of administrative reform in Bavaria, the communities of Brunn, Burggrub, Hohenpölz, Oberleinleiter, Siegritz, Stücht, Traindorf and Zoggendorf joined the market community of Heiligenstadt.
n cohorts destroyed parts of Heiligenstadt and the whole of Burggrub and Zoggendorf. By paying an immense sum of money, the Margrave
Friedrich, who had been summoned for help, managed to get the Hussite leader Prokop to turn away. The money had to be made up through special tax
es paid by the subjects.
plundered the castle at Veilbronn. Once the revolt had been quelled by the Swabian League
, five of the peasants’ leaders were beheaded at the market in Hollfeld
.
was set off in 1552 by the Margrave Albrecht Alcibiades of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. In April 1553, the Margrave’s horsemen laid waste to the village of Herzogenreuth. Hohenpölz was supposed to pay protection money to receive a charter to avoid the worst.
caused the most damage of all wars. On 10 September 1632, the Mistendorf clergyman reported the plunder of the villages of Teuchatz and Tiefenpölz, both served by him. The perpetrators, however, were not the Swedes
, but Imperial troops who were fighting on the Catholic side. The Kastner (“bursary officer”) of the Streitburg wrote in 1633 to the Margrave in Kulmbach telling him that “the subjects had all their livestock
and grain
taken away and many were horridly murder
ed. In some villages more than half the subjects are said to have died wretchedly.” Farms were forsaken in Volkmannsreuth, Brunn, Oberleinleiter, Burggrub and Stücht. Meanwhile, times had become so uncertain that hardly any more written records were kept. Moreover, no-one knew anymore who was fighting for or against whom. On 12 June 1634, Weimar
horsemen plundered the villages and took the farmers’ livestock away. An eyewitness wrote:
In connection with this, Heiligenstadt may also have been affected.
between Prussia
and Austria
was about supremacy in Central Europe
. The Prussians moved by way of Fürth
towards the north and in the summer of 1757 they were quartered in Ebermannstadt
, which they plundered before they then moved up the Leinleiter. On the way, they extorted all that there was to have: money, livestock, food. Under the soldiers’ march, Veilbronn and Traindorf both suffered. Barely a year later came the Prussians’ next invasion, and a year after that came a third. In November 1762, Prussian troops stayed in the area around Heiligenstadt for three weeks.
, an army corps under General Jourdan
on a retreat overran the Franconian Switzerland. French
military police
rode through the villages and extorted protection money from the peasants – sometimes many times in quick succession.
, many of those called up for military service
were stationed at the Metz
garrison, some of whom stayed for ever and took wives. Among these was Jean Puff from the Heroldsmühle.
troops with a white flag to surrender their village. The Americans established a military government, ordering, on pain of death, the surrender of all firearm
s. Near Teuchatz, a bomb disposal
site was set up, where Wehrmacht
munitions were destroyed.
word heilig (“holy”). It is merely another example of how names can change over time. The community was first mentioned in 1365 as Haldenstat, meaning “town at the slope” (Halde is still a German word for “slope”).
In a report from the time of the Franconian Switzerland’s discovery (that is, as a tour destination), Dr. Gottlieb Zimmermann describes in 1840 a hiking
route along the Leinleiter wherein he shows by mentioning the community’s old name that the name Heiligenstadt has nothing to do with Heiligen (“Holy Ones” or “Saints”), but rather with the word Halde:
The community was called Lutherisches
Hallstadt to distinguish it from Hallstadt
near Bamberg, which was (and is) mostly Catholic
.
live, whereas in the outlying newer developments, most people are Catholic. All together, the ratio between the two faiths stands at roughly 1:1.
(Baptists). It has its seat in the family centre (sponsored by the Familienzentrum der Evangelisch-Freikirchlichen Gemeinden in Nordbayern e. V. )
According to documents, in 1605 there were at least three Jewish families living in Heiligenstadt. In 1617, there were seven. According to a directory kept by a clergyman named Knab from Heiligenstadt, there were 1,758 souls in his parish all together, 239 of them Catholic and 58 Jewish.
In 1692, a shechita
and slaughter
order was in effect. In 1734, Jews were allowed to carry their books publicly, accompanied by musicians, into their synagogue
.
Not seldom, the Jews’ business acumen led to envy. In 1699, peasants from the Scheßlitz
area rose up together against the Jews. First, the Heiligenstadters wanted to stand against them. However, once they learnt that only Jews were to be harmed, they forsook their resistance. Some even took part in the ensuing pogrom
. In 1716, the Jews requested lordly protection when news reached Heiligenstadt that a “young Christian girl” in Pretzfeld
had been murdered, leading the Jews to fear that they would be the targets of a revenge campaign by those who suspected them.
The last relic of Jewish life is the Jewish cemetery on the Berg Kuhlich, mentioned as early as 1608. The last burial here took place about 1900. An unknown witness noted in the 1950s:
twig in his left.
When the outlying communities of Brunn, Burggrub, Hohenpölz, Oberleinleiter, Siegritz, Stücht, Traindorf and Zoggendorf were amalgamated with Heiligenstadt, the new, bigger community kept the old Heiligenstadt’s coat of arms
, which at arms revision in 1819 was held to be the “longest borne arms”. Older seals, however, have not come down to the present day.
The Archangel Michael is, along with Saint Vitus, the holy protector of the now Evangelical St.-Veit- und St.-Michaels-Kirche in Heiligenstadt.
and Neiße after the Second World War did not decisively change this emigration pattern. Not all of them stayed for any length of time. It was only in the 1970s that an upswing was brought about when Mayor Daum did all that he could to make Heiligenstadt more attractive to those seeking work. To this end, jobs were created along with shopping facilities. The state furnished funds for this, making it possible to overhaul the community core.
mined on the Upper Leinleiter, iron ore finds near Königsfeld, the wood
from the Stauffenberg and Aufseß forests, loading grain and livestock, and the looming tourism in the Franconian Switzerland.
For those whose lands abutted the projected right of way, building the railway meant a financial burden, for the railway required acquisition of lands needed not only for this right of way but also for other building works such as access ways. Even communities farther away from the railway were ready to throw their lot in with those that were nearer in the hope that there would one day be an extension to Hollfeld
or Scheßlitz
.
The people of Gasseldorf, on the other hand, caused the railway builders difficulties. They were unwilling to yield land for the project, making forcible expropriation measures necessary.
In June 1913, building work began. There was 117 000 m³ of earth to be moved, 11 bridge
s to be built, and the Leinleiter riverbed had to be shifted in five places, making plenty of work for more than 100 workers and many residents.
In 1915, the project could fulfil its purpose. On 4 October 1915, the Ebermannstadt-Heiligenstadt local railway went into service. The schoolteacher Hans Spörl wrote:
It goes on to say:
The pride was, however, short-lived, for in June 1960, passenger service ended on the line, and in 1968, goods services were also halted.
from Bamberg to Heiligenstadt was being planned. In 1930, the postal bus was running “as demand required”. This mainly meant outings into the Franconian Switzerland. The post conducted its wanting service mostly under bad road conditions. The motorized postal line to Hollfeld was abandoned again in the autumn of 1931 because the abutting communities of Zoggendorf and Stücht were not using the service enough for it to be justifiable. After that, the coachman with his horse-drawn service ran once again.
Roads fit for motor vehicles within the community’s limits came into being only in the 1930s through work done by the Reichsarbeitsdienst
, mainly through their job creation schemes. In connection with this, the roads from Veilbronn to Siegritz and from Hohenpölz to Reckendorf were built.
The biggest postwar project was the building of the valley bridge in Veilbronn in the 1950s.
. Another such postal line ran to the railway station in Ebermannstadt
. In 1898 came the establishment of a planned postal agency, whose agents complained about the strenuous duty because the postal vehicles always came at night or very early in the morning, making it necessary for them to be on duty then.
Letter and parcel post was carried by motor vehicles. The postal delivery service was provided until the 1960s by postmen on foot or bicycle.
On 1 October 1874, Heiligenstadt got a Morse
telegraph station, which was used until 1926. In 1907, a telephone exchange
was opened. The first subscribers were the Hösch Inn and Schloss Greifenstein as well as the communities of Burggrub and Hohenpölz.
Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia , all now part of the German Federal State of Bayern .With more than 200 independent breweries which brew...
n district of Bamberg
Bamberg (district)
Bamberg Land is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It surrounds but does not include the town of Bamberg. The district is bounded by the districts of Lichtenfels, Bayreuth, Forchheim, Erlangen-Höchstadt, Neustadt -Bad Windsheim, Kitzingen, Schweinfurt and Haßberge.- History :The history of the...
.
To further tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
the old school was converted into today’s town hall, the historic marketplace
Marketplace
A marketplace is the space, actual, virtual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. The term is also used in a trademark law context to denote the actual consumer environment, ie. the 'real world' in which products and services are provided and consumed.-Marketplaces and street markets:A...
was remodelled, and at Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
it is adorned with an Easter fountain. Furthermore, an old barn
Barn
A barn is an agricultural building used for storage and as a covered workplace. It may sometimes be used to house livestock or to store farming vehicles and equipment...
was converted into a community centre.
The community with its houses under memorial protection and its historically interesting church is a well known outing destination.
Visitors are especially numerous at Easter when many come to see the Franconian Switzerland
Franconian Switzerland
The Little Switzerland is an upland in Upper Franconia, northern Bavaria and a popular tourist retreat. Located between the Pegnitz River in the east and the south, the Regnitz River in the west and the Main River in the north, its relief reaches 600 metres in height.The Franconian Switzerland is...
’s Easter fountains.
The Evangelical St.-Veit- und St.-Michaels-Kirche (church) goes back to a former tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
barn. The freestanding belltower stands on what is left of a former castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
. Unusual for an Evangelical church is the elaborate Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
painting on the wooden galleries and the panelled ceilings.
Geography
Heiligenstadt lies in the Bamberg district’s southeastern corner. The 24 Gemeindeteile lie along the Leinleiter Valley and on the abutting Jura Plateau. Veilbronn lies 329 m above sea levelSea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
. The greatest elevation is the Altenberg (mountain) behind Zoggendorf at 583 m above sea level. The villages on the heights from Volkmannsreuth to Teuchatz belong to the Lange Meile (“Long Mile”). The North Jura joins with the Seigelstein near Lindach. The mountain villages east of the Leinleiter are part of the Aufseßer Gebirge (mountain range).
Heiligenstadt, in the Naturpark Fränkische Schweiz-Veldensteiner Forst (nature park), is the most important place in the Leinleiter Valley.
Constituent communities
Heiligenstadt is a small centre with 24 constituent communities (Gemeindeteile). Within municipal limits is an area of 77 km² making Heiligenstadt the district’s third biggest community; however, it belongs to the more thinly populated areas. In all of Heiligenstadt’s centres live roughly 3,700 inhabitants.| Brunn has an area of 5.57 km², lying on a plateau Plateau In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau... between Hohenpölz and Schloss Greifenstein. |
130 inhabitants | |||
| Burggrub lies on the ridge of the Altenberg and below the 525-m high Eichenberg in the Leinleiter Valley, 378 m above sea level. | 167 inhabitants | |||
| The hamlet Hamlet (place) A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village... of Geisdorf lies roughly 500 m above sea level on a terrace of the Jura. |
27 | |||
| Schloss Greifenstein lies 502 m above sea level and is the Stauffenberg Stauffenberg The Schenken von Stauffenberg are an aristocratic Roman Catholic family from Swabia in Germany, whose best-known member was Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg – the key figure in the 1944 "20 July plot" to assassinate Adolf Hitler.... noble family’s home castle. |
11 inhabitants | |||
| Heiligenstadt is the community’s main and namesake centre, dwarfing all of its outlying centres with a population of 1,333. | 1,333 inhabitants | |||
| The Heroldsmühle lies near the Leinleiter’s source. | 9 inhabitants | |||
| Herzogenreuth lies 566 m above sea level, making it the Bamberg district’s highest village. | 139 inhabitants | |||
 |
Hohenpölz with its 30-metre high church belltower can be seen from almost everywhere in the heights of the Franconian Jura Franconian Jura The Franconian Jura is an upland in Bavaria, Germany. Located between two rivers, the Danube in the south and the Main in the north, its peaks reach elevations of up to .Large portions of the Franconian Jura are part of the Altmühl Valley Nature Park... . It has an area of 7.57 km². |
141 inhabitants | ||
| Kalteneggolsfeld has an area of 4.18 km² and an elevation of 520 m. It lies on the edge of the Lange Meile (“Long Mile”). | 141 inhabitants | |||
| Leidingshof | 33 inhabitants | |||
| Lindach was until administrative reform Bavaria’s smallest community. | 69 inhabitants | |||
| Not far from Neudorf begins the Wein Valley, which leads to Veilbronn. | 49 inhabitants | |||
| The Neumühle lies on the Volletsbach 370 m above sea level below Schloss Greifenstein (castle) and is included in most depictions of the castle. | 24 inhabitants | |||
| Oberleinleiter lies 386 m above sea level. The village’s landmark is the 520-m high Kreuzsteinfelsen, from which there is a panorama over the countryside as far as the villages of the Bamberger Jura. | 177 inhabitants | |||
| Oberngrub has an area of 3.7 km². It is part of the Lange Meile (“Long Mile”). | 172 inhabitants | |||
| Reckendorf lies in a side valley of the Leinleiter running north-south, two kilometres north of Heiligenstadt. | 90 inhabitants | |||
| Siegritz has an area of 9.24 km². It lies near the Wern Valley on the Alb plateau about 456 m above sea level in the Bamberg district’s southeasternmost reaches. | 190 inhabitants | |||
| Stücht once belonged to the Lords of Stauffenberg at Schloss Greifenstein. | 76 inhabitants | |||
| Teuchatz lies in a small basin (545 m above sea level) on the edge of the western heights of the Franconian Jura Franconian Jura The Franconian Jura is an upland in Bavaria, Germany. Located between two rivers, the Danube in the south and the Main in the north, its peaks reach elevations of up to .Large portions of the Franconian Jura are part of the Altmühl Valley Nature Park... . |
213 inhabitants | |||
| Tiefenpölz has a noteworthy St. Martin’s Parish Church that rises over the village. | 138 inhabitants | |||
| Traindorf lies in the Leinleiter Valley hardly a kilometre south of Heiligenstadt. | 155 inhabitants | |||
| Veilbronn lies in the Leinleiter Valley south of Heiligenstadt and is well known as a holiday village. | 72 inhabitants | |||
| Volkmannsreuth lies on the plateau. | 54 inhabitants | |||
| Zoggendorf lies in the Leinleiter Valley. Towering over it is the 585-m high Altenberg. | 105 inhabitants |
- All population figures are as at 1 January 2005.
History
PrehistoricPrehistory
Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
finds establish that the market community’s municipal area was already populated thousands of years ago, at least at times. However, permanent small communities only arose about the year 500 at the time of the Migration Period
Migration Period
The Migration Period, also called the Barbarian Invasions , was a period of intensified human migration in Europe that occurred from c. 400 to 800 CE. This period marked the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages...
(or Völkerwanderung). Documentary mention, though, came only much later.
The community’s villages arose about a thousand years ago. Heiligenstadt itself already existed before the Bishopric of Bamberg was founded in 1007.
In the Leinleiter Valley were lordly seats of the Knights of Streitberg. In 1525, the peasants revolted
German Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt was a widespread popular revolt in the German-speaking areas of Central Europe, 1524–1526. At its height in the spring and summer of 1525, the conflict involved an estimated 300,000 peasants: contemporary estimates put the dead at 100,000...
and inflicted heavy damage upon the castles. In 1541, the Emperor granted Heiligenstadt market privilege.
In 1580, the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
was introduced into Heiligenstadt and Unterleinleiter
Unterleinleiter
Unterleinleiter is a municipality in the district of Forchheim in Bavaria in Germany....
. In 1690, the Prince-Bishop of Bamberg, Marquard Sebastian Schenk von Stauffenberg inherited the knightly estates of Greifenstein and Burggrub together with patronage over Heiligenstadt. The Counts Schenk von Stauffenberg
Stauffenberg
The Schenken von Stauffenberg are an aristocratic Roman Catholic family from Swabia in Germany, whose best-known member was Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg – the key figure in the 1944 "20 July plot" to assassinate Adolf Hitler....
still live at Greifenstein Castle and the palatial estate of Burggrub today. The villages in the community’s northern area grew out of the former Bamberg Ämter. Here there was no change in the prevailing religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
.
Through the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss in 1803, the community passed to Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
.
In the course of administrative reform in Bavaria, the communities of Brunn, Burggrub, Hohenpölz, Oberleinleiter, Siegritz, Stücht, Traindorf and Zoggendorf joined the market community of Heiligenstadt.
Hussite storm (1430)
The first major war of which anything exact is known was the Hussite War in 1430. The Heiligenstadt parish chronicle reports that in 1429, single BohemiaBohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
n cohorts destroyed parts of Heiligenstadt and the whole of Burggrub and Zoggendorf. By paying an immense sum of money, the Margrave
Margrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
Friedrich, who had been summoned for help, managed to get the Hussite leader Prokop to turn away. The money had to be made up through special tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
es paid by the subjects.
German Peasants' War (1525)
During the German Peasants' War of 1525, peasants from the Bamberg area plundered and burnt the castle at Burggrub. A cohort from EbermannstadtEbermannstadt
Ebermannstadt is a town in the district of Forchheim, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 10 km northeast of Forchheim and 25 km southeast of Bamberg.-Districts:*Breitenbach*Ebermannstadt*Gasseldorf*Niedermirsberg*Rüssenbach*Neuses-Poxstall...
plundered the castle at Veilbronn. Once the revolt had been quelled by the Swabian League
Swabian League
The Swabian League was an association of Imperial States - cities, prelates, principalities and knights - principally in the territory of the Early medieval stem duchy of Swabia, established in 1488 at the behest of Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg and supported as well by Bertold von...
, five of the peasants’ leaders were beheaded at the market in Hollfeld
Hollfeld
Hollfeld is a town in the district of Bayreuth, in Bavaria, Germany.It is situated 20 km west of Bayreuth, and 30 km east of Bamberg.-Villages:...
.
Second Margrave War (1552–1554)
The Second Margrave WarSecond Margrave War
The Second Margrave War was a conflict in the Holy Roman Empire between 1552 and 1555. Instigated by Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and Brandenburg-Bayreuth, it involved numerous raids, plunderings and the destruction of many towns and castles in the empire, especially in...
was set off in 1552 by the Margrave Albrecht Alcibiades of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. In April 1553, the Margrave’s horsemen laid waste to the village of Herzogenreuth. Hohenpölz was supposed to pay protection money to receive a charter to avoid the worst.
Thirty Years' War (1618–1648)
The Thirty Years' WarThirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
caused the most damage of all wars. On 10 September 1632, the Mistendorf clergyman reported the plunder of the villages of Teuchatz and Tiefenpölz, both served by him. The perpetrators, however, were not the Swedes
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, but Imperial troops who were fighting on the Catholic side. The Kastner (“bursary officer”) of the Streitburg wrote in 1633 to the Margrave in Kulmbach telling him that “the subjects had all their livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
and grain
GRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
taken away and many were horridly murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed. In some villages more than half the subjects are said to have died wretchedly.” Farms were forsaken in Volkmannsreuth, Brunn, Oberleinleiter, Burggrub and Stücht. Meanwhile, times had become so uncertain that hardly any more written records were kept. Moreover, no-one knew anymore who was fighting for or against whom. On 12 June 1634, Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
horsemen plundered the villages and took the farmers’ livestock away. An eyewitness wrote:
- “On the same day we saw on the mountains near Hollfeld in three places villages burning; the flames reached up to the clouds.”
In connection with this, Heiligenstadt may also have been affected.
Seven Years' War 1756–1763
The Seven Years' WarSeven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
between Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
was about supremacy in Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
. The Prussians moved by way of Fürth
Fürth
The city of Fürth is located in northern Bavaria, Germany in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the two cities being only 7 km apart....
towards the north and in the summer of 1757 they were quartered in Ebermannstadt
Ebermannstadt
Ebermannstadt is a town in the district of Forchheim, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 10 km northeast of Forchheim and 25 km southeast of Bamberg.-Districts:*Breitenbach*Ebermannstadt*Gasseldorf*Niedermirsberg*Rüssenbach*Neuses-Poxstall...
, which they plundered before they then moved up the Leinleiter. On the way, they extorted all that there was to have: money, livestock, food. Under the soldiers’ march, Veilbronn and Traindorf both suffered. Barely a year later came the Prussians’ next invasion, and a year after that came a third. In November 1762, Prussian troops stayed in the area around Heiligenstadt for three weeks.
Napoleonic Wars (1796)
In the Napoleonic WarsNapoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, an army corps under General Jourdan
Jourdan
Jourdan may refer to:*Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, 1762–1833, French army commander.*Jourdan Dunn, b.1990, British fashion model.*Louis Jourdan, b.1921, French actor.*Jourdan, South African heritage of the surname Jordaan....
on a retreat overran the Franconian Switzerland. French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
military police
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
rode through the villages and extorted protection money from the peasants – sometimes many times in quick succession.
Franco-Prussian War (1870)
With the annexation of Alsace-LorraineAlsace-Lorraine
The Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine was a territory created by the German Empire in 1871 after it annexed most of Alsace and the Moselle region of Lorraine following its victory in the Franco-Prussian War. The Alsatian part lay in the Rhine Valley on the west bank of the Rhine River and east...
, many of those called up for military service
Military service
Military service, in its simplest sense, is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, whether as a chosen job or as a result of an involuntary draft . Some nations require a specific amount of military service from every citizen...
were stationed at the Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
garrison, some of whom stayed for ever and took wives. Among these was Jean Puff from the Heroldsmühle.
First World War
Even though the First World War took place far from Heiligenstadt, the human losses were roughly as high as they had been in the Thirty Years' War.Second World War
As the Second World War was drawing to an end, the villagers hid with their livestock while the village elders approached United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
troops with a white flag to surrender their village. The Americans established a military government, ordering, on pain of death, the surrender of all firearm
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
s. Near Teuchatz, a bomb disposal
Bomb disposal
Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
site was set up, where Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
munitions were destroyed.
Chronology
- 1541 Market privileges
- 1580 ReformationProtestant ReformationThe Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
in Heiligenstadt and Unterleinleiter - 1803 Heiligenstadt passes to Bavaria
- 1915 Railway connection by way of EbermannstadtEbermannstadtEbermannstadt is a town in the district of Forchheim, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 10 km northeast of Forchheim and 25 km southeast of Bamberg.-Districts:*Breitenbach*Ebermannstadt*Gasseldorf*Niedermirsberg*Rüssenbach*Neuses-Poxstall...
to ForchheimForchheim (Oberfranken)Forchheim is a large town in Upper Franconia in northern Bavaria, and also the seat of the administrative district of Forchheim. Forchheim is a former royal city, and is sometimes called the “Gateway to the Franconian Switzerland”, as the region is known. Its population, as of October 2008, was... - 1968 Abandonment of railway
- 1971 Administrative reform
Community’s name
The placename Heiligenstadt has nothing to do with the GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
word heilig (“holy”). It is merely another example of how names can change over time. The community was first mentioned in 1365 as Haldenstat, meaning “town at the slope” (Halde is still a German word for “slope”).
In a report from the time of the Franconian Switzerland’s discovery (that is, as a tour destination), Dr. Gottlieb Zimmermann describes in 1840 a hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
route along the Leinleiter wherein he shows by mentioning the community’s old name that the name Heiligenstadt has nothing to do with Heiligen (“Holy Ones” or “Saints”), but rather with the word Halde:
- „Heiligenstadt, auch das lutherische Hallstadt genannt, ist ein hübscher Marktflecken im Thale, wo die Reisenden mehrere und ziemlich gute Wirthshäuser finden.“
The community was called Lutherisches
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
Hallstadt to distinguish it from Hallstadt
Hallstadt
Hallstadt is a town in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg on the left bank of the Main, 4 km north of Bamberg.-Geography:Hallstadt borders in the south on the city of Bamberg and in the west on the Main. There are two constituent communities named Hallstadt and Dörfleins...
near Bamberg, which was (and is) mostly Catholic
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
.
Religion
Within the market community’s limits, Catholic and Evangelical villages lie in the area of the Archdiocese of Bamberg: In Leidingshof there is not a single Catholic, in the villages of the parish of Tiefenpölz, almost nobody is Evangelical. In the heart of the main community, mostly LutheransLutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
live, whereas in the outlying newer developments, most people are Catholic. All together, the ratio between the two faiths stands at roughly 1:1.
Roman Catholic church
Heiligenstadt-Burggrub is a patronage parish with presentation rights of the Schenken von Stauffenberg, Greifenstein, and calls itself St. Paul Heiligenstadt-Burggrub.Evangelical Lutheran church
The Evangelical Lutheran parish has its centre in the St.-Veit- und St.-Michaels-Kirche.Free churches
Furthermore, there is in Heiligenstadt an Evangelical Free Church CongregationUnion of Evangelical Free Church Congregations in Germany
The Union of Evangelical Free Church Congregations in Germany is a fellowship of congregations in Germany....
(Baptists). It has its seat in the family centre (sponsored by the Familienzentrum der Evangelisch-Freikirchlichen Gemeinden in Nordbayern e. V. )
Jews
Already by 1430 there were Jews from nearby towns doing trade with peasants in Heiligenstadt. In Heiligenstadt itself, it is believed there were no Jews at that time.According to documents, in 1605 there were at least three Jewish families living in Heiligenstadt. In 1617, there were seven. According to a directory kept by a clergyman named Knab from Heiligenstadt, there were 1,758 souls in his parish all together, 239 of them Catholic and 58 Jewish.
In 1692, a shechita
Shechita
Shechita is the ritual slaughter of mammals and birds according to Jewish dietary laws...
and slaughter
Animal slaughter
Slaughter is the term used to describe the killing and butchering of animals, usually for food. Commonly it refers to killing and butchering of domestic livestock ....
order was in effect. In 1734, Jews were allowed to carry their books publicly, accompanied by musicians, into their synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
.
Not seldom, the Jews’ business acumen led to envy. In 1699, peasants from the Scheßlitz
Scheßlitz
Scheßlitz is a town in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg and lies on the rise to the Franconian Switzerland on the A 70 between Bamberg and Bayreuth, lying 14 km northeast of the former.-Geography:...
area rose up together against the Jews. First, the Heiligenstadters wanted to stand against them. However, once they learnt that only Jews were to be harmed, they forsook their resistance. Some even took part in the ensuing pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
. In 1716, the Jews requested lordly protection when news reached Heiligenstadt that a “young Christian girl” in Pretzfeld
Pretzfeld
Pretzfeld is a municipality in the district of Forchheim in Bavaria in Germany....
had been murdered, leading the Jews to fear that they would be the targets of a revenge campaign by those who suspected them.
The last relic of Jewish life is the Jewish cemetery on the Berg Kuhlich, mentioned as early as 1608. The last burial here took place about 1900. An unknown witness noted in the 1950s:
- “Odd things happened at Jewish burials. The dead man or woman was driven to the graveyard on the Kuhlich by way of the Wischberg on a hay cart pulled by a horse. The grave was quickly dug beforehand. The dead were laid in a death shirt – already sewn while the dead were still alive – in a simple, unplaned coffin made without nails or screws by the local cabinetmaker, like a chest, from four boards. A little bag with coins went with the dead. Women, other than the nearest blood kin, had to stay in their dwellings. It was not allowed to give flowers, not even the smallest nosegay. With the customary head covering, the men laid the coffin in the grave, with the dead’s face towards the east. It all happened with great swiftness. Each one present threw three shovelfuls of earth into the grave. The Jewish teacher – in my youth it was the Jewish teacher from Aufseß – meanwhile read from the prayer book the Kadish, the prayer.”
Politics
The community council is made up of 16 members, listed here by party or voter community affiliation, and also with the number of seats that each holds:- CSUChristian Social Union of BavariaThe Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union , operates in the other 15 states of Germany...
7 - SPDSocial Democratic Party of GermanyThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
-ÜW (Überparteiliche Wählergemeinschaft) 4 - WG (Wählergemeinschaft) 3
- ZJ (Zukunft Jura) 2
Coat of arms
The community’s arms show the Archangel Michael with golden wings, red cloak and blue robe, golden helmet with a red tuft of feathers on the head standing on a silver cloud and holding a blue flaming sword in his right hand and a green oliveOlive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
twig in his left.
When the outlying communities of Brunn, Burggrub, Hohenpölz, Oberleinleiter, Siegritz, Stücht, Traindorf and Zoggendorf were amalgamated with Heiligenstadt, the new, bigger community kept the old Heiligenstadt’s coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
, which at arms revision in 1819 was held to be the “longest borne arms”. Older seals, however, have not come down to the present day.
The Archangel Michael is, along with Saint Vitus, the holy protector of the now Evangelical St.-Veit- und St.-Michaels-Kirche in Heiligenstadt.
Economy
The industrialization arising in the surrounding towns led to the outflow of both small craftsmen and youth. Even the refugees driven from formerly German lands east of the OderOder
The Oder is a river in Central Europe. It rises in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming of the border between Poland and Germany, part of the Oder-Neisse line...
and Neiße after the Second World War did not decisively change this emigration pattern. Not all of them stayed for any length of time. It was only in the 1970s that an upswing was brought about when Mayor Daum did all that he could to make Heiligenstadt more attractive to those seeking work. To this end, jobs were created along with shopping facilities. The state furnished funds for this, making it possible to overhaul the community core.
Railway
From 1915 to 1968, Heiligenstadt was the end of the Heiligenstadt–Ebermannstadt spur line, which also afforded a connection to Forchheim. When the time came to build it, there were still some who needed convincing of the project's wisdom. Put forth as arguments in its favour were the basaltBasalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
mined on the Upper Leinleiter, iron ore finds near Königsfeld, the wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
from the Stauffenberg and Aufseß forests, loading grain and livestock, and the looming tourism in the Franconian Switzerland.
For those whose lands abutted the projected right of way, building the railway meant a financial burden, for the railway required acquisition of lands needed not only for this right of way but also for other building works such as access ways. Even communities farther away from the railway were ready to throw their lot in with those that were nearer in the hope that there would one day be an extension to Hollfeld
Hollfeld
Hollfeld is a town in the district of Bayreuth, in Bavaria, Germany.It is situated 20 km west of Bayreuth, and 30 km east of Bamberg.-Villages:...
or Scheßlitz
Scheßlitz
Scheßlitz is a town in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg and lies on the rise to the Franconian Switzerland on the A 70 between Bamberg and Bayreuth, lying 14 km northeast of the former.-Geography:...
.
The people of Gasseldorf, on the other hand, caused the railway builders difficulties. They were unwilling to yield land for the project, making forcible expropriation measures necessary.
In June 1913, building work began. There was 117 000 m³ of earth to be moved, 11 bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
s to be built, and the Leinleiter riverbed had to be shifted in five places, making plenty of work for more than 100 workers and many residents.
In 1915, the project could fulfil its purpose. On 4 October 1915, the Ebermannstadt-Heiligenstadt local railway went into service. The schoolteacher Hans Spörl wrote:
- “A Heiligenstadter, engine driver Fritz Krasser, son of former mayor Friedrich Krasser in Heiligenstadt, who in his own time was already pushing for a railway to be built, had asked to be allowed to drive the first train into his hometown. His wish was granted.”
It goes on to say:
- “Mayor Richter greeted the guests who had arrived, wished them a hearty welcome and expressed to everyone who had helped on this project which was so important for the community of Heiligenstadt the warmest thanks. In his further remarks he highlit the development of railway building from its beginnings through to today’s opening.
- “With thanks to God he bound the wish for the new railway to Heiligenstadt to stay in God’s hand and for it to become a blessing to the community of Heiligenstadt. While the rejoicing schoolchildren were allowed to take free trips to Ebermannstadt and back again, the municipal representatives found themselves together with the guests and wellwishers at the Hösch Inn at a guests’ meal, where also in various addresses the importance of this festive day was brought to mind and an enthusiastic ‘Glück Auf!’ (a traditional miner’s expression of good luck :de:Glück auf) was expressed for Heiligenstadt and the surrounding area. Heiligenstadt is proud of its railway!”
The pride was, however, short-lived, for in June 1960, passenger service ended on the line, and in 1968, goods services were also halted.
Roads
Already by 1912 there were signals to the effect that a motorized postal serviceMail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
from Bamberg to Heiligenstadt was being planned. In 1930, the postal bus was running “as demand required”. This mainly meant outings into the Franconian Switzerland. The post conducted its wanting service mostly under bad road conditions. The motorized postal line to Hollfeld was abandoned again in the autumn of 1931 because the abutting communities of Zoggendorf and Stücht were not using the service enough for it to be justifiable. After that, the coachman with his horse-drawn service ran once again.
Roads fit for motor vehicles within the community’s limits came into being only in the 1930s through work done by the Reichsarbeitsdienst
Reichsarbeitsdienst
The Reichsarbeitsdienst was an institution established by Nazi Germany as an agency to reduce unemployment, similar to the relief programs in other countries. During the Second World War it was an auxiliary formation which provided support for the Wehrmacht.The RAD was formed during July 1934 as...
, mainly through their job creation schemes. In connection with this, the roads from Veilbronn to Siegritz and from Hohenpölz to Reckendorf were built.
The biggest postwar project was the building of the valley bridge in Veilbronn in the 1950s.
Post
The oldest note of the postal service in Heiligenstadt comes from the year 1733 when the prospective Catholic clergyman Josef Rösch in Bamberg stated that his father had for many years been the postmaster in Heiligenstadt. In 1853, the Briefniederlage (“letter repository”) was replaced with a Brief- und Fahrpostexpedition (“letter and coach service”). Whenever the postal agent changed, the station for the service also changed. In 1892, Heiligenstadt got a postal stop for the so-called Cariolpostlinie to Aufseß and HollfeldHollfeld
Hollfeld is a town in the district of Bayreuth, in Bavaria, Germany.It is situated 20 km west of Bayreuth, and 30 km east of Bamberg.-Villages:...
. Another such postal line ran to the railway station in Ebermannstadt
Ebermannstadt
Ebermannstadt is a town in the district of Forchheim, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 10 km northeast of Forchheim and 25 km southeast of Bamberg.-Districts:*Breitenbach*Ebermannstadt*Gasseldorf*Niedermirsberg*Rüssenbach*Neuses-Poxstall...
. In 1898 came the establishment of a planned postal agency, whose agents complained about the strenuous duty because the postal vehicles always came at night or very early in the morning, making it necessary for them to be on duty then.
Letter and parcel post was carried by motor vehicles. The postal delivery service was provided until the 1960s by postmen on foot or bicycle.
On 1 October 1874, Heiligenstadt got a Morse
Morse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
telegraph station, which was used until 1926. In 1907, a telephone exchange
Telephone exchange
In the field of telecommunications, a telephone exchange or telephone switch is a system of electronic components that connects telephone calls...
was opened. The first subscribers were the Hösch Inn and Schloss Greifenstein as well as the communities of Burggrub and Hohenpölz.
Further reading
- Dieter Zöberlein: Gemeindechronik Markt Heiligenstadt i. OFr. Published on the occasion of the 450-year jubilee of the conferring of market rights upon Heiligenstadt i. OFr. – Heiligenstadt 1995
- Städtebausanierung in Heiligenstadt (Auszug) von Philipp Hümmer und Peter Vornlocher (Town construction reorganization in Heiligenstadt)http://vg09.met.vgwort.de/na/0f592930a381fd0e0acae563b289dd?l=http://www.herischek-vornlocher.de/artikel/Auszug_Heiligenstadt.pdf