Mainbernheim

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Mainbernheim
Coat of arms Location
Coat of arms of Mainbernheim
Mainbernheim (Germany)
Mainbernheim
Administration
Country Flag of Germany Germany
State Bavaria
Admin. region Lower Franconia
District Kitzingen
Mayor Karl Wolf (FWG)
Basic statistics
Area 12.00 km² (4.6 sq mi)
Elevation 226 m  (742 ft)
Population 2,318  (31/12/2006)
 - Density 193 /km² (500 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate KT
Postal code 97350
Area code 09323
Website www.mainbernheim.de

Coordinates: 49°42′00″N 10°13′00″E / 49.7, 10.216667

Mainbernheim is a municipality 4 kilometers to the south of Kitzingen (Landkreis, district of Kitzingen) in the direction of Nürnberg, was first recorded in the chronicles of 889, during the reign of King Arnulf, the church being recognized by the influential bishopric of nearby Würzburg. The town was the site of a tariff house of the dukes of Ansbach and in thrall until 1397 to the duchy in the south, during the reign of King Wenceslaus. Mainbernheim was granted full rights as a city, although taxation privileges for Ansbach were extended until 1795.

Mainbernheim Kirch- und Rathausplatz
Mainbernheim Kirch- und Rathausplatz

Today, Mainbernheim has a population of approximately 2400, the town having grown significantly due to new developments outside the city walls. The gummi-bear factory, Bären Schmidt, is the major industry there. Some extant points of interest include the 400-year-old farmhouses along Herrnstraße, which transverses the city from gate to gate and hosts several historic hotels and restaurants. Also along the main street are the Rathaus (city hall, 1548) and the adjacent Lutheran parish church, built on the foundations of an earlier cathedral (1498) after the Protestant Reformation (1750-1778). Just outside the main gate is the cemetery and arcade, dating from 1546 and containing fine examples of funerary flourishes. Off the main street, there is a recessed portal, which served as a hiding place for the Jews during the purges of World War II. The appearance of the inner city is little changed since Renaissance times.

This article incorporates documents from the Würzburg and Mainbernheim Stadt Archives and the guide Kunst- und Kulturführer durch den Landkreis Kitzingen ©1983 Dr. Hans Bauer, Kitzingen.