Gräfenberg, Bavaria

Gräfenberg

Coat of arms
Gräfenberg

Coordinates: 49°38′N 11°15′E / 49.633°N 11.250°ECoordinates: 49°38′N 11°15′E / 49.633°N 11.250°E
Country Germany
State Bavaria
Admin. region Oberfranken
District Forchheim
Municipal assoc. Gräfenberg
Government
  Mayor Werner Wolf
Area
  Total 37.88 km2 (14.63 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)[1]
  Total 4,071
  Density 110/km2 (280/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 91322
Dialling codes 09192
Vehicle registration FO
Website www.graefenberg.de

Gräfenberg is a Franconian town in the district of Forchheim, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 16 km southeast of Forchheim and 25 km northeast of Nuremberg.

Location

Gräfenberg is located in the southern part of Little Switzerland. The town is characterised by a great range of elevation (from 400 to 550 metres). A brook, the Kalkach, flows through the town with a steep drop.

Gräfenberg is divided into 16 districts:

Religion

Gräfenberg is a majority Protestant town; even so, some districts (Lilling, Sollenberg) are majority Catholic.

History

Gräfenberg was first mentioned in the year 1172. From 1333 onward the patrician family Haller reigned in Gräfenberg. In 1371 King Karl IV granted the market municipal law. In 1567 a fire destroyed the parts of town located back of the walls. In 1778 a flood wave, resulting from heavy rainfalls, killed six people. With the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss in 1803 the town became part of Bavaria. In the Austro-Prussian War between the German Confederation (which included Bavaria), and Prussia and her allies, the town was the headquarters of the Prussian army at the time that the ceasefire between Bavaria and Prussia was declared in 1866.

In the 1960s and 1970s the other districts of Gräfenberg became part of the borough: for example Lilling (first mentioned 1205) and Thuisbrunn (first mentioned 1007).

References

  1. "Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes". Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik und Datenverarbeitung (in German). 31 December 2013.