Prehistoric 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.
Wars 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
Bohemian 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
taxes 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
Ebermannstadt 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.
Second Margrave War (1552–1554) The
Second Margrave War 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' War 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
murdered. 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: :“
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' War 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.
Napoleonic Wars (1796) In the
Napoleonic Wars, 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.
Franco-Prussian War (1870) With the annexation of
Alsace-Lorraine, 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.
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 States troops with a white flag to surrender their village. The Americans established a military government, ordering, on pain of death, the surrender of all
firearms. Near Teuchatz, a
bomb disposal site was set up, where
Wehrmacht munitions were destroyed.
Chronology :1541 Market privileges :1580
Reformation in Heiligenstadt and Unterleinleiter :1803 Heiligenstadt passes to Bavaria :1915
Railway connection by way of
Ebermannstadt to
Forchheim :1968 Abandonment of railway :1971 Administrative reform
Community’s name The placename Heiligenstadt has nothing to do with the
German 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: :„
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 Hallstadt to distinguish it from
Hallstadt near Bamberg, which was (and is) mostly
Catholic. == Religion ==