Gößweinstein is a municipality

Municipalities of Germany

Municipalities are the lowest level of territorial division in Germany. This may be the fourth level of territorial division in Germany, apart from those states which include Regierungsbezirke , where municipalities then become the fifth level.-Overview:With more than 3,400,000 inhabitants, the...

 in the district of Forchheim

Forchheim (district)

Forchheim is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Bamberg, Bayreuth, Nürnberger Land and Erlangen-Höchstadt.-History:...

 in 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 Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

Districts

Allersdorf Altenthal Behringersmühle Bösenbirkig Etzdorf Geiselhöhe Gößweinstein Hardt Hartenreuth Hühnerloh

Hungenberg Kleingesee Kohlstein Krachershöhe Leimersberg Leutzdorf Moritz Morschreuth Moschendorf Prügeldorf

Sachsendorf Sachsenmühle Sattelmannsburg Stadelhofen Stempfermühle Türkelstein Ühleinshof Unterailsfeld Wichsenstein Wölm

History

The first record of the Goswinesteyn Castle is from 1076. Prior to 1102 the Hochstift Bamberg became the owner of the castle. The prince-bishop of Bamberg

Bamberg

Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...

 Friedrich Carl von Schönborn (ruled from 1729 until 1746) elevated Gößweinstein's status to a Market. During the Secularization

Secularization

Secularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions...

 in 1803, the area of the Hochstift Bamberg was transferred to Bavaria. During the Bavarian territorial reforms in 1978, the formerly independent communities of Morschreuth, Wichsenstein, Behringersmühle, Kleingesee, Leutzdorf, Stadelhofen, Unterailsfeld and part of the community Tüchersfeld were integrated into Gößweinstein.

Culture and sights

Museums

• Franconian Toy Museum Gößweinstein
• Natural history and geological Collection in the Haus des Gastes
• Steam locomotive train (Dampfbahn Fränkische Schweiz)

Buildings

• Pilgrimage church of the Holy Trinity, 1730–1739 built during the reign of Fürstbischof Friedrich Carl von Schönborn according to plans by Balthasar Neumann
  Balthasar Neumann
  Johann Balthasar Neumann , also known as Balthasar Neumann, was a [German] military artillery engineer and architect who developed a refined brand of Baroque architecture, fusing Austrian, Bohemian, Italian, and French elements to design some of the most impressive buildings of the period,...
  
  , who also supervised the construction. Franciscan padre Prof. Dr. Luchesius Spätling applied for the denomination as Basilica minor. The church was elevated to the papal Basilica minor in 1948 by Pope Pius XII
  Pope Pius XII
  The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
  
  .

• Gößweinstein Castle
• Viktor-von-Scheffel-memorial On both sides, there are the lines of the poem "Ausfahrt" (Exit):

Ich fahr’ in die Welt!

Mein Hutschmuck die Rose, mein Lager im Moose,

Der Himmel mein Zelt.

Mag lauern und trauern, wer will, hinter Mauern –

Ich fahr’ in die Welt!

Lookout points

• Gernerfels
• Kreuzberg with high cross
• Martinswand (Bellevue)
• Pavillon Wagnershöhe
• Ludwigshöhe (Theaterhöhle)
• Bärenstein (529 m NN)
• Fischersruh
• Nuremberg Chapel
• Aussichtsfelsen Wichsenstein (585 m NN)

Politics

The municipal council in Gößweinstein has 16 members plus an extraofficial mayor.

	CSU	SPD	FW	Jugend und Frauen	Bürgergemeinschaft	Bürger vertreten Bürger	Total
2002	5	3	3	2	2	1	16 seats

(local elections on March 3, 2002)

External links

• Official homepage (German)
• Franconian Toy Museum