Hersbruck
Encyclopedia
Hersbruck is a small town in Middle Franconia, Bavaria, Germany
, belonging to the district Nürnberger Land
. Famous for the late-gothic artwork of the Hersbruck altar, the "Hirtenmuseum" and the beautiful landscape of the "Hersbrucker Schweiz".
In the Middle Ages the town was situated on the Golden Route from Nuremberg
to Prague
, which brought prosperity to Hersbruck. In 1297 Hersbruck was given municipal rights, after 1504 the town belonged to the area of the free imperial town Nuremberg and in 1806 became Bavarian.
During the Nazi
-Regime Hersbruck was a subsidiary camp of Flossenbürg concentration camp
. The camp had about 10,000 prisoners, about 4,000 of them died in Hersbruck.
After WWII, that camp, on the outskirts of town, was converted for housing Latvian Displaced Persons and renamed as Camp Kathann. It was first operated by United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration and later by International Refugee Organization.
Today, the whole area where the camp used to be has been completely redeveloped. In 2007 the monument Ohne Namen (Without names) by Vittore Bocchetta
has been erected in the Rosengarten close to the camp site. The artists, one of the Italian political deportees, had managed to escape in April 1945 during one of the so-called death marches
from Hersbruck to Dachau, when the camp was evacuated by the Nazis with the approach of U.S. forces.
(Moray
, UK), since 1972. Pavia
(Italy
), since 2005. San Daniele Italy, since 2008
and a fun bath area with a slide (length 82 metres) also a large sauna
area including several outside saunas.
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...
, belonging to the district Nürnberger Land
Nürnberger Land
Nürnberger Land is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Forchheim, Bayreuth, Amberg-Sulzbach, Neumarkt, Roth and Erlangen-Höchstadt, and by the city of Nuremberg.-History:...
. Famous for the late-gothic artwork of the Hersbruck altar, the "Hirtenmuseum" and the beautiful landscape of the "Hersbrucker Schweiz".
History
Hersbruck was founded in 976 when a castle was built there near a bridge. The name probably comes from Haderihesprucga, the bridge of Haderich.In the Middle Ages the town was situated on the Golden Route from Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, which brought prosperity to Hersbruck. In 1297 Hersbruck was given municipal rights, after 1504 the town belonged to the area of the free imperial town Nuremberg and in 1806 became Bavarian.
During the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
-Regime Hersbruck was a subsidiary camp of Flossenbürg concentration camp
Flossenbürg concentration camp
Konzentrationslager Flossenbürg was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the Schutzstaffel Economic-Administrative Main Office at Flossenbürg, in the Oberpfalz region of Bavaria, Germany, near the border with Czechoslovakia. Until its liberation in April 1945, more than 96,000 prisoners...
. The camp had about 10,000 prisoners, about 4,000 of them died in Hersbruck.
After WWII, that camp, on the outskirts of town, was converted for housing Latvian Displaced Persons and renamed as Camp Kathann. It was first operated by United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration and later by International Refugee Organization.
Today, the whole area where the camp used to be has been completely redeveloped. In 2007 the monument Ohne Namen (Without names) by Vittore Bocchetta
Vittore Bocchetta
Vittore Bocchetta is an Italian sculptor, painter, and academic. Bocchetta was a member of the anti-fascist Italian resistance movement during World War II.-Biography:...
has been erected in the Rosengarten close to the camp site. The artists, one of the Italian political deportees, had managed to escape in April 1945 during one of the so-called death marches
Death marches (Holocaust)
The death marches refer to the forcible movement between Autumn 1944 and late April 1945 by Nazi Germany of thousands of prisoners from German concentration camps near the war front to camps inside Germany.-General:...
from Hersbruck to Dachau, when the camp was evacuated by the Nazis with the approach of U.S. forces.
Partner community
LossiemouthLossiemouth
Lossiemouth is a town in Moray, Scotland. Originally the port belonging to Elgin, it became an important fishing town. Although there has been over a 1,000 years of settlement in the area, the present day town was formed over the past 250 years and consists of four separate communities that...
(Moray
Moray
Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.- History :...
, UK), since 1972. Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...
(Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
), since 2005. San Daniele Italy, since 2008
Culture
In Hersbruck the Deutsche Hirtenmuseum, the only museum in Germany which shows the working and living conditions of herdsmen.Recreation
In 2004 the Frankenalb-Therme (http://www.frankenalbtherme.de) was opened. It offers apart from a thermalThermal
A thermal column is a column of rising air in the lower altitudes of the Earth's atmosphere. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of the Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example of convection. The sun warms the ground, which in turn warms the air directly above it...
and a fun bath area with a slide (length 82 metres) also a large sauna
Sauna
A sauna is a small room or house designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these and auxiliary facilities....
area including several outside saunas.
External links
- http://www.hersbruck.de/ – official homepage of the City of Hersbruck
- http://www.frankenalbtherme.de/ – fun- and thermal bath Frankenalb-Therme Hersbruck
- http://www.kz-hersbruck-info.de/ – webpage of the documentation site concentration camp Hersbruck e. V