Hirschaid
Encyclopedia
Hirschaid is a community with market rights in the Upper Franconia
n district of Bamberg
and lies roughly twelve kilometres south of Bamberg
on the Regnitz
and the Main-Danube Canal.
For various reasons, among them the community’s favourable location on the A 73 and its close proximity to Bamberg
(12 km), Forchheim
(13 km), Erlangen
(about 30 km), Fürth
(about 40 km) and Nuremberg
(about 50 km), Hirschaid has grown markedly since the 1960s.
(as of 1 January 2005)
Ironically, Großbuchfeld (“Great Beech Field”) is actually smaller than Kleinbuchfeld (“Little Beech Field”).
were charged
with a hart
, still seen in the community’s arms today.
Hirschaid lies not far from the former via regia
, an ancient road that since antiquity joined the north in the area around Lüneburg
with the south all the way to Lower Austria
. The name Hirschaid refers to the former landscape and wildlife
(Hirsch is “hart” in German
).
Finds dug up on the Regnitz Valley terraces bear witness to an early settlement beginning no later than the New Stone Age. Bearing witness to the later La Tène culture
(Celtic) are above all the finds and wall remains on the nearby Friesener Warte
In 1079, Hirschaid became historical for the first time through a document issued by King Heinrich IV
. In 1979, this date was duly celebrated in the community’s 900th anniversary celebration. From 1300, it was the seat of the Lords, ministeriales
and Vögte (sing. Vogt – reeve) of Hirzheide. Their Frankish line died out in 1590, although a Swedish
-Livonia
n line still lives today. The coat of arms that they bore then, showing a golden hart in silver climbing out of a blue three-knolled hill (a charge called a Dreiberg in German heraldry), foreshadowed the one now borne by the community.
Although Hirschaid was mostly spared in the German Peasants' War
, the community, lying on the main through road, was hard hit in the Thirty Years' War
. A chronicler reports from this time: “After Candlemas 1633 the Swedes
also came here and dwelt in the Swedish way. They plundered and robbed whatever they could get; nothing was holy to them. The House of God had its windows and doors beaten in, the inside was demolished, the bells taken away and broken up...”
Further plunderings had to be suffered in the Seven Years' War
and especially in the Napoleonic Wars
, when on 6 August 1793 a heavy cavalry
and artillery
battle
broke out right near the community between the Imperial Army and French
troops.
With Secularization
, Hirschaid, which had been assigned to the tithing area of Eggolsheim
, passed along with its 105 “autonomous houses” to Bavaria
.
The building of the Ludwig Danube-Main Canal in 1834 and the opening of the Nuremberg-Bamberg railway line in 1844 yielded the first industrial incentives for Hirschaid. Basket weaving
, which was introduced about this time, offered others work and a livelihood. About 1900, the population had grown to roughly 1,120, and the number of houses to 173.
Because of its favourable location, determined by the railway station on the Nuremberg-Bamberg railway line and the community’s lying right near the highways, but also by administrative reform in 1972, the market community of Hirschaid with its constituent communities has grown to have more than 11,000 inhabitants and is developing itself appreciably into a small transport and economic centre.
All figures are rough.
, opened in May 2000 has an 82 m² indoor basin with whirlpool, a 66 m² heated outdoor basin and a 38 m² mother-child basin.
, Slovenia
, about 30 km southeast of the capital Ljubljana
, was founded.
Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia , all now part of the German Federal State of Bayern .With more than 200 independent breweries which brew...
n district of Bamberg
Bamberg (district)
Bamberg Land is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It surrounds but does not include the town of Bamberg. The district is bounded by the districts of Lichtenfels, Bayreuth, Forchheim, Erlangen-Höchstadt, Neustadt -Bad Windsheim, Kitzingen, Schweinfurt and Haßberge.- History :The history of the...
and lies roughly twelve kilometres south 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...
on the Regnitz
Regnitz
The Regnitz is a river in Bavaria, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Main and is in length.The river is formed by the confluence of the rivers Rednitz and Pegnitz, which meet in the city of Fürth. From there the Regnitz runs northwards through the cities of Erlangen and Forchheim...
and the Main-Danube Canal.
Location
The community’s main centre lies southsoutheast of Bamberg where the Reiche Ebrach empties into the Regnitz.For various reasons, among them the community’s favourable location on the A 73 and its close proximity to 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...
(12 km), Forchheim
Forchheim (Oberfranken)
Forchheim is a large town in Upper Franconia in northern Bavaria, and also the seat of the administrative district of Forchheim. Forchheim is a former royal city, and is sometimes called the “Gateway to the Franconian Switzerland”, as the region is known. Its population, as of October 2008, was...
(13 km), Erlangen
Erlangen
Erlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large tributary, the Untere Schwabach.Erlangen has more than 100,000 inhabitants....
(about 30 km), Fürth
Fürth
The city of Fürth is located in northern Bavaria, Germany in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the two cities being only 7 km apart....
(about 40 km) and 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...
(about 50 km), Hirschaid has grown markedly since the 1960s.
Constituent communities
Hirschaid’s main and namesake centre is by far the biggest of its Gemeindeteile with a population of 5,747. The community furthermore has these outlying centres, each given here with its own population figure:- ErlachErlach (Hirschaid)Erlach is a small village located in Bavaria, Germany. It is in Upper Franconia, in the Bamberg district. Erlach is a constituent community of Hirschaid.In 2009, the village had a population of 429.-Geography:...
417 - Friesen bei Hirschaid 323
- Großbuchfeld 105
- Juliushof 27
- Kleinbuchfeld 124
- Köttmannsdorf bei Hirschaid 684
- Ortsteil Regnitzau (population included with main centre’s)
- Röbersdorf 786
- Rothensand 306
- Sassanfahrt 2118
- Seigendorf 789
(as of 1 January 2005)
Ironically, Großbuchfeld (“Great Beech Field”) is actually smaller than Kleinbuchfeld (“Little Beech Field”).
History
The community’s name goes back to the von Hirzheide noble family whose coat of armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
were charged
Charge (heraldry)
In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device...
with a hart
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
, still seen in the community’s arms today.
Hirschaid lies not far from the former via regia
Via Regia
Via Regia, i.e. "Royal Highway", denotes a mediæval historic road. The term, in the usual sense, means not just a specific road, rather a type of road. It was legally associated with the king and remained under his special protection and guarantee of public peace.There were many such roads in the...
, an ancient road that since antiquity joined the north in the area around Lüneburg
Lüneburg
Lüneburg is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of fellow Hanseatic city Hamburg. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, and one of Hamburg's inner suburbs...
with the south all the way to Lower Austria
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
. The name Hirschaid refers to the former landscape and wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
(Hirsch is “hart” in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
).
Finds dug up on the Regnitz Valley terraces bear witness to an early settlement beginning no later than the New Stone Age. Bearing witness to the later La Tène culture
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a rich cache of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857....
(Celtic) are above all the finds and wall remains on the nearby Friesener Warte
In 1079, Hirschaid became historical for the first time through a document issued by King Heinrich IV
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry IV was King of the Romans from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the 11th century...
. In 1979, this date was duly celebrated in the community’s 900th anniversary celebration. From 1300, it was the seat of the Lords, ministeriales
Ministerialis
Ministerialis ; a post-classical Latin word, used in English, meaning originally servitor, agent, in a broad range of senses...
and Vögte (sing. Vogt – reeve) of Hirzheide. Their Frankish line died out in 1590, although a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
-Livonia
Livonia
Livonia is a historic region along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida...
n line still lives today. The coat of arms that they bore then, showing a golden hart in silver climbing out of a blue three-knolled hill (a charge called a Dreiberg in German heraldry), foreshadowed the one now borne by the community.
Although Hirschaid was mostly spared in the German Peasants' War
German Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt was a widespread popular revolt in the German-speaking areas of Central Europe, 1524–1526. At its height in the spring and summer of 1525, the conflict involved an estimated 300,000 peasants: contemporary estimates put the dead at 100,000...
, the community, lying on the main through road, was hard hit in the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
. A chronicler reports from this time: “After Candlemas 1633 the Swedes
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
also came here and dwelt in the Swedish way. They plundered and robbed whatever they could get; nothing was holy to them. The House of God had its windows and doors beaten in, the inside was demolished, the bells taken away and broken up...”
Further plunderings had to be suffered in the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
and especially in the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, when on 6 August 1793 a heavy cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
and artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
battle
Battle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
broke out right near the community between the Imperial Army and French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
troops.
With Secularization
Secularization
Secularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions...
, Hirschaid, which had been assigned to the tithing area of Eggolsheim
Eggolsheim
Eggolsheim is a municipality in the district of Forchheim in Bavaria in Germany....
, passed along with its 105 “autonomous houses” to 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...
.
The building of the Ludwig Danube-Main Canal in 1834 and the opening of the Nuremberg-Bamberg railway line in 1844 yielded the first industrial incentives for Hirschaid. Basket weaving
Basket weaving
Basket weaving is the process of weaving unspun vegetable fibres into a basket or other similar form. People and artists who weave baskets are called basketmakers and basket weavers.Basketry is made from a variety of fibrous or pliable materials•anything that will bend and form a shape...
, which was introduced about this time, offered others work and a livelihood. About 1900, the population had grown to roughly 1,120, and the number of houses to 173.
Because of its favourable location, determined by the railway station on the Nuremberg-Bamberg railway line and the community’s lying right near the highways, but also by administrative reform in 1972, the market community of Hirschaid with its constituent communities has grown to have more than 11,000 inhabitants and is developing itself appreciably into a small transport and economic centre.
Religion
- Roman Catholic: 80%
- Evangelical LutheranLutheranismLutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
: 10% - Other, no religion: 10%
All figures are rough.
Community council
The community council is made up of 24 members, listed here by party or voter community affiliation, and also with the number of seats that each holds:- CSUChristian Social Union of BavariaThe Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union , operates in the other 15 states of Germany...
12 - Wählergemeinschaft Sassanfarth-Köttmannsdorf-Rothensand 3
- Fortschrittlicher Bürgerblock 2
- Wählergemeinschaft Hirschaid 2
- Wählergemeinschaft Regnitzau 2
- SPDSocial Democratic Party of GermanyThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
1 - Ökologische Liste Hirschaid 1
- Liste der Frauen 1
Coat of arms
Hirschaid’s arms might heraldically be described thus: In argent a mullet of eight azure halved per fess emerging therefrom above a hart attired springing sable.Established businesses
- Schaeffler KG ballBall bearingA ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation between the bearing races.The purpose of a ball bearing is to reduce rotational friction and support radial and axial loads. It achieves this by using at least two races to contain the balls and transmit...
and roller bearings, engine components, linear transfer technology
Sport and leisure
The Frankenlagune swimming poolSwimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
, opened in May 2000 has an 82 m² indoor basin with whirlpool, a 66 m² heated outdoor basin and a 38 m² mother-child basin.
Town partnerships
On 11 September 1999, the partnership with the community of Ivančna GoricaIvancna Gorica
Ivančna Gorica is a settlement and a municipality in central Slovenia. It is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Central Slovenian statistical region....
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, about 30 km southeast of the capital Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, was founded.
Honorary citizens
- Hubert Patzelt, former RealschuleRealschuleThe Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...
principal and initiator of the partnership with Ivančna Gorica - Alfred E. Hierold, Catholic theologian and canonist
Further reading
- Die erste Regnitzbrücke von Hirschaid
- Arbeitskreis 50 Jahre Regnitzau (publisher): 50 Jahre Regnitzau, ein Stück Hirschaider Ortsgeschichte
- Chronik einer Gemeinde