Karlstadt am Main
Encyclopedia
Karlstadt is a town in the Main-Spessart district
in the Regierungsbezirk
of Lower Franconia
(Unterfranken) in Bavaria
, Germany
. It is the Main-Spessart district seat (Kreisstadt).
The locals often call the town, in their own dialect
, Karscht or Karscht am Mee (Karlstadt am Main). The townsfolk are called Flaak or Karschter Flaak.
in the Main-Franconian winegrowing region
.
in 1525. In 1202 came the founding of Karlstadt by Bishop Konrad von Querfurt. The exact founding date is unknown. However, given that the founder’s time in office was only four years, the time can be reckoned fairly easily.
The town was methodically laid out with a nearly rectangular plan to defend Würzburg territory against the Counts of Rieneck
. The plan is still well preserved today. The streets in the Old Town are laid out much like a chessboard, but for military reasons they are not quite straight.
In 1225, Karlstadt had its first documentary mention. In 1236 the castle and the village of Karlburg were destroyed in the Rieneck Feud. In 1244, winegrowing in Karlstadt was mentioned for the first time. From 1277 comes the earliest evidence of the town seal. In 1304, the town fortifications were finished. The parish of Karlstadt was first named in 1339. In 1369 a hospital was founded. Between 1370 and 1515, radical remodelling work was being done on the first, Romanesque
parish church to turn it into a Gothic
hall church. About 1400, Karlstadt became for a short time the seat of an episcopal mint
. The former Oberamt of the Princely Electorate (Hochstift) of Würzburg was, after Secularization
, in Bavaria’s favour, passed in 1805 to Archduke Ferdinand of Tuscany
to form the Grand Duchy of Würzburg
, and passed with this to Bavaria.
The town’s longtime Jewish
inhabitants built themselves a synagogue
at Hauptstraße 24, which was destroyed on Kristallnacht
(9 November 1938) by SA men
, an event recalled by a plaque at the synagogue’s former site.
(as at municipal election held on 2 March 2008)
might be described thus: Quarterly, first and fourth azure, second and third argent a fleur-de-lis gules.
The town’s earliest seal, from 1277, showed an effigy of Charlemagne
, who is said to have founded and named the town (Charlemagne is called Karl der Große in German
). The next seal after this one also bore Charlemagne’s likeness, and this appeared on town seals until the 18th century. However, as of 1544, the town began using a quartered shield as its arms. This is thought to have come from the banner of state borne by the Princely Electorate (Hochstift) of Würzburg, to which the town once belonged. The fleurs-de-lis were added in the early 19th century, and they refer to Charlemagne.
, 25 km away, or Lohr am Main, 18 km away.
Main-Spessart
Main-Spessart is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Bad Kissingen, Schweinfurt and Würzburg, the state of Baden-Württemberg , the districts of Miltenberg and Aschaffenburg, and the state of Hesse .-History:The district was established in 1972 by merging the former...
in the Regierungsbezirk
Regierungsbezirk
In Germany, a Government District, in German: Regierungsbezirk – is a subdivision of certain federal states .They are above the Kreise, Landkreise, and kreisfreie Städte...
of Lower Franconia
Lower Franconia
Lower Franconia is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria , Germany ....
(Unterfranken) 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...
, 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...
. It is the Main-Spessart district seat (Kreisstadt).
The locals often call the town, in their own dialect
Main-Franconian
Main-Franconian is group of Central German dialects being part of the East Franconian group. The name is derived from the river Main which meets the river Rhine near Frankfurt after having crossed the former West Germany from East to West...
, Karscht or Karscht am Mee (Karlstadt am Main). The townsfolk are called Flaak or Karschter Flaak.
Location
The town lies roughly 25 km north of WürzburgWürzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
in the Main-Franconian winegrowing region
Franconia (wine region)
Franconia is a region for quality wine in Germany situated in the north west of Bavaria in the district of Franconia, and is the only wine region in the federal state of Bavaria...
.
Constituent communities
As of the amalgamations in 1978, Karlstadt’s Stadtteile are Gambach, Heßlar, Karlburg, Klein Laudenbach, Laudenbach, Mühlbach, Rohrbach, Stadelhofen, Stetten and Wiesenfeld.History
From the late 6th to the mid 13th century, over on the other side of the Main, lay the unusually big valley settlement of Karlburg with its monastery and harbour. Its reason for being there was the Karlsburg, a castle perched high over the community that was destroyed only in the German Peasants' WarGerman 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...
in 1525. In 1202 came the founding of Karlstadt by Bishop Konrad von Querfurt. The exact founding date is unknown. However, given that the founder’s time in office was only four years, the time can be reckoned fairly easily.
The town was methodically laid out with a nearly rectangular plan to defend Würzburg territory against the Counts of Rieneck
County of Rieneck
The County of Rieneck was a comital domain within the Holy Roman Empire that lay in what is now northwestern Bavaria...
. The plan is still well preserved today. The streets in the Old Town are laid out much like a chessboard, but for military reasons they are not quite straight.
In 1225, Karlstadt had its first documentary mention. In 1236 the castle and the village of Karlburg were destroyed in the Rieneck Feud. In 1244, winegrowing in Karlstadt was mentioned for the first time. From 1277 comes the earliest evidence of the town seal. In 1304, the town fortifications were finished. The parish of Karlstadt was first named in 1339. In 1369 a hospital was founded. Between 1370 and 1515, radical remodelling work was being done on the first, Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
parish church to turn it into a Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
hall church. About 1400, Karlstadt became for a short time the seat of an episcopal mint
Mint (coin)
A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is usually closely tied to the political situation of an era...
. The former Oberamt of the Princely Electorate (Hochstift) of Würzburg was, after 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 Bavaria’s favour, passed in 1805 to Archduke Ferdinand of Tuscany
Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1790 to 1801 and, after a period of disenfranchisement, again from 1814 to 1824. He was also the Prince-elector and Grand Duke of Salzburg and Grand Duke of Würzburg .-Biography:Ferdinand was born in Florence, Tuscany, into the...
to form the Grand Duchy of Würzburg
Grand Duchy of Würzburg
The Grand Duchy of Würzburg was a German grand duchy centered on Würzburg existing in the early 19th century.As a consequence of the 1801 Treaty of Lunéville, the Bishopric of Würzburg was secularized in 1803 and granted to Bavaria. In the same year Ferdinand III, former Grand Duke of Tuscany, was...
, and passed with this to Bavaria.
The town’s longtime Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
inhabitants built themselves a synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
at Hauptstraße 24, which was destroyed on Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
(9 November 1938) by SA men
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
, an event recalled by a plaque at the synagogue’s former site.
Town council
The council is made up of 24 council members, not counting the mayor.| CSU Christian Social Union of Bavaria The 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... | SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... | Grüne | FWG | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 24 seats |
| 2008 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 24 seats |
(as at municipal election held on 2 March 2008)
Coat of arms
The town’s 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...
might be described thus: Quarterly, first and fourth azure, second and third argent a fleur-de-lis gules.
The town’s earliest seal, from 1277, showed an effigy of Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
, who is said to have founded and named the town (Charlemagne is called Karl der Große 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....
). The next seal after this one also bore Charlemagne’s likeness, and this appeared on town seals until the 18th century. However, as of 1544, the town began using a quartered shield as its arms. This is thought to have come from the banner of state borne by the Princely Electorate (Hochstift) of Würzburg, to which the town once belonged. The fleurs-de-lis were added in the early 19th century, and they refer to Charlemagne.
Transport
- Karlstadt lies at the junction of two BundesstraßeBundesstraßeBundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
n, the B 26 and the B 27. On two road bridges, the Old Main Bridge (Alte Mainbrücke) built in 1953 and the more northerly New Main Bridge (Neue Mainbrücke) built in 2005, the river Main can be crossed. - Further, Karlstadt can be reached by rail and waterway. The small sport airfield has at its disposal a grass track.
- Through the municipal area runs the Hanover-Würzburg high-speed rail line, north-south. Within town limits lie a section of the Mühlberg Tunnel and part of the Nantenbach Curve.
Crafts and industry
The Düker Ironworks, the Schwenk Cement Works and the Kohl Wood Veneer Factory define the district seat’s south end. Besides these three great industrial plants, many handicraft businesses have also set up shop in Karlstadt. Another big employer is the Main-Spessart Landratsamt (District Council Head’s Office). There are moreover many inhabitants who commute to WürzburgWürzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
, 25 km away, or Lohr am Main, 18 km away.
Winegrowing
Winegrowing has only slight economic importance nowadays but still has great cultural significance. Even if very few people in Karlstadt earn their livelihoods from winegrowing, it is still important for self-perception and the local way of life. Vineyards in Karlstadt are the Roßtal and Im Stein. There are also others in many of the outlying centres, especially in Stetten (Stettener Stein) and on the way from the main town out to Gambach.Education
As of 1999 the following institutions existed in Karlstadt:- KindergartenKindergartenA kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
s: 549 places with 548 children - Primary schools: 5 with 63 teachers and 1,147 pupils
- GymnasiumGymnasium (school)A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
: 1 with 60 teachers and 923 students - 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...
with just under 600 students (as of 2004) - “Piranha” youth cultural centre: with some 1,000 visitors each year
Famous people
- Johann Schöner (b. 16 January 1477, d. 16 January 1547 in NurembergNurembergNuremberg[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...
), mathematician, geographer, cartographer, astronomer and astrologist - Andreas BodensteinAndreas KarlstadtAndreas Rudolph Bodenstein von Karlstadt , better known as Andreas Karlstadt or Andreas Carlstadt or Karolostadt, was a German Christian theologian during the Protestant Reformation. He was born in Karlstadt, Franconia.-Education:Karlstadt received his doctorate of theology in 1510 from the...
(b. about 1482, d. 24 December 1541 in BaselBaselBasel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
), also named after his birthplace Karlstadt, or in Latinized form Carolstadius, reformer - Johann Draconites (b. about 1494, d. 18 April 1566 in Wittenberg), theologian, humanistic philosopher and reformer
- Michael Beuther (b. 18 October 1522, d. 27 October 1587 in Strasbourg), historian, poet, jurist and official
- Johann Rudolph Glauber (b. 10 March 1604 in Karlstadt; d. 16 March 1670 in AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
), apothecary and chemist - Franz Sperr (b. 12 February 1878, d. 23 January 1945 executed in Berlin-PlötzenseePlötzensee PrisonPlötzensee Prison was a Prussian institution built in Berlin between 1869 and 1879 near the lake Plötzensee, but in the neighbouring borough of Charlottenburg, on Hüttigpfad off Saatwinkler Damm. During Adolf Hitler's time in power from 1933 to 1945, more than 2,500 people were executed at...
), jurist and member of the WiderstandGerman ResistanceThe German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
in the Third ReichNazi GermanyNazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by... - Bernhard Fech (b. 1887, d. 1915 fell near Soldau in MasuriaMasuriaMasuria is an area in northeastern Poland famous for its 2,000 lakes. Geographically, Masuria is part of two adjacent lakeland districts, the Masurian Lake District and the Iława Lake District...
), painter - Hermann Sendelbach (b. 1894 in Wiesenfeld-Erlenbach, d. 1971), writer, poet
- Detlef Wagenthaler (b. 1 August 1948 in AschaffenburgAschaffenburgAschaffenburg is a city in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not considered part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is the administrative seat.Aschaffenburg is known as the Tor zum Spessart or "gate to the Spessart"...
, d. 23 September 2007 in Karlstadt), carnevalist - Roland Büchner (b. 1954), Regensburg cathedral choirmaster, conductorConductingConducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
, leader of the Regensburger DomspatzenRegensburger DomspatzenThe Regensburger Domspatzen is the official choir for the liturgical music at St Peter's Cathedral in Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany... - Ruth Westheimer (*4. Juni 1928 im Wiesenfeld), sexual therapist