Pfaffenhofen is a municipality in the district of Heilbronn

Heilbronn (district)

Heilbronn is a district in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Neckar-Odenwald, Hohenlohe, Schwäbisch Hall, Rems-Murr, Ludwigsburg, Enz, Karlsruhe and Rhein-Neckar...

 in Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...

 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...

.

Geography

Pfaffenhofen is situated at the Zaber in the Zabergäu in the south-west of the district of Heilbronn

Heilbronn (district)

Heilbronn is a district in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Neckar-Odenwald, Hohenlohe, Schwäbisch Hall, Rems-Murr, Ludwigsburg, Enz, Karlsruhe and Rhein-Neckar...

.

Neighbouring municipalities

Neighbouring towns and municipalities of Pfaffenhofen are (clockwise from the west): Zaberfeld

Zaberfeld

Zaberfeld is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.-Geography:Zaberfeld lies in the Zabergäu, in the southwestern corner of the Heilbronn district, at the head of the Zaber river.-Neighboring communities:...

, Eppingen

Eppingen

Eppingen is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The town has the second-largest population in the district....

, Güglingen

Güglingen

Güglingen is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is situated 18 km southwest of Heilbronn.-Geography:Güglingen is situated in a valley called Zabergäu in the southwest district of Heilbronn....

 (all of the district of Heilbronn) and Sachsenheim

Sachsenheim

Sachsenheim is a town in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 11 km northwest of Ludwigsburg.-See also:...

 (district of Ludwigsburg). Pfaffenhofen has combined with Güglingen and Zaberfeld to form a joint association of administrations called Oberes Zabergäu.

Municipal structure

Apart from the main village of Pfaffenhofen there's the municipal part Weiler an der Zaber. The hamlet Rodbachhof also belongs to Pfaffenhofen. The village Rodenbach which doesn't exist anymore was situated on the communal land of Pfaffenhofen.

History

Pfaffenhofen was presumably founded in times of the Christianization of Germany. It was first mentioned documentary as Pfaffenhoven on May 30, 1279. Already before 1380 Burkhard von Hohenberg sold the half of the village to Württemberg, in 1380 the other half followed.

Weiler an der Zaber presumably already existed around 1000. It was first mentioned documentary on June 15, 1279. In the 14th century the village came to Württemberg. On January 1, 1972, Weiler an der Zaber was incorporated to Pfaffenhofen.

Religions

Pfaffenhofen previously belonged to the Speyer Bishopric. By the introduction of the reformation in Württemberg it got Protestant. The municipality is still shaped Protestant today, so in Pfaffenhofen and Weiler an der Zaber there's a Protestant parish in each village. The Catholic parish Holy Trinity Güglingen is responsible for Pfaffenhofen's Catholic citizens.

Development of population

• 1970: 1853
• 1980: 1914
• 1990: 2161
• 2000: 2342
• 2005: 2349

(each date of January 1)

District council

The district council of Pfaffenhofen has 12 seats, 8 of Pfaffenhofen and 4 of Weiler. By the communal election of June 13, 2004, it has 13 seats due to an overhang seat. The mayor is also a member of the district council and its chairman.

Arms and flag

Blazon

Blazon

In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...

: In silver a meat-coloured priest tonsure with black hair. The municipal colours are red and white.

The oldest known seal of Pfaffenhofen proved from 1482 to 1611 shows a human figure behind a fence: a talking arms, a priest (cleric) in a yard. Coloured portrayals of this arms are derived since 1535. A seal of 1678 showed two straightened up lions holding a disc.

At least in the 20th century the tonsure developed into a sun with face by misunderstandings. In 1956 the municipality took a priest tonsure as its arms again by suggestion of the archive directory. The arms was confirmed by the ministry of the interior on November 13, 1956, the flag was given by the district of Heilbronn on January 31, 1980.

Notable Buildings

• the Lambertuskirche is a Protestant parish church. It goes back to a Gothic building with chancel tower from about 1300, was expanded multiply and got its most essential change by a rebuilding in 1610/12.
• The accompanying vicarage was built parallel to the church expansion in 1610 by Heinrich Schickhardt. The bricking of the vicarage garden goes back to parts of the village wall of the 15th century, which was pulled down almost completely in 1817.
• Both the fountain on the Kelterplatz and a wall fountain nearby were laid out by the sculptor Gunther Stilling.
• In the main street (Hauptstraße) there are several half-timbered buildings of the 16th and 17th century.

Economy and infrastructure

Bigger local factories are Lang-Verpackungen and Betonwerk Volland GmbH with 70 employees each one.

Traffic

Connections to the long-distance network exist in Lauffen am Neckar

Lauffen

Lauffen am Neckar is a town in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Neckar, 9 km southwest of Heilbronn...

 and Kirchheim am Neckar

Kirchheim am Neckar

Kirchheim is a town in the district of Ludwigsburg in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....

 (B 27). Public transport in the PTE H3NV

Heilbronner Hohenloher Haller Nahverkehr

The Heilbronner Hohenloher Haller Nahverkehr is a regional transport cooperative that coordinates tickets and fares among all transport operators in the metropolitan area of Heilbronn in Germany. Besides the city of Heilbronn, the H3NV area encompasses the districts of Heilbronn and Hohenlohe...

 is ensured by buses. Connections to the rail network are also in Lauffen am Neckar und Kirchheim am Neckar (Frankenbahn).

The laid up Zabergäubahn (Lauffen am Neckar–Leonbronn) has stations in Pfaffenhofen and Weiler. The rail route shall be a part of the stadtbahn

Stadtbahn

A ' is a tramway or light railway that includes segments built to rapid transit standards, usually as part of a process of conversion to a metro railway, mainly by the building of tunnels in the central city area....

network Heilbronn until 2011. However, in July 2006 a report appeared making this doubtful.

Media

Abount happenings in Pfaffenhofen the Heilbronner Stimme reports in its south-west edition.

External links

• www.pfaffenhofen-wuertt.de (in German)