Scheßlitz
Encyclopedia
Scheßlitz is a town in the Upper Franconia
n district of Bamberg
and lies on the rise to the Franconian Switzerland
on the A 70 between Bamberg
and Bayreuth, lying 14 km northeast of the former.
This basin’s sheltered setting with roads that come together from Heiligenstadt, Hollfeld
, Weismain
, Bad Staffelstein
and Zapfendorf
favoured settlement in prehistoric times.
(as of 31 March/4 April 2005)
The amalgamation of these Stadtteile into Scheßlitz on 1 May 1972 and 1 May 1978 made the town the district's biggest municipality by land area.
Scheßlitz had its first documentary mention about 805. Scheßlitz is among the area’s oldest settlements and has held town rights since 1230.
Linear Pottery
remains in the Kohlstatt (“cabbage place”) make clear that there were settlers here as long ago as 2500 BC.
Concrete clues as to the town’s history are yielded by the Codex Eberhardi in which it is documented that a Count Bernhard and his wife Ratbirg bequeathed their property on what is now Scheßlitz’s abutting rural area to the Fulda
Monastery
about the year 800. The town has seized on this event as its historical beginnings and thus celebrated its 1,200-year jubilee in 2005.
It is said that confirmation of the existence of a parish
of Scheßlitz is the underwriting of a protocol about the Bamberg Synod in 1059 by Arnold de Sieslice.
The town gained importance through the Andechs Meranians’ activities, who rose to duke
s in 1178. In 1230, one of Duke Otto VIII’s fortified Andechs Meranian castles in the civitas of Scheßlitz was mentioned, making Scheßlitz the Bamberg district’s oldest town.
The town of Scheßlitz was an Obervogtamt (“higher reeve’s office”) of the High Monastery of Bamberg, and with the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803, it became part of Bavaria
.
The lion recalls the Bamberg High Monastery. The fishhook comes from Bamberg Bishop Lamprecht von Brunn’s family coat of arms. The wall stands for the town’s fortification.
Within the town’s limits are five breweries
, of which the Schmitt, Senger and Drei Kronen breweries are in Scheßlitz itself. In Köttensdorf is found the Hoh Brewery and in Würgau the Hartmann Brewery. By 2008 at the latest, for the 700th anniversary, the Drei Kronen Brewery in Straßgiech will also be brewing again. Until the 1990s, the Ellertal Brewery was still brewing its own beer.
All together, Scheßlitz offers about 2,000 jobs.
A planned train connection between Scheßlitz and Hollfeld
was once again put off in 1906 after widespread groundwork had already been done because both places wanted the project to fail for political reasons. The reason, however, was not the high building cost (2 million Marks), but rather that both towns were seeking the lucrative status of being the last station on the line.
Four of the variations on the plan for a railway line on the Franconian Jura that were discussed were as follows:
The line envisaged by the planners would have run from Scheßlitz towards Würgau, and then climbed left at the Schlappenreuther Berg in the Jura. The line would then have stretched through Gräfenhäusling to Steinfeld, in the end reaching the town of Hollfeld through the Wiesent and Aufseß Valleys.
Near Demmelsdorf a forest aisle was already being cut and a new canal harbour was being discussed to afford ore shipping from the Jura Mountains.
In 1918, there were once more stirrings aimed at getting the Jurabahn railway built. In 1920, however, the Transport Ministry (Reichsverkehrsministerium) made it known that in view of the bad state of the economy, any new railway building projects would have to be abandoned for the time being. Eventually, in 1930, a postal busline from Bamberg by way of Scheßlitz and Hollfeld to Bayreuth was opened.
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 on the rise to the Franconian Switzerland
Franconian Switzerland
The Little Switzerland is an upland in Upper Franconia, northern Bavaria and a popular tourist retreat. Located between the Pegnitz River in the east and the south, the Regnitz River in the west and the Main River in the north, its relief reaches 600 metres in height.The Franconian Switzerland is...
on the A 70 between 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...
and Bayreuth, lying 14 km northeast of the former.
Geography
The town is surrounded by the following hills:- Stammberg (559 m)
- Giechburg (530 m)
- Gügel (515 m)
- Kulm (553 m)
- Heidenstein (577 m)
- Rabenstein (572 m)
- Würgauer Höhe (518 m)
- Reisberg (554 m)
- Roter Stein (518 m)
- Wattendorfer Höhe (555 m)
- Hohe Metze (577 m)
This basin’s sheltered setting with roads that come together from Heiligenstadt, Hollfeld
Hollfeld
Hollfeld is a town in the district of Bayreuth, in Bavaria, Germany.It is situated 20 km west of Bayreuth, and 30 km east of Bamberg.-Villages:...
, Weismain
Weismain
Weismain is a town in the district of Lichtenfels, in northern Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 15 km west of Kulmbach, and 15 km southeast of Lichtenfels....
, Bad Staffelstein
Bad Staffelstein
Bad Staffelstein is a small town in the Bavarian Administrative Region of Upper Franconia in Germany. It is known for the beautiful landscape that surrounds it, which has been given the name "Gottesgarten am Obermain"...
and Zapfendorf
Zapfendorf
Zapfendorf is a community with market rights in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg in Bavaria, Germany with roughly 5,000 inhabitants.-Geography:...
favoured settlement in prehistoric times.
Constituent communities
Scheßlitz’s main town and namesake centre is by far the biggest of its Ortsteile with a population of 2,548. The town furthermore has these outlying centres, each given here with its own population figure:(as of 31 March/4 April 2005)
| Constituent communities | Inhabitants | Other notes |
|---|---|---|
Pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith... church |
||
The amalgamation of these Stadtteile into Scheßlitz on 1 May 1972 and 1 May 1978 made the town the district's biggest municipality by land area.
History
Linear Pottery
Linear Pottery culture
The Linear Pottery culture is a major archaeological horizon of the European Neolithic, flourishing ca. 5500–4500 BC.It is abbreviated as LBK , is also known as the Linear Band Ware, Linear Ware, Linear Ceramics or Incised Ware culture, and falls within the Danubian I culture of V...
remains in the Kohlstatt (“cabbage place”) make clear that there were settlers here as long ago as 2500 BC.
Concrete clues as to the town’s history are yielded by the Codex Eberhardi in which it is documented that a Count Bernhard and his wife Ratbirg bequeathed their property on what is now Scheßlitz’s abutting rural area to the Fulda
Fulda
Fulda is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district .- Early Middle Ages :...
Monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
about the year 800. The town has seized on this event as its historical beginnings and thus celebrated its 1,200-year jubilee in 2005.
It is said that confirmation of the existence of a parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of Scheßlitz is the underwriting of a protocol about the Bamberg Synod in 1059 by Arnold de Sieslice.
The town gained importance through the Andechs Meranians’ activities, who rose to duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
s in 1178. In 1230, one of Duke Otto VIII’s fortified Andechs Meranian castles in the civitas of Scheßlitz was mentioned, making Scheßlitz the Bamberg district’s oldest town.
The town of Scheßlitz was an Obervogtamt (“higher reeve’s office”) of the High Monastery of Bamberg, and with the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803, it became part of 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...
.
Entry in a travel guide
In his travel guide about Bamberg and the surrounding area from about 1912, the compiler Dietrich Amende also describes the town of Scheßlitz:- “Originally a SlavicSlavic peoplesThe Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
settlement, Scheßlitz was already named in history in 805 and already styled an ‘oppidum’ (small town) in 1062. Today the picturesque small town with its admirable innINNInterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...
s is a popular outing destination for people from BambergBambergBamberg 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...
, 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...
and CoburgCoburgCoburg is a town located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany. Its 2005 population was 42,015. Long one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined with Bavaria by popular vote in 1920...
. Worth seeing are the parish church, a GothicGothic architectureGothic 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 churchHall churchA hall church is a church with nave and side aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was first coined in the mid-19th century by the pioneering German art historian Wilhelm Lübke....
with interesting gravestones from 1360, 1569 and 1570, the hospital church built in 1780 with the prebendary building built in 1739-74 in whose gable is a lovely relief by the Bamberg sculptor Gollwitzer, the Dillig’sche Haus with stately woodcarvings from 1612, the warriors’ memorial, etc. In the graveyardGraveyardA graveyard is any place set aside for long-term burial of the dead, with or without monuments such as headstones...
is found an exceptionally beautiful statue of the Holy VirginHoly Virgin"Holy Virgin" is the first single from the album 21st Century by German trance group Groove Coverage. It's based on the song Fata Morgana by EAV.-Remix list:#"Holy Virgin" – 3:50#"Holy Virgin" – 3:28...
from 1450, which comes from St. Martin’s Church in Bamberg.” – Quoted and translated from Dr. Dietrich Amende: “Bamberg und das Frankenland”. Bamberg o. J. (about 1912).
Amalgamations
In the course of administrative reform in Bavaria, many nearby communities were amalgamated with the town, thereby giving the town the greatest land area of any municipality in the district. The amalgamations are listed here by date.- 1 May 1972:
- Burgellern
- Dörrnwasserlos
- Pausdorf
- Roschlaub
- 1 May 1978:
- Stübig
- Weichenwasserlos
- Kübelstein
- Ludwag
- Neudorf
Population development
| Date | Population |
|---|---|
| December 31, 1993 | |
| December 31, 1997 | |
| December 31, 2004 |
Town council
The town council is made up of 20 members:- 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...
9 seats - SPDSocial Democratic Party of GermanyThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
3 seats - Freie Liste 3 seats
- Christliche Wählergemeinschaft Scheßlitz-Umland 2 seats
- Vereinigte Junge Wähler 2 seats
- Interessengemeinschaft Giech 1 seat
Mayors
Scheßlitz’s “First Mayor” is Franz Zenk (CSU), and the “Second Mayor” is Roland Kauper (CSU).Coat of arms
Scheßlitz’s arms might heraldically be described thus: A wall embattled argent, the chief party per pale Or a lion rampant sable armed and langued gules surmounted by a bendlet of the first and argent a fishhook reversed of the fourth.The lion recalls the Bamberg High Monastery. The fishhook comes from Bamberg Bishop Lamprecht von Brunn’s family coat of arms. The wall stands for the town’s fortification.
Buildings
- The Giechburg (castleCastleA castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
) sits on a hill some distance over the town. - The Gügel pilgrimage church rises near the Giechburg on another hill in a heavily wooded area.
- The “Historic Townscape” with its many townsmen’s houses on Hauptstraße gives one an impression of a street of the 18th or 19th century.
- The former “Brewers’ Guildhall” stands out with its rich timber-frameTimber framingTimber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
carvings and a great orielOrielAn oriel window is a type of bay window which projects from a wall.Oriel may also refer to:Places in the United Kingdom:*Oriel College, Oxford*Oriel Street, Oxford*Oriel Square, Oxford*Oriel Chambers, LiverpoolPlaces in Ireland:...
. It nowadays, under the name Dillighaus, houses a caféCaféA café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
. It was built in 1692 by Jörg Hofmann from Zeil am MainZeil am MainZeil am Main is a town in the Haßberge district in Lower Franconia, an area in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Main, 7 km east of Haßfurt, 24 km northwest of Bamberg, and 25 km east of Schweinfurt...
and in 1847 it passed into the Dillig family’s ownership. This family was not very well off, originally owning a plot of land that fed only two goats. - The BaroqueBaroqueThe Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
Elisabethen-Hospital is a building by Johann Jakob Michael Küchel from 1766 and 1767 with three-dimensional works on the façadeFacadeA facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
by F. M. Mutschelle. It was founded in 1395 by Bamberg Bishop Lambert von Brunn to ensure support for the poor, the sick and invalids. The bishop was further likely obliged to join the newly inherited town to the Bamberg High Monastery.
- The Catholic Pfarrkirche St. Kilian (parish church) has a choir with a pseudo-basilica divided by struts. It was begun about 1400 and in the 15th century was expanded about the nave, swallowing a graveyard chapel, which became a confessional chapel. In 1571 the tower with a steep tent roof went up. On the church’s north side is found a Mount of OlivesMount of OlivesThe Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge in East Jerusalem with three peaks running from north to south. The highest, at-Tur, rises to 818 meters . It is named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes...
scene from the 17th century. The interior design comes from the 18th century, including the high altar from 1787 which already shows echoes of Classicism. The church’s centrepiece is the pulpit decorated in the RococoRococoRococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
style.
Economy and infrastructure
After the Second World War, various firms settled in Scheßlitz:- VDM (Vereinigte Deutsche Metallwerke), then Cebal, later AlcanAlcanRio Tinto Alcan Inc. is a Canadian company based in Montreal. It was created on November 15, 2007 as the result of the merger between Rio Tinto PLC's Canadian subsidiary, Rio Tinto Canada Holding Inc., and Canadian company Alcan Inc. On the same date, Alcan Inc. was renamed Rio Tinto Alcan Inc..Rio...
(plastic tubing), now Albéa, - Milchhof Albert (Frischli products)
- Bilog (e-logistics)
Within the town’s limits are five breweries
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
, of which the Schmitt, Senger and Drei Kronen breweries are in Scheßlitz itself. In Köttensdorf is found the Hoh Brewery and in Würgau the Hartmann Brewery. By 2008 at the latest, for the 700th anniversary, the Drei Kronen Brewery in Straßgiech will also be brewing again. Until the 1990s, the Ellertal Brewery was still brewing its own beer.
All together, Scheßlitz offers about 2,000 jobs.
Transport
- Scheßlitz lies right on BundesstraßeBundesstraßeBundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
22, the former Rottendorf–Weiden Imperial Road (Reichsstraße) which runs from RottendorfRottendorfRottendorf is a municipality in the district of Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany....
near WürzburgWürzburgWürzburg 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....
to ChamCham, GermanyCham is the capital of the district of Cham in the Upper Palatinate in Bavaria in Germany.-Location:Cham lies within the Cham-Further lowland, which is bordered on the south by the Bavarian Forest and on the north by the Oberpfälzer Wald...
in the Upper PalatinateUpper PalatinateThe Upper Palatinate is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of Bavaria.- History :The region took its name first in the early 16th century, because it was by the Treaty of Pavia one of the main portions of the territory of the Wittelsbach Elector...
and has a connection with the A 70, which runs from Bamberg to Bayreuth. - The former railway line to Bamberg, the so-called Schääzer Bockerla (or in standard German Scheßlitzer Böcklein) was abandoned on 31 May 1985. Today the railway embankment is used mainly as a cycle path, or is underneath the A 70/A 73 Bamberg Autobahn cloverleafCloverleaf interchangeA cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which left turns, reverse direction in left-driving regions, are handled by ramp roads...
.
A planned train connection between Scheßlitz and Hollfeld
Hollfeld
Hollfeld is a town in the district of Bayreuth, in Bavaria, Germany.It is situated 20 km west of Bayreuth, and 30 km east of Bamberg.-Villages:...
was once again put off in 1906 after widespread groundwork had already been done because both places wanted the project to fail for political reasons. The reason, however, was not the high building cost (2 million Marks), but rather that both towns were seeking the lucrative status of being the last station on the line.
Four of the variations on the plan for a railway line on the Franconian Jura that were discussed were as follows:
- by way of Würgau and Königsfeld (building cost 1.89 million Marks)
- through the Burglesau Valley by way of Steinfeld and Königsfeld (building cost 2.125 million Marks)
- from MemmelsdorfMemmelsdorfMemmelsdorf is a community in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg bordering in the west directly on the city of Bamberg.- History :As with most places in the Bamberg district, this community’s exact founding time cannot be established. However, looking back through the properties of the royal...
by way of LitzendorfLitzendorfLitzendorf is a community in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg. Owing to administrative reform it has been a unified community since 1 May 1978.-Geography:...
, Tiefenellern and Königsfeld (building cost 2.170 million Marks) - from GundelsheimGundelsheimGundelsheim may refer to places in Germany:*Gundelsheim, Baden-Württemberg*Gundelsheim, Bavaria...
by way of Melkendorf, Herzogenreuth and Königsfeld (building cost 2.77 million Marks)
The line envisaged by the planners would have run from Scheßlitz towards Würgau, and then climbed left at the Schlappenreuther Berg in the Jura. The line would then have stretched through Gräfenhäusling to Steinfeld, in the end reaching the town of Hollfeld through the Wiesent and Aufseß Valleys.
Near Demmelsdorf a forest aisle was already being cut and a new canal harbour was being discussed to afford ore shipping from the Jura Mountains.
In 1918, there were once more stirrings aimed at getting the Jurabahn railway built. In 1920, however, the Transport Ministry (Reichsverkehrsministerium) made it known that in view of the bad state of the economy, any new railway building projects would have to be abandoned for the time being. Eventually, in 1930, a postal busline from Bamberg by way of Scheßlitz and Hollfeld to Bayreuth was opened.
Sons and daughters of the town
- Markus FeulnerMarkus FeulnerMarkus Feulner is a German footballer who plays as a midfielder for 1. FC Nuremberg.-Early career:Feulner went through the Bayern Munich academy, but was unable to gain a place in the first team. In January 2004, he signed for strugglers 1. FC Köln...
, footballer with Borussia DortmundBorussia DortmundBallspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football... - Hans Zeis, shoemaker and Scheßlitz town councillor, died about 1599. Left behind a house book that begins in 1580 and ends in 1599, likely owing to the writer’s death. It is available in two different editions.
Further reading
- Matthias Wolf: Das Schäätzer Bockäla. Schweinfurt, Verlag Wolfgang Bleiweis, 1992. ISBN 3-928786-13-X