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' War 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.
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Karlsburg, Karlstadt, on the other side of the Main
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Main Gate with flood gauge, Karlstadt
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Main Gate Tower and Main Gate, Karlstadt
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.
Read more about this topic: Karlstadt Am Main
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