Crailsheim

Crailsheim
The Johanneskirche, built between 1398 and 1440, is one of the oldest buildings in Crailsheim
Crailsheim
Location of the town of Crailsheim within Schwäbisch Hall district
Coordinates	49°08′5″N 10°04′14″E
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Baden-Württemberg
Admin. region	Stuttgart
District	Schwäbisch Hall
Town subdivisions	Core city and 8 districts
Lord Mayor	Rudolf Michl (SPD)
Basic statistics
Area	109.08 km2 (42.12 sq mi)
Elevation	414 m  (1358 ft)
Population	33,086 (31 December 2011)
- Density	303 /km2 (786 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	SHA
Postal code	74564
Area code	07951
Website	www.crailsheim.de

Crailsheim is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Incorporated in 1338, it lies 32 km east of Schwäbisch Hall and 40 km southwest of Ansbach in the Schwäbisch Hall district. The city's main attractions include two Evangelical churches, a Catholic church, and the 67 metre tower of its town hall.

History

Crailsheim is famed for withstanding a siege by forces of three imperial cities - Schwäbisch Hall, Dinkelsbühl, and Rothenburg ob der Tauber - lasting from 1379 until 1380, a feat which it celebrates annually. Crailsheim became a possession of the Burgrave of Nuremberg following the siege. In 1791 it became part of the Prussian administrative region, before returning to Bavaria in 1806 and becoming a part of Württemberg in 1810.

Crailsheim's railroad and airfield were heavily defended by the Waffen-SS in World War II. Following an American Army assault in mid-April 1945 the town was occupied briefly by US forces before being lost to German counter-offensive. Intense US bombing and artillery shelling during a second US conquest destroyed much of the city, with subsequent fires consuming its historic inner city. Only the Johanneskirche (St. John's Church) escaped unharmed. Crailsheim became the postwar home to the U.S. Army's McKee Barracks until the facility closed in January 1994.

Major employers in the Crailsheim area include:

• Voith
• a subsidiary of the American Procter & Gamble corporation
• Robert Bosch GmbH
• Gerhard Schubert GmbH

The following boroughs comprise the Crailsheim municipality: Ingersheim, Altenmünster, Rotmühle, Tiefenbach, Onolzheim, Roßfeld, Jagstheim, Westgartshausen, Goldbach, Triensbach and Beuerlbach.

Twin towns

Crailsheim is twinned with

• Worthington Minnesota in the United States
• Pamiers in France
• Jurbarkas in Lithuania
• Biłgoraj in Poland

Crailsheim Merlins

The Crailsheim Merlins are basketball team in the city. Founded in 1986, they originally played in lower leagues. In 1995 they moved into a new sports hall, improved, and were promoted in 2001 to the German Bundes League of basketball. In 2009 they rose to the Pro A league, fielding seventeen players.

Personalities

• Wolfgang Meyer, born 1954 is a German clarinetist.
• Philipp Gottfried Alexander, 10th Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg born 20 January 1970.
• Hans Scholl, Born in 22 September 1918 when the city was named Ingersheim, was a founding member of the White Rose resistance movement in Nazi Germany.
• Eva Schorr, (born 28 September 1927) is a German painter and composer.

External links

• Official website (German)
• History about Crailsheim (English)

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.