Illesheim (), founded 1283 AD, is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the district of

Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim (German: Landkreis Neustadt an der Aisch-Bad Windsheim, official Landkreis Neustadt a.d.Aisch-Bad Windsheim) is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the distr ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The earliest leader affiliated with Illesheim's foundation was

Götz von Berlichingen zu Hornberg (, ; 15 November 1480 – 23 July 1562), also known as Götz of the Iron Hand (German language, German: Eisenfaust), was a 16th-century Germany, German (Franconian) Imperial Knight (''Reichsritter''), mercenary and poet. He wa ...

, known as "the Knight with the Iron Hand." Also known locally as "Illesa". It lies 6 kilometers west of

Bad Windsheim Bad Windsheim (; East Franconian: ''Winsa'') is a historic town in Bavaria, Germany with a population of more than 12,000. It lies in the district Neustadt an der Aisch-Bad Windsheim, west of Nuremberg. In the Holy Roman Empire, Windsheim held t ...

and 11 kilometers east of the A7 motorway. Illesheim has one train station, a stop on the

Regionalbahn The ''Regionalbahn'' (; lit. Regional train; abbreviated ''RB'') is a train categories in Europe, type of Regional rail, local passenger train (stopping train) in Germany. It is similar to the Regionalzug (R) and Regio (Swiss railway train), R ...

system. Its Rathaus (townhall) is open Wednesday afternoons and has some interesting historical items. This small town adjoins the northwestern edge of the U.S. Army's

Storck Barracks Storck Barracks/Illesheim Kaserne is a United States Army facility adjacent to Illesheim, Germany, located about 15 miles northwest of Ansbach (Bavaria), about 240 miles south-southwest of Berlin. Storck Barracks is part of the United States Ar ...

and the Illesheim AAF, a U.S. Army helicopter airfield. The airfield previously belonged to the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

until its capture in 1945. Illesheim is primarily an agricultural town. The even smaller hamlet of Urfersheim sits to its southeast, adjoining the opposite side of the airfield. On Illesheim's crest (in German, ''Wappen''), the Wheel represents Illesheim at the center with the five wheel spokes pointing toward other smaller neighboring communities linked to the town Illesheim. The knife above represents

Saint Bartholomew Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Most scholars today identify Bartholomew as Nathanael, who appears in the Gospel of John (1:45–51; cf. 21:2). New Testament references The name ''Bartholomew ...

, who is the patron saint for the church in neighboring Urfersheim. The cross represents Saint Gumbertus, the patron saint for the church in the hamlet of Westheim (southeast of Urfersheim).

Mayor

The mayor of Illesheim is Roland Scheibenberger, elected in March 2020. Illesheim St

References

Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim {{NeustadtBadWindsheim-geo-stub