Pleinfeld Station
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Pleinfeld is a
Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...
n
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' ...
and
market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
in the
Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen () is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the west of Bavaria, Germany with a population of 95,000. Neighbouring districts are (from the north clockwise) Ansbach, Roth, Eichstätt and Donau-Ries. It is located in the south of ...
district, in the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
of
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 ...
. It is situated in the
Metropolitan Area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
of
Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
and in the
Franconian Lake District The Franconian Lake District lies south-west of Nuremberg in northern Bavaria, Germany. It was created as a result of one of Germany's largest water-management projects and was completed by the flooding of the Großer Brombachsee (" Great Brom ...
. Pleinfeld is a nationally recognized recreation area.


Geography

Pleinfeld is located in central Bavaria, in the south of the
administrative region Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...
Mittelfranken. The municipal area borders on the neighbouring Bavarian district Roth. Neighbouring townships are Pfofeld,
Ellingen Ellingen is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. History It was first mentioned in 899. Between 1216 and 1806, it served as the capital of the Franconian branch of the Teutonic Order, and at least for some years ...
,
Ettenstatt Ettenstatt is a municipality in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, 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 a ...
, Höttingen,
Absberg Absberg is a municipality in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, 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 ...
,
Spalt Spalt ( Franconian dialect: ''Schbåld'') is a town in the district of Roth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 19 km southwest of Schwabach. Spalt is famous for growing hops for brewing beer. Geography Spalt is situated between Nuremberg, ...
,
Heideck Heideck is a town with full legal town charter in the district of Roth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the Metropolitan Area of Nuremberg and at the same time in the Franconian Lake District. History Heideck was first mentioned in 1288. ...
and
Röttenbach Röttenbach is a town in the district of Erlangen-Höchstadt, in Bavaria, Germany. Geography Neighboring villages The neighboring villages surrounding Röttenbach are Adelsdorf, Baiersdorf, Heßdorf, and Hemhofen. History Middle Ages Arou ...
. The landscape is hilly and forested. Pleinfeld is situated on the rivers
Swabian Rezat The Swabian Rezat (, ) is a 33.3-kilometre-long river in southern Germany (Bavaria). It is the southern, right source river of the Rednitz. It rises in the Franconian Jura hills, near Weißenburg in Bayern. It flows generally north through the to ...
and Arbach, north of
Weißenburg in Bayern Weißenburg in Bayern (, ), formerly also ''Weißenburg im Nordgau'', ''Weißenburg am Sand'', is a town in Middle Franconia, Germany. It is the capital of the district Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen. In 2020 its population was 18,578. Weißenburg wa ...
, and south of
Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
. Other rivers in the municipality area are Brombach river and
Banzerbach The Banzerbach is a river of Bavaria, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Swabian Rezat. Its upper course, upstream from its confluence with the ''Bachwiesengraben'', is called ''Weihergraben''. Its middle course, between the confluence with ...
river, both tributary of the Swabian Rezat. The town's altitude is around
above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...
. The highest point of the municipality is located near Dorsbrunn, asl. Pleinfeld is the biggest town at the
Großer Brombachsee Großer Brombachsee is a reservoir in the Franconian Lake District in northern Bavaria, Germany. It is fed and drained by the Brombach. Together with its two pre-dams, the Kleiner Brombachsee and the Igelsbachsee, it forms the region Brombachs ...
, a lake in the
Franconian Lake District The Franconian Lake District lies south-west of Nuremberg in northern Bavaria, Germany. It was created as a result of one of Germany's largest water-management projects and was completed by the flooding of the Großer Brombachsee (" Great Brom ...
. Simultaneously, Pleinfeld is located on the most northern part of the
Altmühl Valley Nature Park The Altmühl Valley Nature Park () is a nature park, 2,962 km² in area, in the south German state of Bavaria. The area of the park is almost coextensive with that of the natural region major unit of the Southern Franconian Jura (''Südliche ...
.


Administrative subdivisions

Pleinfeld has 35 subdivisions:Bayerische Landesbibliothek Online
/ref> * Allmannsdorf * Banzermühle * Birklein * Böschleinsmühle * Dorsbrunn * Engelreuth * Erlingsdorf * Gündersbach * Heinzenmühle *
Hohenweiler Hohenweiler (Low Alemannic: ''Howiilar'') is a municipality in the district of Bregenz in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geogra ...
* Kemnathen * Ketschenmühle * Kleinweingarten * Langweidmühle * Mackenmühle * Mandlesmühle * Mannholz * Mäusleinsmühle * Mischelbach * ''Pleinfeld'' * Prexelmühle * Ramsberg am Brombachsee * Regelsberg * Reichertsmühle * Roxfeld * Sankt Veit * Schloss Sandsee * Seemannsmühle * Stirn * Utzenmühle * Veitserlbach * Walkerszell * Walting * Wurmmühle


History

The origins of the town date back to the 7th century. Pleinfeld was first mentioned in 770. In medieval and early modern period Pleinfeld was part of Prince-Bishopric of Eichstätt and remained under their jurisdiction until the late 18th century. During the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
the population decreased very sharply. Pleinfeld becomes part of Bavaria in 1803 by the process of
mediatisation Mediatization or mediatisation may refer to: * German mediatisation, German historical territorial restructuring * Mediatization (media) Mediatization (or medialization) is a method whereby the mass media influence other sectors of society, inclu ...
. The train station was opened at 1 October 1849. Parts of Pleinfeld were damaged in April 1945 by an Allied bombing raid, but large parts of the old town remained undamaged. The reorganisation of communities in Bavaria between 1972 and 1978 meant that Pleinfeld came in charge of the previously independent surrounding villages, enlarging the town in size and population. The
Franconian Lake District The Franconian Lake District lies south-west of Nuremberg in northern Bavaria, Germany. It was created as a result of one of Germany's largest water-management projects and was completed by the flooding of the Großer Brombachsee (" Great Brom ...
has made Pleinfeld a tourist destination in 21st century.


Transportation

Pleinfeld has a
railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
at the Nuremberg–Augsburg railway and the Pleinfeld-Gunzenhausen railway, which is served every 30 minutes on weekdays. By the
Bundesstraße 2 The Bundesstraße 2 (abbr. B2) is a German federal highway, running some 1000 kilometres from the Polish border near Gartz to the Austrian border near Garmisch-Partenkirchen. From north to south; it passes through major cities such as Berlin ...
and its three junctions as well as the nearby
Bundesstraße 13 ''Bundesstraße'' (, ), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraßen'' are labelled with rec ...
it is well connected to
Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
,
Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...
,
Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (; Austro-Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an Independent city#Germany, independent city on the Danube, in Upper Bavaria, with 142,308 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2023). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan ...
and
Ansbach Ansbach ( , ; ) is a city in the Germany, German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk, administrative region of Mittelfranken, Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränk ...
. The town is served by several local buses.


Religion

Like most of Bavaria, Pleinfeld is predominantly
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
. There are nine Roman Catholic churches (four parish churches among them), one
Evangelical Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
parish church and a
Kingdom Hall A Kingdom Hall is a place of worship used by Jehovah's Witnesses. The term was first suggested in 1935 by Joseph Franklin Rutherford, then president of the Watch Tower Society, for a building in Hawaii. Rutherford's reasoning was that these ...
for
Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...
. There are six cemeteries overall.


Politics

Stefan Frühwald has held the office of mayor since May 2019. He is a member of the
CSU CSU may refer to: Universities and university systems United States * Columbia Southern University, in Orange Beach, Alabama * California State University system * Colorado State University, in Fort Collins, Colorado * Connecticut State Univers ...
political party.


Culture and places of interest


Architecture

Pleinfeld's old town is surrounded by an early modern town wall with a fortified gate, the ''Spalter Tor'', as landmark building. The wall was erected in the 16th century. Several fountains, statues and historic buildings including the town hall, the castle and the Saint Nicholas Church are in the old town. The center is the market square. Several mills are lined up along the river in the north of Pleinfeld, starting nearby the old town. Other points of interests are the Sandsee castle on a hill northeast of the town and the Saint John of Nepomuk bridge, an old stone bridge.


Museums

The Pleinfeld local history museum shows the history of the town and of the old tradition to brew beer.


Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes

Since 2005, the
Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes The Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes (), or ORL, is a 550-kilometre-long section of the former external frontier of the Roman Empire between the rivers Rhine and Danube. It runs from Rheinbrohl to Eining on the Danube. The Upper Germanic-Rhaetian L ...
, a 550-kilometre-long external frontier of the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
which runs through the Pleinfeld municipal area, is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
.


Economy

Several companies and plants are located in Pleinfeld including a plant of
W. L. Gore and Associates W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. is an American multinational manufacturing company specializing in products derived from fluoropolymers. It is a privately held corporation headquartered in Newark, Delaware. It is best known as the developer of wate ...
. There are four industrial parks.
Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
,
retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...
, light industry and still
agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
are an important factor.


Education

Pleinfeld has 4 kindergartens, one primary school, one ''
Hauptschule A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...
'', a music school and a private school which provides
Montessori education The Montessori method of education is a type of educational method that involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing ...
. There is a library. The ''Mehrgenerationenhaus'' offers courses for adult education.


Sports

In Pleinfeld several sports clubs are located. The two biggest are the Catholic sports club ''DJK Pleinfeld'' and the general sports club ''1. FC/Vfl Pleinfeld'' which provides for instance football, athletics, table tennis and gymnastics. Furthermore, there are several
Yacht club A yacht club is a boat club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mar ...
s in the municipality. The Pleinfeld ''Brombachhalle'', which seats 1,400, is the county's largest arena. Nearby the arena is a public swimming pool. The biggest sports event in Pleinfeld is the marathon every September. The water sports center (''Wassersportzentrum)'' of the
University of Erlangen–Nuremberg The Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (, FAU) is a Public University, public research university in the cities of Erlangen and Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany. The name Friedrich-Alexander is derived from the university's first ...
is located in Pleinfeld.


International relations

Pleinfeld is twinned with: * -
Killarney Killarney ( ; , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Killar ...
Ireland


Local Dialect

The local dialect of the region is
East Franconian German East Franconian ( ), usually referred to as Franconian (' ) in German, is a dialect spoken in Franconia, the northern part of the federal state of Bavaria and other areas in Germany around Nuremberg, Bamberg, Coburg, Würzburg, Hof, Bayreuth, ...
, referred to in German as ''Fränkisch'', with Pleinfeld being at the southern point of its extension. Traveling south, people speak
Bavarian German Bavarian (; ), alternately Austro-Bavarian, is a group of Upper German varieties spoken in the south-east of the German language area, including the German state of Bavaria, most of Austria, and South Tyrol in Italy. Prior to 1945, Bavarian ...
and
Alemannic German Alemannic, or rarely Alemannish (''Alemannisch'', ), is a group of High German dialects. The name derives from the ancient Germanic tribal confederation known as the Alemanni ("all men"). Distribution Alemannic dialects are spoken by approxi ...
dialects.


Media

The local paper is the ''Weißenburger Tagblatt''.


Sons and daughters of the town

* Maurus Xaverius Herbst (1701-1757), Benedictine abbot * Wilhelm Uebler (1899-1968), shot putter


Photogallery

Image:Brombach luft.jpg, Lake Image:Schloss Sandsee NO.jpg, Sandsee Castle Image:Sandbahn2.jpg, Former train, now a playground Image:Schloss Pleinfeld 017.jpg, Museum in Pleinfeld town center Image:St Nikolaus - Pleinfeld 003.jpg, Church St. Nicholas Image:Pleinfeld, Spalter Tor, Stadtseite, 001.jpg, Gate "Spalter Tor" Image:Pleinfeld WUG 007.jpg, historic city wall Image:Marktplatz Pleinfeld links.JPG, market square Image:Pleinfeld Nepomukbrücke Ostseite.jpg, Saint Nepomuk Bridge Image:Pleinfeld, Marktplatz 3, 001.jpg, timber-framed house "Zur Krone"


References


External links

* {{Authority control Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen Market towns