History of the city of Volkach

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The coat of arms of the city of Volkach

The town of Volkach in what is now Lower Franconia has a history spanning over a thousand years. The place was mentioned for the first time in 906 AD. A few centuries passed before Volkach was first referred to as a city in 1258. Initially part of the Grafschaft Castell , the city came into the hands of the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg by the end of the Middle Ages , who made it one of his official cities. With the modern era, the city lost many of its privileges and is today the middle center in the Bavarian district of Kitzingen .

Early and early times

Early settlement (until 250 AD)

Traces of the Latène culture in the east of the city

The first traces of human settlement in the area of ​​the Mainschleife come from the Paleolithic . At the end of the last ice age, the region around Volkach was covered by tundra vegetation, which offered the hunters and gatherers of the Paleolithic period little game to hunt. Nevertheless, device finds and the molar of a mammoth south of today's town of Volkach prove the early appearance of humans in the region. The cult center at that time was the Vogelsberg, on which the Vogelsburg monastery is located today .

In the Neolithic Age, the band ceramists settled the Mainschleife. Again, the mountain surrounded by the Main formed the center of the settlement: the typical clay bowls were found on the Vogelsberg. However, the settlement area of ​​culture extended much further and included the areas of today's villages Neusetz , Fahr , Ober- and Untereisenheim and Prosselsheim . The settlements emerged mainly on the Main fords and allowed the people of the Neolithic Age to transition easily.

As in the previous millennia, the Main loop remained settled during the Bronze Age, even if the Volkach settlement itself is not documented by finds. Barrows in Dimbach , Gaibach and Untereisenheim in particular support the assumption that there was continuity of settlement from the late Neolithic cup culture to the Bronze Age barrow. The people of the Urnfield Culture conquered the fortifications on the Mainschleife in the twelfth century BC.

At the beginning of the Iron Age in the 7th century BC, the people of the Latène culture took over the settlements in the region around Volkach. The members of the Celts mixed with the local population and expanded the Vogelsberg into their residence in the region. Similar to the Marienberg in Würzburg , a royal seat and place of worship for the Celtic gods was built on the mountain. At the turn of the ages, more and more Teutons left their northern settlement areas and advanced to the Mainschleife. As a Celtic retreat, the Kirchberg on the edge of Volkach could have been settled at this time .

Great Migration (until AD 704)

The first Germanic settlers on the Mainschleife were the Suebi , who came from the area of ​​today's Saxony. In particular, the strain of the Marcomani the region populated by Volkach; Traces of this tribe can be found mainly for the 1st century. They were ousted in the 2nd century by the Alemanni invading from the west , to whom the town of Kitzingen should go back. Until the 3rd or 4th century, the Mainschleife was in Alemannic hands.

Around the year 500 the West Germanic Thuringians followed them and stayed on the Mainschleife until the middle of the 6th century. After several armed conflicts with the advancing Frankish settlers under their King Theuderich, they had to vacate the area. Würzburg , the future center of the region, was first mentioned in 704 . With the Frankish colonists, a state development, supported by the king and the nobility, began.

middle Ages

Foundation and first mention (up to 906)

The document of 906

When exactly the settlement of the place where the city of Volkach is located today is unclear. What is certain, however, is that the name of the settlement comes from early Germanic times. The ending -ach comes from the Old High German aha, which means "water" or "flowing water". Volkach was a village of fortified farmers who lived below the fortified Vogelsburg at the mouth of a small river on the Main. Settlement cells were the area of ​​today's St. Maria Monastery in the southwest of the city and the core of today's Obervolkach .

The village was assigned to the Franconian royal court Prosselsheim, which had established itself as an administrative center during the colonization. In addition, the Vogelsburg continued to be the spiritual center of the settlement, it exercised parish functions and was the seat of a bailiff who represented the royal administration. Around the village of Volkach, one of the ancient gauzes of the Franconian Empire soon formed, the so-called Volkachfeld, later called Volkfeld . The administrative district was named after the main river Volkach , which got its name from the fortified settlement on the Main.

The homogeneous Franconian-Carolingian crown estate was smashed in the course of the 8th and 9th centuries. First of all, by 742 at the latest, the Vogelsburg lost its parish functions on the Main loop against the Kirchberg on the other side of the Main , on which the Maria im Weingarten church is now located. On the other hand, the Franconian kings gave more and more possessions to aristocrats and monasteries in the near and far area in order to ensure their loyalty.

For the first time in 788 a servant was handed down from Volkach who was subject to the Fulda monastery . In the year 889, most of the Mainschleife fell to the abbey. Emperor Arnulf assured the Boniface Abbey of large areas on the Main and thus finally smashed the old kingdom. The donations were confirmed in a document from the year 906, which his son Ludwig the child issued. "Folchaa superior et inferior, Fugalespurc" and several other places came under the rule of the monastery.

It is noteworthy that instead of one village Volkach is named two, an upper (Latin inferior) and a lower (Latin superior). It can be assumed that the two settlement cells from early Germanic times had developed apart. A Hörigen settlement was added to the core of the settlement at the mouth of the river, which was supplemented by an early market place on today's Upper Market. Today's Obervolkach had become an independent village.

From village to city (until 1258)

Hallburg Castle - Zollburg Volkachs

After the first evidence of the existence of the village of Volkach, it was again almost 300 years before the place was mentioned again in the sources. The ownership structure on the Mainschleife had completely changed again in the meantime: The Fulda Abbey had withdrawn from the region, as the profits from their goods decreased more and more and the management of the unprofitable farms became too expensive.

At the same time, the 11th and 12th centuries in particular were associated with the rise of regional, spiritual and secular principalities. In the shadow of the Würzburg bishopric, the gentlemen von Castell established themselves on the Mainschleife . How Volkach came into the hands of the later Castell counts is unclear. They must have acted as bailiffs of the monastery and, when the influence of the abbey weakened, took over landlord rights in the village.

Between the years 1190 and 1213 a "Heroldus de Volcaha", a herald in the service of Castellian , appeared as a witness on a document. From this point on, the springs flow more regularly again. Volkach became the seat of a notary and a bailiff, both of which have been handed down in 1244. At the same time, the Würzburg diocese also had an influence in the village, a ministerial , Albert, was mentioned for the first time in 1231.

The counts tried to expand their influence on the Main bend by fortifications on the surrounding mountains. The Hallburg was built in the 13th century and the Stettenburg was first mentioned in 1225 , so that now three castles, the Vogelsburg, the Stettenburg and the Hallburg, were grouped around the ascending village on the Main. At the same time, the castellans succeeded in expanding Volkach's position as the market center of the region; the market town was the Upper Suburb . In addition, a fishing settlement was established on the Volkachbach.

The village quickly became the most important place of the count's property and was surrounded by a curtain wall . This renewed revaluation led in the course of the 13th century to a “creeping” development of Volkach, which was mainly reflected in the designations in documents. While in 1230 “villa”, meaning village, appeared in the place names, in 1258 “civitas”, the town of Volkach, was spoken of. An official town elevation of Volkach probably never took place.

Under the Counts of Castell (until 1328)

The tower of the parish church of St. Bartholomew

When Volkach became a town, there was an infrastructural and commercial reorientation that had already taken hold of the Main Loop in the centuries before. The east-west axis from Prosselsheim via the Vogelsburg and on to Volkach and Bamberg lost its importance for transport, instead the trade routes shifted to the north-south road from Ansbach to Schweinfurt . This was also evident in the orientation of the two-gate town of Volkach, whose main street ran from north to south.

With this realignment, Volkach continued to flourish. As the only town in the county of Castell , the place became the administrative seat and office, as an important place of transition on the Main, customs could also be levied on various goods. In the middle of the 13th century, after the death of Frederick I , there were divisions within the von Castell family , which also affected the city of Volkach.

Friedrich's sons, Heinrich and Hermann von Castell, belonged to different camps. While Hermann was closer to the interests of the Würzburg bishopric, Heinrich belonged to the Hennebergers who were enemies of Würzburg . In 1265/1267 this gap led to the division of the Castell family and the division of the brothers' property. The city of Volkach was also affected, part was awarded to Heinrich, the other part went to Hermann.

At the same time, the quarreling counts had to give up their castle in the east of Volkach. The Stettenburg fell into disrepair and was no longer a fortified customs post. The Vogelsburg had a similar experience , its owner Count Hermann had the decaying fortification converted into a Carmelite monastery , which he chose as a burial place for himself and his family. This left only the Hallburg as a fortified castle on the Mainschleife.

Nonetheless, the city received its own weights and measures around 1300, which should lead to a further concentration of trade. At the same time, the decline of the Kirchberg began outside the city, which had served for centuries as the original parish for the communities of the Mainschleife. The citizens of Volkach no longer wanted to take the long journey to the mountain and established the new parish in a chapel in the city, from which the church of St. Bartholomew and St. George would later emerge.

With the death of Heinrich von Castell, his half of the city was again divided among the sons in 1311. Rupert and Hermann II often stayed outside the county and pawned their neighborhoods to various other landlords because of their debts , but could always buy back their property. Hermann I, her uncle, also transferred his share of the city to the Counts of Hohenlohe . After the repurchase period had passed, Heinrich von Hohenlohe sold half of the town of Volkach to the Würzburg prince-bishops on October 27, 1328.

Division of city rule (until 1520)

The market convoy under the flag of the Counts of Castell, miniature from the Volkacher Salbuch

From then on the city rulership was divided, half was held by the Würzburg prince-bishop, the other half was handed over to the son of Hermann I after the childless death of Counts Rupert and Hermann II in 1314 and 1331. Friedrich III. von Castell appointed a mayor for his half , so that both gentlemen now had representatives in Volkach. The division of the city was also illustrated on the coat of arms , which was handed down for the first time at this time : In addition to the rake of the diocese, the square of Castell appeared.

After the death of Friedrich, however, the counts again shared their domain between the sons of Hermann III for a few years . and Friedrich III. on. From 1360, Volkach was again divided among three lords for about thirty years. It was only when Hermann's son Wilhelm married the widow of his deceased uncle, Adelheid von Nassau, that around 1390 the castell half of Volkach was again united in one hand.

Even though constant changes of rulership burdened the city, Volkach continued to rise in the second half of the 14th century. The two city lords campaigned for the granting of a right to mint , which was also granted to Volkach on July 24, 1398 by King Wenceslaus of Luxembourg . At the same time, the town charter was first set in writing, a copy from 1404 has been preserved. In addition, Volkach was officially granted market rights by King Ruprecht in 1406 , which was confirmed again in 1451.

After the Volkach trading center in particular had been strengthened by these written rights, from the 1920s onwards the citizens also tried to gather administrative functions in the city. So far, crimes worthy of death have been tried before the Würzburg Central Court in the city of Stadtschwarzach . In 1432, Bishop Johann III. von Grumbach has the right to hold such a neck court in the city of Volkach .

Under the reign of Wilhelm II von Castell , the cousin of the first count of that name, the county rapidly went into debt. In 1447, the counts therefore had to pledge their share in Volkach again. A third of each half of their city fell into the hands of Konrad von Limpurg , Georg von Henneberg and Konrad von Weinsberg . In 1453 the Würzburg bishop was granted a right of first refusal, which he redeemed in 1479, 1505 and 1510. One after the other, the Limpurgian, the Weinberg and the Henneberger part went to the prince-bishopric.

Volkach was completely under the rule of the diocese at the time of Lorenz von Bibra . On October 9, 1514, Johann II von Castell finally renounced his share in the city. When his brother Wolfgang followed on February 20, 1520, Volkach had become the administrative city of Würzburg for the price of 10248 guilders, a position that the place would hold into the 19th century.

Early modern age

Salbuch and Peasants' War (until 1526)

The modern age in Volkach actually began in 1504. At that time the so-called “open city book”, the Volkacher Salbuch , by Niklas Brobst von Effelt , was published in the city . Together with his son Sebastian, the notary and town clerk recorded the town's rules and procedures in the country town and criticized the lack of uniformity caused by the rule of several town lords. As a fundamental work in Franconian, early modern historiography, it became a standard work .

When the city was then united under the rule of the prince-bishops in 1520, this went hand in hand with a standardization of the legal process in Volkach. At first, however, the new city lords faced other problems. Due to several price increases, the displeasure of the rural population was turned into violence, which also shook the Würzburg monastery . In the spring of 1525, the uprising that would go down in history as the German Peasants' War took hold of the city of Volkach.

The town’s arable citizens initially joined the peasants who besieged the Prince- Bishop 's Marienburg in Würzburg. On May 1, 1525, they looted the Hallburg and took their inventory with them to Volkach. The same happened to the Vogelsburg monastery, which was never able to recover from this destruction. After the fortifications in the area, the Astheim Charterhouse next suffered from the rebels.

It was not until June 1525 that the bishop was able to put down the uprisings. Initially, the ringleaders were not punished. In 1526, when Bishop Konrad von Thüngen received the homage from the offices of Hallburg, Prosselsheim and Klingenberg in the city , he had a total of seven Volkachers arrested, whom he held responsible for the uprisings. Two of them were convicted in Gerolzhofen and executed with the sword.

Prince-Bishop's Office Volkach (until 1618)

The coat of arms of Bishop Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn at the upper gate

Despite these uprisings against the city lords, more and more administrative elements were moved to Volkach over the next few years. The prince-bishop's office in Hallburg , named after the toll castle, was relocated to Volkach in the 16th century. Shortly after 1540, the bishopric named the office after the city. Volkach received its own office cellar and several officials. In addition, the place became a central place of homage for the offices in the area. The offices of Prosselsheim and Klingenberg, as well as the villages of Astheim and Untereisenheim, affirmed their loyalty to the bishop in Volkach.

In 1542 the office was upgraded again. The village of Obervolkach, long separated from Volkach, became part of the administrative district again. In 1544 the city received a new town hall along with the confirmation of the city ​​arms . With the appointment of Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn as Bishop of Würzburg, the Counter-Reformation was accelerated throughout the prince-bishopric . To this end, the young prelate had many run-down churches in his sphere of influence renewed and the followers of the Lutheran creed suppressed.

In Volkach, which at that time had no Lutheran population worth mentioning, Julius Echter paid homage on May 12, 1574 and immediately set about renewing the city's traditional legal systems. In 1575 and 1600 Volkach received new neck court regulations . In 1583, new building and sieving regulations were issued for measuring the property boundaries. It was followed by a city court and customs ordinance in 1590.

The city received the Prince-Bishop's brother, Valentin Echter , as bailiff. A large office building, the so-called Echterhof , was built for the new head of administration , which was completed in 1605. At the same time, construction was continued on the city fortifications. Between 1577 and 1611 the damaged wall was repaired and the Renaissance gates of the Sommeracher and Gaibacher Tors were built.

With the beginning of the 17th century, the conflicts between the two denominations increased. In 1605, Volkach citizens were mustered for the first time in a warlike emergency. This was followed by a decree that in 1610 allowed vintners to leave the city only with their weapons. The advancing plague also took its toll: In 1611, 385 Volkachers died of the disease. With the death of Bishop Julius Echter on September 16, 1617, a golden age for the city ended.

Thirty Years War (until 1648)

After the denominational conflict had triggered the Thirty Years' War in northern Germany , the population in Volkach was again asked for emergencies. In 1619, the town's men capable of armed weapons were given rifles. Although the acts of war did not yet reach Franconia, there were still crop failures that had their origin in the so-called Little Ice Age . Viticulture suffered particularly from the worsening weather conditions.

In 1631, raids by Croatian auxiliary troops began in Volkach, spreading fear and terror among the population. On October 18, 1631, the capital of the bishopric, Würzburg, fell to the Swedes under their king Gustav II Adolf . Since the resistance against the conquerors would only have resulted in unnecessary bloodshed in the country town of Volkach, the community surrendered to the Swedes a day later. The Swedish troops only devastated the city's archives.

The conquerors quickly established a new administration in Würzburg, which also affected Volkach. Field Marshal Horn was responsible for Main Franconia, and the mayors of the cities had to take their oath on the King of Sweden. The city of Volkach received the royal official school of Max Weiß. He had to fall back on the Catholic officials of the city and at the same time began to enrich the goods of the city. In particular, the Astheim Charterhouse was plundered by him.

With the occupation by the Swedes the so-called “counter-reformation” went hand in hand. After the Reformation and Counter-Reformation , the areas that remained Catholic were to become Lutheran for good. In 1632 a Protestant pastor was first handed down to the Hallburg. In Volkach itself, Pastor Paul Denner was able to hold Catholic services in the parish church until 1634. Only in February 1634 was a Protestant pastor assigned to him. The Bartholomäuskirche was now open to both denominations.

In 1633 the region underwent another administrative reorganization. Main Franconia was divided into so-called main teams . Gerolzhofen was now responsible for the Volkach office. In the same year, the Volkach city council also decided to tear down the damaged outer works of the Upper Gate. The city wall had not been able to cope with the new types of guns for decades. With the recapture of Würzburg by troops of the Catholic League on October 14, 1634, the Swedish occupation of Volkach ended.

Although Volkach no longer suffered from the permanent occupation of troops, the war continued. In 1647 the city had to pay 180 Reichstaler monthly to the war chest in Würzburg, which was occupied by Sweden again. On April 22nd, the Swedish quartermaster came to Volkach and posted a corporal with four dragoons. In December 1647 Bavarian soldiers came to Mainfranken. The "parent company" was quartered in the city.

When Swedish troops again stood in front of the city in February 1648, the council refused them entry. The Swedish general threatened violence and the city council gave in. Eight companies then advanced to Volkach. In the spring of 1648, after the Swedes had moved on, the French occupied the city. Again the Swedes followed the occupiers in April 1648. On October 24, 1648 the war ended with the Peace of Westphalia . The Volkacher continued to pay war contributions until December of this year.

Baroque agricultural town (until 1803)

The baroque shelf house on an old view

During the Thirty Years' War the city had suffered extensive decline. Epidemics had come to Volkach due to the troops that kept moving through. The medical supply situation was catastrophic because there was no doctor or pharmacist available in Volkach to treat the sick. It was not until 1668 that the pharmacist Hans Jörg Engel applied for the post in the city. In the meantime, Bader and Krämer took care of basic medical care.

The population decline was also noticeable in the city itself. The lower suburb in front of the Gaibacher Tor was completely deserted, the houses fell into disrepair. In 1698 only three houses were inhabited. However, the people of Volkach began to reorganize their coexistence immediately after the war. For the first time, guild organizations of the individual craft branches were allowed in the city. In 1652 the bakers organized themselves, followed by the saddlers in 1670.

The hardship led to the expulsion of the Jews living in Volkach in 1673. Even in the previous centuries, they were only tolerated residents of the city and were now used as scapegoats for the population. In the course of the reorganization of urban life, a German school building was founded in Volkach in 1696/1697 behind the town hall, which was supposed to ensure the basic education of the male population. In addition to this, the Latin school , established in the 15th century, also experienced an upswing.

At the same time the rise of some rich farming families who had become rich through the wine trade began. The Schelf and Balbus families in particular often provided the mayor of the city and produced a number of members who also worked outside the city limits as notaries, lawyers or high ecclesiastical dignitaries. From 1700 onwards, these arable citizens tried to convey their newly won self-confidence to the outside world through prestigious buildings in the Baroque style .

The prelude to the Baroque style of the Volkach townscape, however, was made in 1692 by the Würzburg Juliusspital winery , which was built at Hauptstraße 46 . It was followed in 1719/1720 by the so-called Schelfenhaus , which is one of the most eye-catching representative buildings in the city. The prince-bishop's official cellars were built next to some simpler houses in 1730, again on the main street.

In 1770 Volkach received its own grain and oat measure. At the same time, the medieval city fortifications were finally dissolved when gardens for growing vegetables were laid out in the old trenches. The establishment of further municipal offices followed in 1796. A city policeman ensured peace in Volkach, while a city ​​physician finally ensured medical care on a permanent basis. During the coalition wars there were several crossings through the city. With the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803 the Hochstift Würzburg was dissolved and Volkach became part of Bavaria.

Modern

Bavarian Regional Court (until 1848)

The city on an engraving from 1847

After Napoleon Bonaparte had added the areas on the left bank of the Rhine that belonged to Bavaria to his new empire in 1802, he had to compensate the allies of Bavaria somehow. He succeeded in doing this by secularizing the spiritual territories that had existed since the Middle Ages and incorporating them into the Electoral Palatinate of Bavaria. Volkach, part of the old Würzburg monastery, became a Bavarian city.

This state of affairs was only to last a few years, however, because in 1805 another attempt was made to establish an independent Würzburg principality. In Volkach, however, the political uncertainty that went with this reorganization of Europe was compounded by a catastrophic fire. From June 23 to 29, 1804, the flames blazed and destroyed a quarter of the medieval old town . Measures were taken to prevent future fires. The old city became more permeable with a new passage behind the town hall, the so-called Weihertor, and in the northeast, the Zeilitzheimer Tor .

With the Peace of Pressburg , Ferdinand , Grand Duke of Tuscany received Würzburg on December 26, 1805 . He established the Grand Duchy of Würzburg , which only existed for a few years. After an agreement between Austria and the young Bavarian kingdom, Ferdinand left Würzburg in 1814. On June 21, 1814, the city and thus its surrounding area finally became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria.

The reorganization of the Bavarian country towns began as early as 1804. Despite the interim period in the Würzburg Grand Duchy, Volkach received a regional court and a rent office, both administrative institutions originated from the high estates office. The Volkach Regional Court was formed from the previous offices of Volkach and Dettelbach and was inhabited by 11,343 residents in 1814/1815. Volkach was also upgraded in religious terms. Since 1811 the city had already been the seat of a Catholic dean ( Deanery Volkach ).

Despite these central functions, which the city now fulfilled, the urban order itself was threatened. With the Bavarian municipal edict of 1818, Volkach was named City III because of its inhabitants. Class was appointed, but the associated city offices overwhelmed Volkach financially. The administration made several requests to be downgraded to the rank of a rural community, which was also achieved in 1836. It was not until 1848, after the financial situation had improved, that Volkach was able to return to the city ​​constitution .

The decline of viticulture (until 1914)

Another important step on the way to the center of the Main Loop was for Volkach the post bus , which headed for the city from 1854. On July 1, 1862, the regional courts were renamed and merged. From then on, the newly formed Volkach District Office with its district court in the old Echterhof consisted of even more communities, which together had a population of 23 234. Also in the wars of unification Volkach was not spared: In order to protect the city from the Prussians, barricaded some citizens 1866, the Lower Gate. The occupation did not materialize, only Bavarian soldiers marched through the city on their retreat.

On October 1, 1872, shortly after the establishment of the German Empire , the government in Munich centralized the district offices again. From then on, Volkach was no longer a district office town, but was co-administered from Gerolzhofen. This loss of administrative institutions continued over the next few years. This could not change the opening of the old town , which was driven forward . In 1875 the Spitalgasse was extended and the wall was broken through for a road in the direction of Obervolkach.

At the same time, the decline of viticulture , which had formed the economic backbone of the region for centuries, began. If Volkach owned 233 hectares of vineyards in 1832, this had been reduced to 120 hectares by 1899. The reasons for this collapse were varied. The small parcels that were created by the real division and, above all, the occurrence of phylloxera in Main Franconia caused the yields to collapse ( see also Volkacher councilor ).

The city leaders looked for ways out of this situation. Attempts were made to stop the decline through mergers. The Agricultural Association was founded in 1890, followed by experiments with the new guano fertilizer , which also did not produce the desired results. As a result, fruit growing was pushed through which it was possible to put the Mainschleife on a new economic footing.

Despite this administrative and economic decline, modernity also found its way into Volkach. A sewer system was built in 1888, followed by a water pipe in 1896. At the beginning of the 20th century, in 1903/1904, a gas works was built. An important step in opening up new markets was the inauguration of the Volkacher Bridge over the Main on August 30, 1892 , which after centuries connected the city with Astheim . A ferry had previously connected the places.

The construction of the bridge was in turn accompanied by a slight recovery in trade. Now the city council pushed for a train station and a railway line that should stop in the city. On February 14, 1909, the so-called Mainschleifenbahn was completed, which connected Volkach with the village of Seligenstadt near Würzburg. As a "Säuferbähnle", mainly used for tourist excursion traffic, it brought travelers to Volkach, who enjoyed the preserved medieval old town and the other sights.

World Wars (until 1945)

The beginning of the First World War was first celebrated in Volkach in 1914. The conversion to the war economy went hand in hand with state production compulsion, which even gave some winegrowers on the Mainschleife a better income than in previous years. Commerce, on the other hand, suffered from the war. In the last years of the war in particular, coins became scarce, so the city was forced to press emergency coins for the regional market. They were decorated with the Volkach city arms.

After the war and the suppressed revolution in Munich, the country towns were reorganized. With the self-administration law of 1919, the constitutional difference between urban and rural communities was finally abolished. The Volkach city ​​councils , henceforth determined in a free, equal and secret election, were the only representatives of the city's citizenship.

Another decline was noted for agriculture during the Great Depression. In 1929, however, a fruit wholesale market for local products was established in the city. In 1930 a radio show in the Gasthaus zum Lamm followed, which was intended to bring the advantages of the new technology closer to those interested. The crisis, however, marked the end for the “Volkacher Zeitung”, which has been the press organ for the Mainschleife since 1914. It was discontinued in 1935.

In 1937 an industrial branch settled in the city for the first time, which mainly benefited from the conversion of the economy to the armaments industry by the National Socialists. August Messler set up a company to manufacture the basalt wool he had invented . Volkach had been the meeting place for the National Socialists in the area since November 1930, and in 1931 the later Gauleiter Otto Hellmuth gave a speech here.

First, Volkach was spared from the Allied air raids in World War II , as the city had no war-essential industry. With the expansion of the bombing war in 1944, the first low-flying attack on the city took place on February 6, 1945, killing four and severely damaging several buildings. The attacks began when a market was held on the Upper Market.

Shortly before the end of the war, parts of the 44th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht were relocated to the Mainschleife. They should prepare the demolition of the Volkacher Mainbrücke in order to stop the advance of the Americans. The Volkachers tried to stop the demolition by sabotage, but on April 7, 1945 the bridge was blown up. On the same day, the Allies reached Volkach and bombarded the city with grenades because the residents did not initially raise white flags. Only in the evening did the mayor hand over the city.

Reconstruction and tourism (until 1972)

After the collapse, the city leaders concerned about rebuilding a bridge over the Main in order to rebuild the traffic connection towards Würzburg. For this purpose, a ferry connection was established on September 25, 1945 , but this was only planned as a temporary solution. While the planning for a new bridge was continued, attempts were made to alleviate the great unemployment by expanding the Volkachbach.

In 1948 the city council planned to build a higher school in Volkach, but this was realized with the Franken-Landschulheim in nearby Gaibach in 1949. At the same time, plans were drawn up to bring some industrial companies into the city. The inauguration of the new Main Bridge took place on March 6, 1949. The temporary bridge of the "Roth-Wagner" type was consecrated by the Würzburg bishop Julius Döpfner and opened to traffic by Minister of State Willi Ankermüller.

Volkach also tried to profit from the economic upswing that went hand in hand with the currency reform and the establishment of the Federal Republic. For this purpose, Mayor Georg Berz planned to revive viticulture. As a tourist destination, it was to appear alongside the cultural and historical excursion destinations that could be admired on the Main Loop. On August 27, 1949, the first Volkacher Wine Festival began on the Hindenburg Park fairground.

Despite this festival, the housing situation in particular was still unclear due to the many refugees during the World War. The city council therefore passed a comprehensive land use plan for Volkach in 1955 . New settlement areas in the south and east of the old city were established. At the same time, the district of Hallburg was incorporated on September 20, 1955 as the first district after Volkach. In the same year, the Volkach-Gerlachshausen bypass channel was completed, and from then on the Main was also navigable for motor ships.

The city gained national attention in 1962. In August of that year, the figure of the Madonna in the Rosary by Tilman Riemenschneider and several other valuable art objects were stolen from the Volkach pilgrimage church Maria im Weingarten . The Stern editor Henri Nannen then offered a “ransom” for the works. Shortly afterwards, the pieces were found again, and the thieves were arrested in 1968 ( see also Madonna robbery ).

In the sixties of the 20th century a factory of Deutsche Star GmbH was opened in Volkach, which offered most of the unskilled workers a job on the Mainschleife and thus significantly reduced unemployment. In 1972 the territorial reform also began in the city: On January 1, Astheim and Escherndorf joined the city of Volkach as districts, followed by Eichfeld and Köhler on July 1 . At the same time the enlarged city became part of the extended district of Kitzingen .

Municipality and city of Volkach (until today)

The Michaelskapelle- Evangelical Church of the city

The series of incorporations continued in the next few years. Krautheim came to Volkach on January 1st, 1977, followed by Rimbach on July 1st of the same year . On October 1, 1977 Dimbach became a district. The regional reform came to an end when Obervolkach became part of Volkach again on January 1, 1978 , only Gaibach and Fahr am Main followed on October 1, 1978. In the same year, the three wine-growing communities of Sommerach, Nordheim am Main and Volkach agreed to form an administrative community that should have its seat in the city.

Due to the large number of refugees who chose Volkach as their new hometown after the Second World War, the town's Protestant community had grown considerably. However, Volkach did not have its own Protestant church and was also looked after by the Evangelical Church in Krautheim. In the course of the seventies, planning began to convert the St. Michael cemetery chapel into the new church. In 1976 Volkach came to the Protestant parish of Eichfeld, and a year later the new church was ready to move into.

At the beginning of the eighties the settlement of a Bundeswehr battalion in the city was discussed. For this purpose, the Mainfranken barracks , the last newly built barracks in Germany , was built in the east of the city . In 1986 the repair battalion 466 moved into the new building. The battalion was dissolved by the Bundeswehr reform in 2014 and converted into part of the 467 Logistics Battalion.

More new residents were welcomed to Volkach when, also in the eighties of the 20th century, new residential areas were designated in the north of the city. One of the earliest settlement cells in the city, the pilgrimage church on the mountain, moved closer to the residential development. In 1994 the last train rolled over the Main Bridge to Volkach. Deutsche Bahn had already restricted passenger traffic on the Mainschleifenbahn in the 1960s, and now goods transport has also been moved to the road.

literature

  • Gerhard Egert: City and Parish Volkach am Main (A contribution to the city history of Franconia). Part I. The urban territory from the beginnings to the end of the Old Kingdom in 1803 . Würzburg and Volkach 1964.
  • Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Volkach. 906-2006 . Volkach 2006. ISBN 3-00-017943-7 .
  • Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Our Main Loop. 1993-2007 . Volkach 2008.
  • Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Our Main Loop. 1978-1992 . Volkach 2008.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gerhard Egert: City and parish Volkach am Main . P. 7.
  2. ↑ Herbert Meyer: The Vogelsburg - middle of a blessed landscape . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Our Main Loop. 1993-2007 . P. 40.
  3. ^ Gerhard Egert: City and parish Volkach am Main . P. 11.
  4. ^ Gerhard Egert: The place names as a historical settlement source. Situation structure and interpretation . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Volkach. 906-2006 . P. 11.
  5. ↑ Ute Feuerbach: From the villa to the civitas . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Volkach. 906-2006 . P. 1.
  6. ↑ MGH DD / LK 46.
  7. ↑ Gerhard Egert: The city center - a contribution to the historical topography of Volkach . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Our Main Loop. 1978-1992 . P. 337 f.
  8. ↑ Walter Scherzer: Volkach and the Castell house . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Volkach. 906-2006 . P. 27.
  9. ↑ Rudi Krauss: Secret castle stable over the vineyards . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Our Main Loop. 1978-1992 . P. 103.
  10. ↑ Ute Feuerbach: From the villa to the civitas . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Volkach. 906-2006 . P. 6.
  11. ^ Gerhard Egert: From the villa (village) to the civitas (city) Volkach . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Volkach. 906-2006 . P. 9.
  12. ↑ Ute Feuerbach: The Counts of Castell in Volkach . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Volkach. 906-2006 . P. 25.
  13. ↑ Walter Scherzer: Volkach and the Castell house . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Volkach. 906-2006 . P. 29.
  14. ^ Franziskus Büll: Documentary confirmation of two Volkach markets . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Our Main Loop 1993-2007 . P. 63.
  15. ^ Herbert Meyer: Volkachs reunification . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Our Main Loop 1978–1992 . P. 96.
  16. ^ Franz Pfrang: The Astheim Charterhouse in the Peasants' War . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Our Main Loop 1978–1992 . P. 100.
  17. ↑ Gerhard Egert: Hereditary homage "to the city of Volkach" . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Volkach. 906-2006 . P. 35 f.
  18. ↑ Ute Feuerbach: Court and Office Volkach . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Volkach. 906-2006 . P. 51.
  19. ↑ Gerhard Egert: The Volkacher Customs Code of 1590 . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Volkach. 906-2006 . P. 43.
  20. ↑ Barbara Schock-Werner: The buildings in the prince-bishopric of Würzburg under Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn . P. 349 f.
  21. ^ Gerhard Egert: The Swedes in Volkach, 1631–1634 . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Our Main Loop. 1978-1992 . P. 216.
  22. ^ Gerhard Egert: The Swedes in Volkach, 1631–1634 . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Our Main Loop. 1978-1992 . P. 222 f.
  23. ^ Gerhard Egert: Volkach in the war years 1647 and 1648 . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Our Main Loop. 1978-1992 . P. 305.
  24. ^ Gerhard Egert: City and parish Volkach am Main . P. 74.
  25. ↑ Ute Feuerbach: The Latin School and its graduates . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Volkach. 906-2006 . P. 163.
  26. ↑ Compare Markus Josef Maier: The Shelf House in Volkach. Its architecture and its stucco ceilings .
  27. ^ Gerhard Egert: Great fires in Volkach in the 19th century . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Our Main Loop. 1978-1992 . P. 160.
  28. ↑ Ute Feuerbach: When Volkach was not a city for a short time . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Volkach. 906-2006 . P. 125 f.
  29. ↑ Georg Scheurich: A Volkacher Chronicle . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Our Main Loop. 1978-1992 . P. 35.
  30. ^ Gerhard Egert: Notes on Volkacher viticulture in the 19th century . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Volkach. 906-2006 . P. 302.
  31. ^ Ute Feuerbach: Trade and Commerce . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Volkach. 906-2006 . P. 316 ff.
  32. ↑ Ute Feuerbach: The city . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Volkach. 906-2006 . P. 84.
  33. ^ Ute Feuerbach: Trade and Commerce . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Volkach. 906-2006 . P. 318.
  34. ^ Wiltrude Kestler: The end of the war in Volkach 1945 . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Our Main Loop. 1978-1992 . P. 180.
  35. ^ Herbert Meyer: Volkach after the last war . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Volkach. 906-2006 . P. 130 f.
  36. ^ Gerhard Egert: Volkach: The urban development 1955–1957 . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Volkach. 906-2006 . P. 136.
  37. ↑ Ute Feuerbach: The Protestant Congregation . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Volkach. 906-2006 . P. 261 f.