Amberg

Amberg lies in the Upper Palatinate between Regensburg and Bayreuth. First recorded as Ammenberg in 1034, it became an important trading centre for iron ore and iron goods. In 1329 the town and its surrounding lands passed to the Palatinate branch of the Wittelsbach family, giving the region its name. A Jewish community was established here by the late thirteenth century; after persecution in 1298, families returned and founded a school of learning in 1367, before another expulsion in 1403.

The rulers of the Upper Palatinate adopted Protestantism in the sixteenth century, and Amberg became Lutheran. The ruling family's later attempt to introduce Calvinism met resistance. In 1628 the region passed to the Elector of Bavaria, and inhabitants were required to return to Catholicism or leave; many families moved to Regensburg and Nuremberg. During the French Revolutionary Wars, Austrian forces defeated a French army near Amberg in 1796.