Forchheim

Forchheim grew around a royal court established in the eighth century. Its first documentary mention comes from an order of Charlemagne in 805 restricting the trade in weapons with the Slavs. Royal assemblies met here, and in 1077 Rudolf of Rheinfelden was chosen as a rival king at Forchheim. The town passed definitively to the bishopric of Bamberg in 1063 and received city status in the early thirteenth century. Its fortifications proved valuable during the Thirty Years' War. Swedish forces besieged Forchheim several times between 1632 and 1634 without taking the town, while the prince-bishop of Bamberg sheltered behind its walls with his cathedral treasure. In 1802 Bavarian troops occupied Forchheim, bringing the long period of episcopal rule to an end.