Hassfurt

Haßfurt stood on the Main under the prince-bishops of Würzburg, but its citizens repeatedly sought greater freedom. Bishop Gerhard of Schwarzburg granted an annual market in 1373, established a mint and began the present parish church in 1390. During the Franconian towns' conflict, Haßfurt resisted a seven-week episcopal siege in 1399. The towns' defeat at Bergtheim nevertheless restored Würzburg's authority.

The town's buildings recorded both civic ambition and noble patronage. Its market-square town hall was built in 1514–1516. Outside the walls, the Ritterkapelle rose between 1431 and its consecration in 1465; a long frieze of heraldic shields displayed the families associated with the sanctuary. Prince-Bishop Julius Echter had its nave vaulted in 1603–1605. War later struck the river crossing: Swedish troops burned the Main bridge in 1632. The eighteenth century brought a Rococo remodelling of the town hall, while the Napoleonic settlement changed the ruler above it. Haßfurt entered the Grand Duchy of Würzburg in 1806 and passed to the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1814.