Mainbernheim is a municipality in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, Germany,4 kilometers to the south of

Kitzingen Kitzingen () is a town in the German state of Bavaria, capital of the district Kitzingen. It is part of the Franconia geographical region and has around 21,000 inhabitants. Surrounded by vineyards, Kitzingen County is the largest wine producer ...

(''Landkreis'', district of Kitzingen) in the direction of Nürnberg. It was first recorded in the chronicles of 889, during the reign of King Arnulf, the church being recognized by the influential bishopric of nearby

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...

. The town was the site of a tariff house of the dukes of

Ansbach Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, ...

and in thrall until 1397 to the duchy in the south, during the reign of King

Wenceslaus Wenceslaus, Wenceslas, Wenzeslaus and Wenzslaus (and other similar names) are Latinized forms of the Czech name Václav. The other language versions of the name are german: Wenzel, pl, Wacław, Więcesław, Wieńczysław, es, Wenceslao, russian ...

. Mainbernheim was granted full rights as a city, although taxation privileges for Ansbach were extended until 1795. Today, Mainbernheim has a population of approximately 2200, the town having grown significantly due to new developments outside the city walls. The gummi-bear factory, Bären Schmidt, is the major industry there. Some extant points of interest include the 400-year-old farmhouses along Herrnstraße, which transverses the city from gate to gate and hosts several historic hotels and restaurants. Also along the main street are the Rathaus (city hall, 1548) and the adjacent Lutheran parish church, built on the foundations of an earlier cathedral (1498) after the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

(1750–1778). Just outside the main gate is the cemetery and arcade, dating from 1546 and containing fine examples of funerary flourishes. Off the main street, there is a recessed portal, which served as a hiding place for the Jews during the purges of World War II. The appearance of the inner city is little changed since Renaissance times.

References

Kitzingen (district) {{Kitzingendistrict-geo-stub