Etzelwang is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the district of Amberg-Sulzbach 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 Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

History

Etzelwang has existed as a parish since the second half of the 11th century. However, the present municipality of Etzelwang was not created until the Bavarian administrative reforms of 1972 to 1975. It was created from the political units of Neidstein, Kirchenreinbach, and Schmidtstadt.

Name

''Etzel'' comes from the same root as ''Heinrich'' or English ''Henry''. It is not certain which ''Heinrich'' gave his name to the parish and subsequently to the municipality. It is possible that it refers to Holy Roman Emperor

Heinrich II Henry II may refer to: Kings *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1324), reigned from 1285; king of Jerusalem in name only from 1291 *Henry II of Castile (1334–79), reigned 1366–67 and ...

, who founded the bishopric of

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...

, to which the parish belonged.History
Official site Etzelwang

Sights

Places of interest in Etzelwang include the following: *

Schloss Neidstein Schloss Neidstein is a castle located in the Upper Palatinate in Bavaria, Germany, in the municipality of Etzelwang. It was the seat of a Hofmark (a lower legal entity) during the Palatinate-Sulzbach period (16th–18th centuries). The castle, wit ...

, a castle once owned by actor

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Coppola family, he is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Gu ...

. *St. Nikolaus church :The church was originally dedicated in 1059, but subsequently destroyed. The present church was built from 1721 to the completion of the tower in 1763. *Ruins of Burg Hauseck *Neutras cliffs *Burg Rupprechtstein *Hofmark of Kirchenreinbach *Church of St. Ulrich in Kirchereinbach

References

{{Authority control Amberg-Sulzbach