Gerhardshofen 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

Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim (German: Landkreis Neustadt an der Aisch-Bad Windsheim, official Landkreis Neustadt a.d.Aisch-Bad Windsheim) is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the distr ...

in the administrative region of

Middle Franconia Middle Franconia (german: Mittelfranken, ) is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the west of Bavaria and borders the state of Baden-Württemberg. The administrative seat is Ansbach; however ...

in northern

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 ...

Geography

Gerhardshofen is located in the valley of the

Aisch The Aisch is an 83 km long tributary of the Regnitz in Middle- and Upper Franconia, in the state of Bavaria in southern Germany. It passes through Bad Windsheim, Neustadt an der Aisch Neustadt an der Aisch (officially: ''Neustadt a.d.Aisc ...

. The neighbouring municipalities are (from the north in clockwise direction): Dachsbach, Weisendorf, Oberreichenbach, Emskirchen, Diespeck and Gutenstetten. The municipality has 13 boroughs: Altenbuch, Birnbaum, Eckenhof, Emelsdorf, Forst, Göttelhöf, Kästel, Kleehof, Linden, Rappoldshofen, Sintmannsbuch, Vahlenmühle and Willmersbach.

History

The village owes its foundation to the Franconian colonisation of the 9th century and thus is a foundation of the

Carolingian dynasty The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

. The first documented notice of Gerhardshofen is from 1235. There was mentioned a Heinrich Neze von Gerhardshofen in two documents of the

Burgraves of Nuremberg The Burgraviate of Nuremberg (german: Burggrafschaft Nürnberg) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire from the early 12th to the late 15th centuries. As a burgraviate, it was a county seated in the town of Nuremberg; almost two centuries pas ...

. The first non aristocratic inhabitant ever mentioned was Conrad Stahel in 1304. In the First Margrave War (1449–1450) Nuremberg troops looted 118 cows and 17 horses from Gerhardshofen and Dachsbach. In 1553 there existed 53 properties which belonged to the manorialism Brunn, the Margraves' bailiff offices of Dachsbach and Neustadt an der Aisch and to the reeves offices of Birkenfeld and Münchsteinach. In the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

nearly all houses were destroyed, also the church was burnt out. But in 1697 there were already 44 farmsteads resettled. Their number increased to 57 in the year 1792. The village belonged to the blood court of Dachsbach, but the manoralism Brunn did justice on their properties by their own rights. Probably there was a church destroyed by 1450. By 1471 there was laid a foundation stone for a new church. The inauguration of it was in 1481. The great structural damages of the Thirty Years' War were not repaired until the end of the 17th century. The renovation of 1795 matched a new construction. It was done in the baroque style of the Margraves. After a recent renovation the Lord's house is a gem in the Aischgrund.

Culture

Music

*Man choral society "Eintracht" Gerhardshofen

Periodic Events

Kirchweih Kirchweih is literally the dedication of a church in German. More generally it also names the celebration of the anniversary of a dedication both at church and in local customs. The festivity is often on the day celebrating a church's patron saint ...

, each next to last Sunday in August. *Annual alternating village fête and trade show.

Economics and Infrastructure

Federal highway B 470 is directed from north to south through the community area. From 12 July 1904 until 30 May 1976 there was a railway, the Neustadt (Aisch)–Demantsfürth-Uehlfeld railway called ''Aischtalbahn'', which led to the Nuremberg–Würzburg railway. It was broken down and since then only buses connect Dachsbach with the surrounding area. The lines belong to the pay scale area of the

Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg The (VGN; Transport Association Region Nuremberg) is the transit authority of the city of Nuremberg, the second largest city of the German state of Bavaria. Its jurisdiction covers the city and its surrounding area, responsible for the Nurember ...

References

Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim {{NeustadtBadWindsheim-geo-stub