Illesheim, founded 1283 AD, 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 ...

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 ...

. The earliest leader affiliated with Illesheim's foundation was

Götz von Berlichingen Gottfried "Götz" von Berlichingen (1480 – 23 July 1562), also known as Götz of the Iron Hand, was a German (Franconian) Imperial Knight (''Reichsritter''), mercenary, and poet. He was born around 1480 into the noble family of Berliching ...

, known as "the Knight with the Iron Hand." Also known locally as "Illesa". It lies 6 kilometers west of

Bad Windsheim Bad Windsheim (East Franconian: ''Winsa'') is a small historic town in Bavaria, Germany with a population of almost 12,000. It lies in the district Neustadt an der Aisch-Bad Windsheim, west of Nuremberg. In the Holy Roman Empire, Windsheim held ...

and 11 kilometers east of the A7 motorway. Illesheim has one train station, a stop on the Regionalbahn system. Its Rathaus (townhall) is open Wednesday afternoons and has some interesting historical items. This small town adjoins the northwestern edge of the U.S. Army's Storck Barracks and the Illesheim AAF, a U.S. Army helicopter airfield. The airfield previously belonged to the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

until its capture in 1945. Illesheim is primarily an agricultural town. The even smaller hamlet of Urfersheim sits to its southeast, adjoining the opposite side of the airfield. On Illesheim's crest (in German, ''Wappen''), the Wheel represents Illesheim at the center with the five wheel spokes pointing toward other smaller neighboring communities linked to the town Illesheim. The knife above represents

Saint Bartholomew Bartholomew (Aramaic: ; grc, Βαρθολομαῖος, translit=Bartholomaîos; la, Bartholomaeus; arm, Բարթողիմէոս; cop, ⲃⲁⲣⲑⲟⲗⲟⲙⲉⲟⲥ; he, בר-תולמי, translit=bar-Tôlmay; ar, بَرثُولَماو� ...

, who is the patron saint for the church in neighboring Urfersheim. The cross represents

Saint Gumbertus In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orth ...

, the patron saint for the church in the hamlet of Westheim (southeast of Urfersheim).

Mayor

The mayor of Illesheim is Roland Scheibenberger, elected in March 2020. Illesheim St

References

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