Grafenwöhr (,

Northern Bavarian Northern Bavarian is a dialect of Bavarian, together with Central Bavarian and Southern Bavarian. Bavarian is mostly spoken in the Upper Palatinate, although not in Regensburg, which is a primarily Central Bavarian–speaking area, according to ...

: ''Groafawehr'') is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab, in the region of the

Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...

(german: Oberpfalz) in eastern

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 ...

. It is widely known for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

military installation and training area, called

Grafenwoehr Training Area Grafenwoehr Training Area (GTA) is a United States Army training base located near Grafenwöhr, Bavaria, Germany. At 232 km2, it is the largest US training facility in Europe. The base is operated by 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Comm ...

(Tower Barracks), located directly south and west of the town.

History

Early history

The town of Grafenwöhr (Island of the Count), was founded in the 9th century on an island (wöhr), located between the river Creussen and the

Thum Thum is a small town in the district of Erzgebirgskreis, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Thum has a population of about 5800. Geography Thum is situated in the Erzgebirge, 10 km northwest of Annaberg-Buchholz, and 19 km south of ...

stream. In its early history, the inhabitants and the town of Grafenwöhr proper belonged to nobles from

Schweinfurt Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban agg ...

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 ...

, and

Leuchtenberg Leuchtenberg is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the Neustadt an der Waldnaab (district), district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab in Bavaria, Germany, essentially a suburb of nearby Weiden in der Oberpfalz, and a larger historical region ...

20th century

In 1907, Prince Luitpold, regent of the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German E ...

, selected the area near the town of Grafenwöhr as the place best suited for training of the

Bavarian Army The Bavarian Army was the army of the Electorate (1682–1806) and then Kingdom (1806–1919) of Bavaria. It existed from 1682 as the standing army of Bavaria until the merger of the military sovereignty (''Wehrhoheit'') of Bavaria into that of t ...

(1806–1919). Construction began in 1908, and, by 1915, the training reservation was in area. The first

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

round was fired in the training area at 08:00 on 30 June 1910. Throughout

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(1914–1918) the Grafenwöhr training area was used for equipping and training army units for combat. After the War, the High Command, Berlin, used Grafenwöhr to train the 100,000–man German army, allowed by the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

(1919). In 1936, the

Nazi Government The government of Nazi Germany was totalitarian, run by the Nazi Party in Germany according to the Führerprinzip through the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany began with the fact that the Enabling Act was enacted to give Hitler's gover ...

expanded the training area to the present size of . On 5 and 8 April 1945, the training camp and the town of Grafenwöhr proper were bombed during Allied air raids. The last

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

Commander of the Grafenwöhr training area surrendered to the U.S. Army on 20 April 1945. Afterwards, during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

(1945–1991), the Grafenwöhr training area was an important,

combined arms Combined arms is an approach to warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme vio ...

training site for the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

and allied forces.

Post Cold War

The military installation is also home to one of the largest Army construction projects in Europe, called

Efficient Basing-Grafenwöhr Efficient Basing Grafenwöhr (EBG) was a Seventh United States Army (USAREUR) initiative conducted in Grafenwöhr, Germany, from 2003 to 2011. The purpose was to consolidate command and control headquarters and six battalion-sized elements in su ...

. The

Grafenwöhr Training Area Grafenwoehr Training Area (GTA) is a United States Army training base located near Grafenwöhr, Bavaria, Germany. At 232 km2, it is the largest US training facility in Europe. The base is operated by 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Com ...

(Tower Barracks) houses the 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command (JMTC). The 7th Army JMTC owns almost all of the U.S. Army training facilities and assets in Europe. The

is one of its largest training areas and includes ranges that can accommodate nearly every weapons system currently used. Though operated by the U.S. Army, the area is the largest multinational training area in Europe.

is (Tower Barracks), also known as the East Camp, is the main post and is located on the north east edge of the training area. The

Vilseck Vilseck is a town in the Oberpfalz region of northeastern Bavaria, Germany, situated on the river Vils, a tributary of the Naab river. The town is geographically separate from a nearby large American military base known as the ''Rose Barracks ...

military community, also known as Rose Barracks, or the South Camp, is on the southern boundary. The Grafenwöhr Army Airfield provides air flow to all air traffic requesting services including but not limited

C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desig ...

's from the 37th Airlift Squadron at

Ramstein AB Ramstein Air Base or Ramstein AB is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and also ...

, Germany. The airfield is staffed 24 hours a day by advisory services and at a minimum from 08:00 to 17:00 by air traffic controllers both in a control tower and an approach control. Due to its length and relative proximity to the JMTC training area, it makes for a realistic simulation of short field operations encountered around the world. Bunker dropzone is also located within the Grafenwöhr Training Area. It is used to practice airdrop of troops, equipment, and supplies.

Geography

The civilian town of Grafenwöhr rests nestled between low hills. The area is widely forested and the nearby region is mostly used for agricultural purposes. Farms and dairies cover much of the surrounding landscape. Grafenwöhr is positioned geographically such that it experiences very mild summers and cold winters.

Climate

Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

subtype for this climate is " Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/

Oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

Sports

* Soccer: SV Grafenwöhr. The adults and children mostly all are in either the

Kreisliga The Kreisliga ( en, District League), along with the ''Kreisoberliga'' ( en, District Premier League) and the ''Kreisklasse'' ( en, District Class), are the lowest set of divisions in the German football league system, set at step 8 and below. S ...

or Bezirksoberliga. * Fishing: The area around Grafenwöhr is excellent for fishing. There are many lakes on the training area and the surrounding area that are fished. Common fish landed in the area are

Carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

Pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

Rainbow Trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

, and

Brown Trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

. * Hunting: The area around Grafenwöhr is heavily forested and provides for excellent hunting.

Wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

(Wildschwein),

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

(Reh) and

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

(Rotwild) are the most commonly hunted animals. * Other: The U.S. Military hosts a wide variety of sports within the boundaries of the camps.

Transport

* Road: Grafenwöhr is located along Bundesstrasse B299. Civilian transportation to, from, in, and around Grafenwöhr is limited to the automobile. There are a limited number of taxi and bus services available. * Rail: The only railroad in Grafenwöhr is strictly for military use and transport only. However, there are several rail stations nearby where civilian passenger trains run. The closest Bahnhofs (rail stations) are Pressath, Schwarzenbach,

Freihung Freihung is a municipality 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 ...

, and

. * Air: The only airfield in Grafenwöhr is strictly for military use and transport only. The closest international airport is located in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, approximately 90 kilometers away.

VIPs and important visitors

* Prince Luitpold, (1821-1912), gave the approval to build the training area on December 9, 1906. *

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, (1935-1977), was on the military training place from November 3, 1958, for six weeks while he was doing his military service, then visited the base on four occasions, two in 1959, and two in 1960

Media

American Forces Network The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the U.S. military provides to those stationed or assigned overseas. Headquartered at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, AFN's broadcast operations, which i ...

(AFN) Bavaria broadcasts from the Grafenwöhr Training Area. ''Bavarian Times Magazine'' provides news, shopping, dining and other information about the Grafenwohr area. The Bavarian Times is a military magazine for the Grafenwöhr Training Area

Photo gallery

File:Sendemast Grafenwoehr.JPG, Grafenwöhr AFN FM radio mast File:Grafenwöhr 001.jpg, Grafenwöhr town center File:Pfarrkirche Mariä Himmelfahrt (Grafenwöhr) 001.jpg, Church Pfarrkirche Mariä Himmelfahrt File:Grafenwöhr Alte Amberger Straße.jpg, Alte Amberger Straße File:Truppenübungsplatz Grafenwöhr Postkarte 001.jpg, Training camp and area around 1911

References

External links

Bob Decker's site includes a couple of stylized maps showing Graf

7th Army JMTC website
*
Grafenwöhr the home of the U.S. Seventh Army for 60 years

"Elvis in der Oberpfalz" (german)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grafenwohr Neustadt an der Waldnaab (district)