Heidenheim () is a market town in central-western

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is sometimes known as Heidenheim am Hahnenkamm to avoid confusion with nearby

Heidenheim an der Brenz Heidenheim an der Brenz, or just Heidenheim (; Swabian language, Swabian: ''Hoidna'' or ''Hoirna''), is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is located near the border with Bavaria, approximately 17 km south of Aalen and 33&n ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

Geography

Heidenheim is located in the administrative district of Middle Franconia. It belongs to the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district and is the seat of the

Hahnenkamm Hahnenkamm (means "comb (anatomy), comb") may refer to *Hahnenkamm (Verwaltungsgemeinschaft), a federation of municipalities in Bavaria, Germany *Hahnenkamm, Greenland, a mountain in the Stauning Alps, Greenland *Hahnenkamm, Kitzbühel, a mountain ...

municipal association. Heidenheim includes the local subdistricts of Degersheim, Hechlingen am See, and Hohentrüdingen.

History

Heidenheim was first mentioned in the year 742. During that time, the double monastery of Heidenheim am Hahnenkamm (housing monks and nuns) was founded by Saint Willibald and was later led by

Saint Walpurga Walpurga or Walburga (; ; ; 71025 February 777 or 779) was an Anglo-Saxon missionary to the Frankish Empire. She was canonized on 1 May c. 870 by Pope Adrian II. Walpurgis Night, Saint Walpurgis Night (or "Sankt Walpurgisnacht") is the name fo ...

, who became abbess after his death. Secular power was represented in turn by the Earl of Truhendingen (Altentrühdingen), the Duke of Bavaria, and the Hohenzollern burgrave of

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

. Thereafter, the town belonged to the

Principality of Ansbach The Principality or Margraviate of (Brandenburg) Ansbach ( or ) was a principality in the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Franconian city of Ansbach. The ruling Hohenzollern princes of the land were known as margraves, as their ancestors were ...

. The monastery was closed in 1537 due to the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. Since then, Heidenheim has been mostly Lutheran. In 1792,

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

bought the Principality of Ansbach, bringing Heidenheim under Prussian rule. As part of Ansbach, Heidenheim was transferred back to

due to the .

References

External links

Markt Heidenheim am Hahnenkamm
{{Authority control Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen

Geography

History

See also

References

External links