City Tour

In the middle of a charming landscape, on the headwaters of the Altmühl, lies the picturesque town of Leutershausen. It is supposed that the Origin belongs to the 8th century, where it been called "villam Liuthereshusun". The first documentary mention as a mart is found in the Wildbann certificate of Emperor Otto III. from 1.Mai 1000. With this hunting certificate the emperor lent to the "villam Liuthereshusun" and to the Burgbernheim that the hunting ban belongs to the Bishop Heinrich of Würzburg. In 1318, the "Earl of Truhendingenin in a sales deed between him and the "Burggrave Friedrich IV from Hohnzollern", in Nuremberg, Leutershausen" was the first time where Leutershausen mentioned as a City.

The market square with its surrounding half-timbered houses and the Fountain in front of the Rathaus and the preserved parts of the old city wall with the Two Gate Towers, offer a typical Franconian cityscape. Leutershausen is located at the intersection of two major old trade routes connecting the Mainland with the Danube Region and the imperial city of Nuremberg with the Tauber Valley. The convenient location is still valid today Würzburg, Rothenburg o.T., ​​Dinkelsbühl, Ansbach and Nuremberg. About the life of the ancestors in this City, is the museum of local history and crafts in 1624 built (The old location of the city castle) with a beautiful exhibits inquiry. Another museum in the same building is dedicated to the world's first powered aircraft "Gustav Weisskopf". The city is today the center of a 49 districts counting large communities with more than 5000 inhabitants. A predominant part of the area lies in the area of ​​the nature park Frankenhöhe.

1st location: Plan / Museum
We are "on plan" from the Latin "planum" = free area. Here used to be the city palace, which was demolished in 1623 by Margrave Joachim Ernst. In the same place he built in 1624 the present district court. This served as a grain storage until 1846, when the tithe was falled. In the royal Bavarian time until the end of 1879, the district court was housed. In 1902 the city established a teacher's apartment and a shelter. During World War II it was the camp and shelter of the female labor service. After the war, it took on the homeless. Today, there are townhouses, clubs, and as already mentioned, the home of the craftsman as well as the aviation pioneer Gustav Weisskopf Museum. The plan also used to have the city scales and a fountain.

 

2nd walk through the upper Market Alley

The Upper, Middle and Lower market alley, as well as parts of the old city were redeveloped in the context of urban development and land consolidation in 1988.
 

3rd location: The Upper corner of Market Alley / Marktplatz
Here is the birthplace of the mother of Henry Kissinger, (a previous Minister of Secretary of State in USA). The upper gate delimits the old town to the northwest, with a strong and beautiful height. The upper habitable floors served as Tower apartment. These were inhabited until 1962 when the last Türmer (Georg Wagner) died. In 1945, the upper part of the tower fell victim to an American air raid. Also two of the former three bells. Today there are only two bells in the so-called "Laterne", one of them is original and the second was added in 1952. In 1580, the tower was equipped with a clock of the clockmaker Koch from Ansbach, for 180 Guilders. In 1964 this was replaced by an electric clock. In addition to the very steep staircase to the former Türmer apartment is a relief of Hans Schreyer, a former city governor and Blutrichter, representative of the rule for the entire area of ​​upper Altmühl. He lived from 1541 - 1605.

 

4th location: Röhrenbrunnen/Tubes Fountain
The Röhrenbrunnen with its neo-Gothic turret was built in 1852 by King Maximilian II.

5th location: Rathaus
A big fire in 1550 damaged the former Rathaus and many of the surrounding houses. The following new building survived the 30-year war and many clashes after, but had to be ragged in 1785. At that time, the final construction was as follows: on the ground floor were the meat and bread benches, on the first floor the was general dance and festival hall, on the second floor was the boardroom of the city fathers and at the same time the courtroom. Today, the Rathaus and the city archives are housed in the Rathaus.

6th A walk through the Upper Gate
The so-called Totenzwingerweg was created in 1543. It led from the old town to the second cemetery at the Kreuzkirche. The first one, built around St. Peter's Church, was overflowing. In 1329, the old town was no longer enough for the residents and it was the Upper Suburb. This is indicated by the mention of an "Albrecht vor dem Tor".
There were no family names at that time, but they were an addition from a local or a job. After the 30-year war (1618-1648) it was expanded once more. In 1582 is still a third city gate, the new gate mentioned. It was outside the city, namely Colmberg direction at the bridge over the new ditch. It was destroyed in 1632 by the Tillyschen troops.
 

7. We continue along the city wall until the passage in Pfannenstielgasse
The structural completion of the city wall was around 1318th A ring of walls was necessary in the Middle Ages "to city elevation". The city wall was about one meter thick, made of rough stone, which formerly had a continuous, covered with brick battlements. In it the guards made the rounds and called loudly the time out.
 

8. Now we go to Peter's Church
There is a reason to believe that the first baptized Christians in our area, around the year 1000, contented themselves with a wooden church at the site of the current Peter's Church. At the begining of 1432 was the begining of build of the church tower and the nave with coarse-grained bubble sandstones. Only the walls are grouted, but not plastered. In 1605 the organ loft was built and in 1630 the two aisles. In 1542 a cemetery was built around the church. With a lightning and wild fire was the church tower in 1517 completely grounded together with the four bells which were even merged and melted". In 1594, the roof of the central nave and the room frame and the battens had to be renewed. Furthermore, it is reported in later reports that in 1643, as a result of a strong thunderstorm and terrible wind, the church had fallen into such "repentance" and no one could find a dry place to set. In addition, it is still to report that in the night on June 5, 1722 at the then brute weather sounding during a thunderstorm a lightning bolt down the bell rope and killed the 50-year-old Mesner Thomas Röder and the 36-year-old shoemaker Esaias Reich. A mesenese daughter and a shoemaker's apprentice were uninjured, while the sister of the mesmer was thrown to the ground. Luckily for the church, because it was a cold lightning. The church originally had not only one but "four" altars, suggesting a Catholic prehistory. In the mid-sixties the last one was replaced by the present altar. The baptismal font consists of reddish main sandstone. The organ of Peter's Church is to mention: It is not the first, but the third organ. The first was built by Martin Schonat (Bamberg) 1606-1607. The second 1719-1721 by Johann Christoph Crapp. The current organ was the great church renovation in 1877, by the organ builder G.F. Steinmeyer delivered in Öttingen. It is equipped with two manuals, a pedal and 20 registers.

 

9. The Lower Gate
On the inside the city faces a steep staircase, which leads to the former living quarters, in which the two night watchmen were housed. Next to the gatehouse stands a round tower with a conical roof and a "lantern" as at the upper gate. The weathervane carries the year 1970 (last renovation).

The story of the gate:
At the beginning of the peasant war in 1525, the inhabitants of Leutershausen moved to the Sulz monastery. The latter was at that time a home of aristocratic women and daughters of the Franconian landed gentry, who should consecrate themselves to the pious service of the church in the then wealth of families, if they did not marry early. The new monastery received many donations and it possessed an extensive tithe right of twenty localities. Since it was led by only twelve nuns and a master, the Leutershausen had an easy game. These were still supported by the episcopal-eichstättisches Dombühl, which was in dispute over church affairs with Sulz. The nuns and their servants fled to Ansbach under the protection of Margrave Casimir. The monastery buildings were thus empty and were exposed to the blind destructive rage. The looters made rich prey, 50 cattle, 22 horses, 60 pigs, 310 sheep and lambs, plus 40 hay and straw, feather beds and household utensils. All this they hid behind the walls of the church fortress in Dombühl. Finally they burned down the church and the monastery. When Margrave Casimir learned this, he was very angry and moved and approached with his troops from Ansbach. After an eight-day siege he conquered the church fortress Dombühl. The nun preacher, who was in league with the marauders, was brought to Feuchtwangen by order of Casimir, and beheaded in the market-place. Only much later did the Margrave approve the rebuilding. Today, the lower gate houses the "Rural Museum." On both sides of the gate, the city wall is still well preserved.

10. The Lower Suburb
Construction from 1580

11. The "Gustav Weisskopf Monument"
Built in 1991, the monument commemorates the great accomplishments of the Leutershausen aircraft pioneer Gustav Weißkopf. He succeeded with a homemade flying machine on August 14, 1901 in Fairfield Connecticut, USA, the first powered flight in history. So almost 2 1/2 years before the flight of the Wrights brothers! The replica here on the obelisk shows the legendary flying machine "No. 21". Gustav Weisskopf had gone to sea and had dealt with the bird flight. He decided to stay in the USA. Born on 1

January 1874 in Leutershausen, he died of a heart attack at the age of 53.

 

The "flight-historical research community Gustav Weißkopf ", Leutershausen, has made it its task to explore the work life and creation of Weißkopf and to give him adequate and due recognition.

Well, we've reached the end of our city round.