Kronach

Kronach (German pronunciation: [ˈkʁoːnax] ^ⓘ; East Franconian: Gronich) is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, located in the Franconian Forest area. It is the capital of the district Kronach.

The town is equipped with a nearly complete city wall and Germany's biggest and most complete early modern fortress, Rosenberg Fortress. The headquarters of German television and AV equipment manufacturer Loewe are located there.

Kronach is located at the southwestern edge of the Franconian Forest. The rivers Haßlach, Kronach and Rodach unite in Kronach.

Kronach is divided into the following districts:

The area of Kronach has been occupied for millennia, and in the late Bronze Age, the Heunischenburg, the oldest known stone fortification north of the Alps, was built nearby.

Kronach was first mentioned in a chronicle of Thietmar of Merseburg in 1003 as urbs crana. In 1122, Holy Roman Emperor Henry V gifted Kronach and its surroundings (the praedium crana) to the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg. Kronach remained part of the Prince-Bishopric until its secularization in 1803. The town's massive fortress originates from 1130, when Otto of Bamberg had a "stone house and tower" erected in Kronach. When Kronach gained town rights is unclear, but as its inhabitants were termed as "citizens" (cives) in a 1260 treaty, it can be assumed that it had attained rights before that date.

Kronach was put under siege by the Hussites in 1430. Although the defense was successful and the fortress remained unconquered, its inhabitants burned part of the town to block the invaders. This destruction caused discord among the town's Burghers, which was only resolved through the intervention of the Prince-Bishop in 1439 through the conference of privileges to the Upper Town of Kronach.

With the Reformation in 1517, Kronach became an important border bulwark of the Catholic Prince-Bishopric against the newly Protestant Electorate of Saxony, this function continued until peace was made in 1648. This border function made thorough fortification necessary, and it was during this period that Rosenberg Fortress was expanded the most. However, many of the inhabitants of the town and its surroundings converted to Protestantism early on. Protestants were eventually expelled from the town by the early 17th century, following the maxim of Cuius regio, eius religio, and were only allowed back after the secularization in 1803.