HERZOGENAURACH (Uraha)
Uraha - Original name of Herzogenaurach
Means: cattle trough on the river (Old High German ur for cattle and aha for flowing water), first documented in 1002.
Sightseeing features:
The baroque castle, which served as a residence for the officials of the Bamberg prince-bishopric, was built in 1720 on the site of a medieval complex that was destroyed in the Thirty Years' War. The Herzogenaurach town hall was added to this castle in 1967. The city library and the tourist information center are also housed in the castle. Just recently, the castle, which houses the town hall, was completely modernized and reopened on September 12, 2023. The core of the Old Town Hall dates back to the Middle Ages. In addition to the council and the court, the building also once housed the bread and meat market and the city's weapons arsenal. The police were also housed here until April 2003. In 2005 the old town hall was completely renovated. The city's two gate towers from the 13th century are visible from afar. The “Türmersturm” in the west of the old town is recognizable by its rounded tower dome and its four tower clocks. The “Fehnturm” with its four side watchtowers in the east of the old town is named after the former gatekeeper family and was used as a city prison and as a city treasury. The two towers used to be part of the city wall, which was gradually demolished from 1825 onwards. The Catholic parish church of St. Magdalena is located slightly off the central main street and was outside the city wall until the end of the 15th century. The church is a highly Gothic hall church with baroque furnishings, with the choir dating back to the 13th century. The extremely wide nave is spanned by a large, wooden barrel vault. In the vicinity of the town parish church are the benefactor's hospital from 1508 (today the town museum), the classicist parsonage and the Lady Chapel built around 1200. At the entrance to the main street to the parish church is the Kiliansbrunnen, which has existed as a spring since the Middle Ages and where, according to legend, the Frankish apostle Kilian preached as early as 686. In addition to the sights already mentioned, the old town has numerous medieval half-timbered houses, especially in the area of the main street, the church square and the historic market square.
Established businesses
Herzogenaurach is the headquarters of adidas AG and Puma SE, as well as the Schaeffler Group. Adidas and Puma, two of the world's largest sporting goods manufacturers, have made the city a global magnet for sporting goods. In the area of the northern bypass there are large factory outlets for adidas, Puma, s.Oliver, Nike, a jeans outlet and the large outlet Sports store “Sport Hoffmann”. A small excerpt from the history of adidas and Puma: In 1920, the brothers Adolf and Rudolf Dassler manufactured customized sports shoes that were optimally adapted to the feet of professional athletes. In 1924 the company “Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik” was entered into the commercial register. After the Second World War, the brothers fell out due to different views. Rudolf was more of an extroverted businessman, while Adolf was more of an introverted visionary (creating the perfect sports shoe). From then on they went their separate ways and became competitors. Rudolf Dassler (nickname: Puma) founded PUMA and Adolf Dassler (nickname: Adi) founded adidas.
The Schaeffler Group: The manufacturer of rolling and plain bearings, motor elements and linear technology, which, in addition to its headquarters, also has research, development and production in the city, attracted particular public attention from July 2008 due to the takeover battle for the significantly larger Continental AG. With its headquarters in Herzogenaurach, around 44 locations across Europe and around 84,000 employees, the Schaeffler Group is one of the world's largest family businesses.
