Naila is a town in the Frankenwald hills, in the Hof district of Bavaria. Naila is from the larger city of Hof, on both banks of the Selbitz river. History The earliest documentation of Naila dates at 9 January 1343. The first settlements in the area around Naila probably happened between the 12th and 14th century. The name Naila first appeared as "Neulins" (and variations thereof), has its origins most likely in the meaning "Small new settlement". In 1454, Naila was awarded a coat of arms by its overlord, Margrave John. After a brief episode under Prussian reign (1792–1810), Naila was included into the newly-established Kingdom of Bavaria. In 1818, it was awarded town privileges and in 1886, a railroad station was opened in Naila. After World War II, the Iron Curtain, just north of Naila, cut off a large part of the market for the local industries. The town was the seat of the then district of Naila until this was merged into Hof district in 1972, and had to give up their number-plate code NAI in favour of HO. The villages of Marxgrün, Lippertsgrün and Marlesreuth were incorporated to Naila in 1978. In 1979, Naila was the landing site of the Strelzyk and Wetzel families' famous homemade hot-air balloon escape from East Germany. Mayors 1906–1919: Wilhelm Hagen 1919–1926: Heinrich Kanzler 1926–1933: Julius Borger 1933-1933: Ludwig Wunner 1933–1945: Karl Jakob Schmidt 1945–1945: Georg Fugmann 1945–1948: Heinrich Lang senior 1948–1952: Christian Schlicht 1952–1953: Georg Fugmann 1953–1956: Karl Otto Zander 1956–1959: Hilmar Jahn 1960–1964: Fritz Jahn 1964–1968: Hans Künzel 1968–1972: Albin Bischoff 1972–1996: Robert Strobel 1996–2001: Hannsjürgen Lommer 2001- : Frank Stumpf Population development The numbers are with the incorporated districts. Personalities Emre Dönmez (born 1996), screenwriter, photographer and movie critic Hans-Peter Friedrich (born 1957), jurist, CSU politician, Member of Bundestag since 1998, Federal Ministry of the Interior 2011-2013 See also Franconian Forest Wild man Höllental External links History of the city-seal Description of the balloon-escape from the GDR References Hof (district)