in Volkmannsreuth, Brunn, Oberleinleiter, Burggrub and Stücht. Meanwhile, times had become so uncertain that hardly any more written records were kept. Moreover, no-one knew anymore who was fighting for or against whom. On 12 June 1634, Weimar horsemen plundered the villages and took the farmers’ livestock away. An eyewitness wrote: “On the same day we saw on the mountains near Hollfeld in three places villages burning; the flames reached up to the clouds.” In connection with this, Heiligenstadt may also have been affected. Seven Years' War 1756–1763 The Seven Years' War between Prussia and Austria was about supremacy in Central Europe. The Prussians moved by way of Fürth towards the north and in the summer of 1757 they were quartered in Ebermannstadt, which they plundered before they then moved up the Leinleiter. On the way, they extorted all that there was to have: money, livestock, food. Under the soldiers’ march, Veilbronn and Traindorf both suffered. Barely a year later came the Prussians’ next invasion, and a year after that came a third. In November 1762, Prussian troops stayed in the area around Heiligenstadt for three weeks. Napoleonic Wars (1796) In the Napoleonic Wars, an army corps under General Jourdan on a retreat overran the Franconian Switzerland. French military police rode through the villages and extorted protection money from the peasants – sometimes many times in quick succession. Franco-Prussian War (1870) With the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine, many of those called up for military service were stationed at the Metz garrison, some of whom stayed for ever and took wives. Among these was Jean Puff from the Heroldsmühle. First World War Even though the First World War took place far from Heiligenstadt, the human losses were roughly as high as they had been in the Thirty Years' War. Second World War As the Second World War was drawing to an end, the villagers hid with their livestock while the village elders approached United States troops with a white flag to surrender their village. The Americans established a military government, ordering, on pain of death, the surrender of all firearms. Near Teuchatz, a bomb disposal site was set up, where Wehrmacht munitions were destroyed. Chronology 1541 Market privileges 1580 Reformation in Heiligenstadt and Unterleinleiter 1803 Heiligenstadt passes to Bavaria 1915 Railway connection by way of Ebermannstadt to Forchheim 1968 Abandonment of railway 1971 Administrative reform Community’s name The placename Heiligenstadt has nothing to