Heiligenstadt in Oberfranken (officially: Heiligenstadt i. OFr.) is a community with market rights in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg. The town clusters round the base of Schloss Greifenstein. To further tourism the old school was converted into today's town hall, the historic marketplace was remodelled, and at Easter it is adorned with an Easter fountain. Furthermore, an old barn was converted into a community centre. The community with its houses under memorial protection and its historically interesting church is a well known outing destination. Visitors are especially numerous at Easter when many come to see the Franconian Switzerland’s Easter fountains. The Evangelical St.-Veit- und St.-Michaels-Kirche (church) goes back to a former tithe barn. The freestanding belltower stands on what is left of a former castle. Unusual for an Evangelical church is the elaborate Baroque painting on the wooden galleries and the panelled ceilings. Geography Heiligenstadt lies in the Bamberg district’s southeastern corner. The 24 Gemeindeteile lie along the Leinleiter Valley and on the abutting Jura Plateau. Veilbronn lies 329 m above sea level. The greatest elevation is the Altenberg (mountain) behind Zoggendorf at 583 m above sea level. The villages on the heights from Volkmannsreuth to Teuchatz belong to the Lange Meile ("Long Mile"). The North Jura joins with the Seigelstein near Lindach. The mountain villages east of the Leinleiter are part of the Aufseßer Gebirge (mountain range). Heiligenstadt, in the Naturpark Fränkische Schweiz-Veldensteiner Forst (nature park), is the most important place in the Leinleiter Valley. Constituent communities Heiligenstadt is a small centre with 24 constituent communities (Gemeindeteile). Within municipal limits is an area of 77 km2 making Heiligenstadt the district's third biggest community; however, it belongs to the more thinly populated areas. In all of Heiligenstadt's centres live roughly 3,700 inhabitants. All population figures are as at 1 January 2005. History Prehistoric finds establish that the market community's municipal area was already populated thousands of years ago, at least at times. However, permanent small communities only arose about the year 500 at the time of the Migration Period (or Völkerwanderung). Documentary mention, though, came only much later. The community's villages arose about a thousand years ago. Heiligenstadt itself already existed before the Bishopric of Bamberg was founded in 1007. In the Leinleiter Valley were lordly seats of the Knights of Streitberg. In 1525, the peasants revolted and inflicted heavy damage upon the castles. In 1541, the Emperor granted