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{{other uses}}
{{Infobox German location
|image_photo      = Kronach - Stadtaufbau 2012 crop.jpg
|imagesize        = 250px
|image_caption    = Historical town centre with the [[Haßlach]] River
|type               = Stadt
|image_coa            = DEU Kronach COA.svg
|coordinates       = {{coord|50|14|28|N|11|19|41|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|image_plan = Kronach in KC.svg
|state        = Bayern
|region  = Oberfranken
|district         = Kronach
|elevation              = 318
|area            = 66.98
|postal_code               = 96317
|area_code           = 09261
|licence               = KC
|Gemeindeschlüssel = 09 4 76 145
|website           = [http://www.kronach.de/ www.kronach.de]
|mayor             = Angela Hofmann<ref>[https://www.statistik.bayern.de/wahlen/kommunalwahlen/bgm/ Liste der ersten Bürgermeister/Oberbürgermeister in kreisangehörigen Gemeinden], [[Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik]], 15 July 2021.</ref>
|leader_term       = 2020&ndash;26
|party             = CSU
}}
'''Kronach''' ({{IPA|de|ˈkʁoːnax|-|De-Kronach.ogg}}; {{langx|vmf|label=[[East Franconian German|East Franconian]]|Gronich}}) is a [[Town#Germany|town]] in [[Upper Franconia]], [[Germany]], located in the [[Franconian Forest]] area. It is the capital of the [[Kronach (district)|district Kronach]].

The town is equipped with a nearly complete city wall and Germany's biggest and most complete early modern fortress, [[Rosenberg Fortress]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Festung Rosenberg, Kronach |url=https://www.kronach.de/tourismus-kultur/sehenswuerdigkeiten/festung-rosenberg/index.html |access-date=2022-05-12 |website=www.kronach.de}}</ref> The headquarters of German television and AV equipment manufacturer [[Loewe AG|Loewe]] are located there.<ref>{{cite news|title=Investor consortium to rescue high-end TV maker Loewe|url=http://www.dw.de/investor-consortium-to-rescue-high-end-tv-maker-loewe/a-17369071|access-date=4 February 2019|newspaper=Deutsche Welle}}</ref>

==Geography==
===Location===
Kronach is located at the southwestern edge of the [[Franconian Forest]]. The rivers [[Haßlach]], [[Kronach (Haßlach)|Kronach]] and [[Rodach (Main)|Rodach]] [[Confluence|unite]] in Kronach.

===Town districts===
Kronach is divided into the following districts:
{{div col|colwidth=10em}}
* [[Bernsroth]]
* [[Birkach (Kronach)|Birkach]]
* [[Blumau (Kronach)|Blumau]]
* [[Dennach (Kronach)|Dennach]]
* [[Dörfles (Kronach)|Dörfles]]
* [[Fischbach (Kronach)|Fischbach]]
* [[Friesen (Kronach)|Friesen]]
* [[Gehülz]]
* [[Glosberg]]
* [[Gundelsdorf (Kronach)|Gundelsdorf]]
* [[Höfles (Kronach)|Höfles]]
* [[Kestel (Kronach)|Kestel]]
* [[Knellendorf]]
* [[Kreuzberg (Kronach)|Kreuzberg]]
* [[Krugsberg]]
* [[Neuses (Kronach)|Neuses]]
* [[Ruppen (Kronach)|Ruppen]]
* [[Seelabach]]
* [[Seelach (Kronach)|Seelach]]
* [[Stübental]]
* [[Vogtendorf (Kronach)|Vogtendorf]]
* [[Vonz]]
* [[Wötzelsdorf]]
* [[Ziegelerden]]
{{div col end}}

==History==
[[File:Aerial image of Rosenberg Fortress (view from the southeast).jpg|thumb|Rosenberg Fortress, which dominates the town]]
[[File:Kronach - Altes Rathaus - Wappen.jpg|thumb|The greater coat of arms of Kronach, commemorating the flayed men]]
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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Heunischenburg |url=https://www.frankenwald-tourismus.de/detail/id=6087f3480d7ea872058c6f0d |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=Frankenwald Tourismus |language=de-DE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Die Heunischenburg bei Kronach-Gehülz |url=http://www.landschaftsmuseum.de/Seiten/Ausgrab/Aus-Heunbg.htm |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=www.landschaftsmuseum.de}}</ref>

Kronach was first mentioned in a chronicle of [[Thietmar of Merseburg]] in 1003 as ''urbs crana''.<ref>[https://www.landkreis-kronach.de/natur-kultur-tourismus/geschichte-des-landkreises/ Geschichte des Landkreises] (in German). Retrieved 4 February 2019.</ref> In 1122, Holy Roman Emperor [[Henry V, 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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Wollner |first1=Bernd |title=Historisches Stadtlesebuch |last2=Wich |first2=Hermann |publisher=Stadt Kronach |year=2003 |pages= |language=German |chapter=}}</ref> When Kronach gained [[Town privileges|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.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Wollner |first=Bernd |title=Die Festung Rosenberg: Ein Führer und Begleiter durch Kronachs berühmte Wehranlage |publisher=Stadt Kronach |year=1994 |language=German}}</ref>

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.<ref name=":0" />

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 of Westphalia|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.<ref name=":0" />

During the German Peasant's War, in 1525, the town and fortress surrendered to the peasant host, under the condition that the fortress would not be plundered. Following the intervention of the [[Swabian League]], the peasants were forced out on 25 July, 1525.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Breuer |first=Tilmann |title=Die Festung Rosenberg (DKV-Kunstführer. Nr. 356) |publisher=Deutscher Kunstverlag |year=2002 |location=Munich/Berlin |language=German}}</ref>

Kronach was once again plunged into conflict in 1552, during the [[Second Margrave War]]. [[Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach]], attempted to put the town under siege but failed due to the insufficient size of his army.<ref name=":1" /> 

During the [[Bamberg witch trials]], Kronach found itself at the center of witch hysteria, with several of its inhabitants being executed for alleged witchcraft. The trials were only ended by the Swedish invasion of Bamberg.<ref>{{Cite journal |year=2011 |title=Kronach |journal=Edition Bayern |location=Regensburg |publisher=Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte |volume=6 |pages=28}}</ref>

During the [[Thirty Years' War]], the town experienced one of its most dramatic episodes. It was put under siege for two years, from 1632 to 1634, by a [[Swedish Army]] and its German allies, numbering between 3,000 and 5,000. Despite improbable odds, the town and fortress remained unconquered. Famously, after a Swedish [[Tunnel warfare|sap]] tore a hole in the town wall in 1634, the Swedish soldiers were repulsed by the town's women, who rained down boiling substances on them and forced them to retreat.<ref>[http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3537654,00.html Women's History Is Writ (sic!) Large in Bavarian Town], dw-world.de. Retrieved 4 February 2019.</ref><ref name=":2" /> The unlikely victory is, to this day, commemorated by a "Swede's Procession" on the Sunday after [[Feast of Corpus Christi|Corpus Christi]], where the citizens and clergy, led by women, march from the fortress to the town square.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Germany |first=Neue Presse Coburg |title=Kronach: Gedenken an tapfere Frauen - Neue Presse Coburg |url=https://www.np-coburg.de/inhalt.kronach-gedenken-an-tapfere-frauen.98c19f3d-52e5-4502-bbff-90e9cbf19d4c.html |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=www.np-coburg.de |language=de}}</ref> The siege also gave rise to a popular legend: allegedly, the siege finally ended after the citizens of Kronach let the last living animal in the town, a female rabbit (the ''Kroniche Housnküh'') run free on the walls. This convinced the Swedes that the siege was hopeless, since Kronach had enough provisions to set a rabbit loose. The Kroniche Housnküh remains a mascot of the city.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Brauchtum im Frankenwald {{!}} Bayern-online.de |url=https://bayern-online.de/frankenwald/erleben/kultur/brauchtum/ |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=bayern-online.de}}</ref> The siege is also commemorated, in a macabre manner, on the town's greater coat of arms. The [[Supporter|supporters]] of the shield are two [[Flaying|flayed]] men: according to legend, saboteurs who were executed by the Swedes and their corpses sent back to the town gates. During the war, Kronach was struck twice by plague, in 1629 and 1634, killing circa 300 and circa 400 people respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte - Bayerns Gemeinden |url=https://www.hdbg.eu/gemeinden/index.php/detail?rschl=9476145 |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=www.hdbg.eu}}</ref>

Kronach was once again put under siege by the [[Prussian Army]] during the [[Seven Years' War]]. Situated on the ''Kreuzberg,'' a hill overlooking the fortress, the Prussians attempted to use field artillery to destroy the fortress. However, their efforts proved insufficient, and the Prussians decided to bypass Kronach and march south.<ref name=":2" />

In 1803, as a result of the ''[[Reichsdeputationshauptschluss]],'' the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg was secularized, and Kronach was made part of the [[Electorate of Bavaria|Electorate]], later [[Kingdom of Bavaria|Kingdom]] of Bavaria. Kronach lost some of its privileges, and its town walls and fortress were no longer seen as modern or necessary, with parts of the former being reused or demolished.<ref name=":0" />

In 1853, Kronach got its first rail line, and in 1866, its first train station. Today, it is a stop on the [[Franconian Forest Railway]]. In 1897, it was connected to the Bavarian [[telephone network]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Die Bahn brachte Stockheim den Aufschwung |url=https://www.infranken.de/lk/kronach/die-bahn-brachte-stockheim-den-aufschwung-art-3366445 |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=inFranken.de |date=3 May 2018 |language=de}}</ref>

During the [[World War I|First World War]], the Fortress was the site of an officers' prisoner of war camp, in which, among others, a young [[Charles de Gaulle]] was interned from July 20 to November 21, 1917. Following two attempted escapes from the fortress, he was transferred to [[Ingolstadt|Ingolstadt Fortress]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bayreuth |first=Verlagsgruppe Hof, Coburg, Suhl |title=Wie de Gaulle Zwangsfranke wurde - Nordbayerischer Kurier |url=https://www.kurier.de/inhalt.wie-de-gaulle-zwangsfranke-wurde.9c53426d-84ff-4743-9999-4b35d78ddc94.html |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=www.kurier.de |language=de}}</ref> Kronach also hosted a hospital for wounded soldiers.

Due to its proximity to the early [[Nazi Party|NSDAP]] stronghold of [[Coburg]], Kronach fell under the influence of the Nazi Party early on. The first Nazi State Diet Faction in Germany was founded at a hotel in Kronach, in the presence of [[Adolf Hitler]], [[Julius Streicher]], [[Hermann Esser]], and other Nazis on July 28, 1925. The local [[Schutzstaffel|SS]] division, founded later the same year, was one of the first in Germany. After years of steady Nazi growth, the town was fully put under the party's control in March 1933.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wicklein |first=Stefan |title=Kronach: 1920 bis 1950 |year=2005 |location=Erfurt |language=German}}</ref>

The Jewish community of Kronach, which had existed since at least the 14th century and numbered 35 individuals in 1933, was destroyed by Nazi persecution. Synagogue services were ended in 1936, with the building being sold to the town, and the remaining Jewish families were deported starting in 1938. Those who did not emigrate were mostly murdered in [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camps]] in 1941 and 1942.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Synagoge Kronach {{!}} Kurzinfo |url=https://synagoge-kronach.de/kurzinfo/ |access-date=2022-11-05 |language=de-DE}}</ref>

The Subcamp Gundelsdorf, a subcamp of [[Flossenbürg concentration camp|Flossenburg Concentration Camp]], was situated in Gundelsdorf, today a town quarter of Kronach. Around 100 Polish Jews were imprisoned there and used as forced labor for the [[Luftwaffe]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gundelsdorf {{!}} KZ-Gedenkstätte Flossenbürg |url=https://www.gedenkstaette-flossenbuerg.de/de/geschichte/aussenlager/gundelsdorf |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=www.gedenkstaette-flossenbuerg.de}}</ref> From 1942 to 1944, the Fortress was also used as a forced labor camp, originally producing industrial porcelain for [[Rosenthal (company)|Rosenthal]] and, by war's end, producing the [[Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet|Messerschmidt Me 163 Komet]] in a specialized facility built into one of the Fortress' bastions.<ref name=":0" />

Kronach was not subjected to mass air raids, and most of the town survived unharmed, although air raids targeting the town's train station started in March 1945. Kronach refused to surrender to the advancing US Army, and was attacked by the [[11th Armored Division (United States)|11th Armored Division]] of the [[United States Army Central|Third Army]] under [[George S. Patton|George Patton]] on the morning of April 12, 1945. After heavy fighting that resulted in the destruction of 15 buildings, the Americans marched into the town square in the evening of the same day.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Germany |first=Neue Presse Coburg |title=Kronach: Ein aussichtsloser Kampf geht zu Ende - Neue Presse Coburg |url=https://www.np-coburg.de/inhalt.kronach-ein-aussichtsloser-kampf-geht-zu-ende.374478f6-2b92-4886-9237-5ab519a66532.html |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=www.np-coburg.de |language=de}}</ref>

After the end of the war, Kronach received thousands of East German emigrants, it also hosted deported [[Sudeten Germans]] from the former ''Landkreis'' of [[Podbořany|Podersam]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Heimatkreis Podersam-Jechnitz |url=http://heimatkreis-podersam-jechnitz.de/heimatstube |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=heimatkreis-podersam-jechnitz.de}}</ref>
The town hosted the Bavarian [[Regional Garden Show]] in 2002, and celebrated its millennial anniversary in 2003.<ref>{{cite web |title=Town History of Kronach |url=https://www.kronach.de/en/town-history-of-kronach-in-germany.html}} (in German). Retrieved 12 November 2020.</ref>

== Notable people ==
[[File:Lucas Cranach d. Ä. 063.jpg|thumb|160px|[[Lucas Cranach the Elder|Lucas Cranach]], 1550]]
* [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]] (ca.1472–1553), a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Cranach, Lucas |volume=7|last1= Crowe |first1= Joseph Archer |author1-link= Joseph Archer Crowe |page=364|short=1}}</ref>
* [[Burchard Kranich]] (ca.1515 – 1578), (also known as ''Doctor Burcot'') a mining engineer and physician who was involved in mining ventures in Derbyshire and Cornwall
* [[Maximilian von Welsch]] (1671–1745), a German architect, construction director and fortress master builder. 
* [[Johann Kaspar Zeuss]] (1806–1856), a German historian and founder of Celtic philology.
* [[Josef Stangl]] (1907–1979), a Roman Catholic bishop of Würzburg, Germany; he consecrated Father Joseph Ratzinger, later [[Pope Benedict XVI]], as a bishop in 1977.
* [[Heinrich Setz]] (1915–1943), Luftwaffe military aviator during WWII, and a fighter ace
* [[Gloria Friedmann]] (born 1950), a German-French sculptor and installation artist
* [[Sebastian Borger]] (born 1964), a German journalist and author based in London.
* [[Axel Kober]] (born 1970), a German conductor and music director of the [[Deutsche Oper am Rhein]] since 2009.
* [[Kristian Böhnlein]] (born 1990), a German professional footballer with over 250 club caps
* [[Jessica Wich]] (born 1990), a football striker, she plays for [[Bayer 04 Leverkusen (women)]]

==Sights==
*[[Heunischenburg]], a prehistoric hillfort nearby
*Festung Rosenburg, the historic fortress that dominates the city

==Twin towns – sister cities==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany}}
Kronach is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite web |title=Partner- & Partnerschaften|url=https://www.kronach.de/rathaus-politik/partner-patenschaften/index.html|website=kronach.de|publisher=Kronach|language=de|access-date=2021-05-03}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Hennebont]], France
*{{flagicon|HUN}} [[Kiskunhalas]], Hungary
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Rhodt unter Rietburg]], Germany

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons-inline}}
*[http://www.kronach.de/ Official website] {{in lang|de}}

{{Cities and towns in Kronach (district)}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Kronach (district)]]