Walsdorf, Bavaria

Walsdorf
Coat of arms
Walsdorf
Location of Walsdorf within Bamberg district
Coordinates: 49°52′N 10°47′E / 49.867°N 10.783°E / 49.867; 10.783Coordinates: 49°52′N 10°47′E / 49.867°N 10.783°E / 49.867; 10.783
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Oberfranken
District	Bamberg
Municipal assoc.	Stegaurach
Government
• Mayor	Heinrich Faatz (CSU)
Area
• Total	16.22 km2 (6.26 sq mi)
Elevation	273-329 m (−806 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	2,616
• Density	160/km2 (420/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	96194
Dialling codes	09549
Vehicle registration	BA
Website	www.walsdorf.de

Walsdorf is a community in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg and a member of the administrative community (Verwaltungsgemeinschaft) of Stegaurach. It lies in the valley of the Aurach roughly ten kilometres west of Bamberg.

Walsdorf’s main and namesake centre is by far the biggest of its Gemeindeteile with a population of 1,811. The community furthermore has these outlying centres, each given here with its own population figure:

Walsdorf had its first documentoary mention in Würzburg’s oldest book of enfeoffments, for the year 1317. It is entered there along with the whole circle of surrounding places as bambergisches Lehen der Leutersheim von Lisberg (“Bamberg fief of the Leutersheims of Lisberg”). Changing lordly masters in the years that followed determined the community’s fate, whereby its location in the border areas between the Bishopric of Bamberg and the Bishopric of Würzburg allowed it a certain freedom in its own development. As a Bamberg fief under the ownership of the Leutersheims at Lisberg, ownership passed to the Lords of Thüngfeld in 1399 and then in 1524 to Wolf von Krewelsheim (= Crailsheim). Particularly formative effects were wrought beginning in 1525 by the Crailsheims’ overlordship. They determined the community’s religious allegiance, the community structure and the community’s prosperity, turning it into a wealthy market community in the northern Steigerwald (forest). The landowner was an adherent of the Reformation and belonged to Martin Luther’s watch as he made his way to Worms. As a result, the subjects, too, had to embrace the Evangelical faith, which, however, led to decades-long quarrels with the Bishopric of Bamberg and for a time to confiscation of all lands. This also made it necessary to hold Evangelical church services in part at the castle then belonging to the Lord.

The events in those days have had their effect down to today, and even now, the proportion of Walsdorf’s population who follow the Evangelical faith is far greater – almost 40% – than in the overwhelmingly Catholic communities elsewhere in the district.