Fürth

Sister cities

• Limoges
• Paisley
• Marmaris

History

Founded as a Franconian settlement in the mid-8th century AD, the first historical mention of Fürth was in a document dated 1 November 1007, in which the Emperor Heinrich II donated his property in Fürth to the newly created Bishopric of Bamberg. The name "Fürth" derives from the German word for "ford", as the first settlements originated around a ford. In the following years, Fürth was granted market privileges, but these were later lost to the neighbouring Nuremberg, under Heinrich III. From 1062 onward, Fürth was again permitted to have a market, but by that time Nuremberg was already the more important town. In the following centuries, the town was under varying authority, involving the Bishopric of Bamberg, the Principality of Ansbach and the City of Nuremberg. For a long time, the character of the settlement remained largely agricultural, and in 1600 the population was probably still only between 1000 and 2000. In the Thirty Years War, the village was almost completely destroyed by fire, in military actions leading up to the September 1632 Battle of Fürth. In 1835, the first German railway was opened between Nuremberg and Fürth. Throughout the Cold War, Fürth had a significant NATO presence, especially the U.S. Army, due to its proximity to both the East German and Czechoslovak borders. In the course of time, a number of municipalities or other administrative divisions were integrated into the urban district of Fürth: * 1 January 1899: the western part of the municipality of Höfen, including Weikershof (to the south of the Schwabacher Straße) * 1 January 1900: the municipality of Poppenreuth (to the east of the historic centre of the city, on the far side of the river Pegnitz) * 1 January 1901: the municipality of Dambach (to the west of the current…

Geography

The historic centre of the town is to the east and south of the rivers Rednitz and Pegnitz, which join to form the Regnitz to the northwest of the Old Town. To the west of the town, on the far side of the Main-Danube Canal, is the Fürth municipal forest (Fürther Stadtwald). To the east of Fürth, at roughly the same latitude, lies Nuremberg, and to the north is the fertile market-gardening area known as the Knoblauchsland (garlic country), some of which is within the borders of the urban district of Fürth. To the south of the town is an area consisting of wide roads, the canal, and meadows. The following towns and municipalities share borders with Fürth; they are listed in clockwise order, starting in the north: Erlangen and Nuremberg, which are independent urban districts; Stein, Oberasbach, Zirndorf, Cadolzburg, Seukendorf, Veitsbronn, and Obermichelbach, which are municipalities within the rural district (Landkreis) of Fürth. Beyond the town proper, the urban district comprises another 20 localities: *Atzenhof *Bislohe *Braunsbach *Burgfarrnbach *Dambach *Flexdorf *Herboldshof *Kronach *Mannhof *Oberfürberg *Poppenreuth *Ritzmannshof *Ronhof *Sack *Stadeln *Steinach *Unterfarrnbach *Unterfürberg *Vach *Weikershof

Most-observed species

• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,589
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,563
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,152
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,123
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,825
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,314
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,306
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,205

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2002-08-22
  5 km SSE of Rain, Germany