Grafenwöhr

History

The town of Grafenwöhr (Island of the Count), was founded in the 9th century on an island (wöhr), located between the river Creussen and the Thum stream. In its early history, the inhabitants and the town of Grafenwöhr proper belonged to nobles from Schweinfurt, Bamberg, and Leuchtenberg. In 1907, Prince Luitpold, regent of the Kingdom of Bavaria, selected the area near the town of Grafenwöhr as the place best suited for training of the Bavarian Army (1806–1919). Construction began in 1908, and, by 1915, the training reservation was in area. The first artillery round was fired in the training area at 08:00 on 30 June 1910. Throughout World War I (1914–1918) the Grafenwöhr training area was used for equipping and training army units for combat. After the War, the High Command, Berlin, used Grafenwöhr to train the 100,000–man German army, allowed by the Treaty of Versailles (1919). In 1936, the Nazi Government expanded the training area to the present size of . On 5 and 8 April 1945, the training camp and the town of Grafenwöhr proper were bombed during Allied air raids. The last German Army Commander of the Grafenwöhr training area surrendered to the U.S. Army on 20 April 1945. Afterwards, during the Cold War (1945–1991), the Grafenwöhr training area was an important combined arms training site for the U.S. Army and Allied forces. The military installation is also home to one of the largest Army construction projects in Europe, called Efficient Basing-Grafenwöhr. The Grafenwöhr Training Area (Tower Barracks) houses the 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command (JMTC). The 7th Army JMTC owns almost all of the U.S. Army training facilities and assets in Europe. The Grafenwöhr Training Area is one of its largest training areas and includes ranges that can…

Geography

The civilian town of Grafenwöhr rests nestled between low hills. The area is widely forested and the nearby region is mostly used for agricultural purposes. Farms and dairies cover much of the surrounding landscape. Grafenwöhr is positioned geographically such that it seen very mild summers and cold winters. Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate).

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  235
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  223
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  219
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  178
• Great Spotted Woodpecker

  Dendrocopos major (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  159
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  144
• Eurasian Nuthatch

  Sitta europaea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  139
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  129

Most recent

• M 3.2 — 2018-05-22
  2 km ENE of Luby, Czechia
• M 4.1 — 2018-05-21
  2 km SSE of Erlbach, Germany
• M 3.8 — 2014-05-31
  4 km NE of Skalná, Czechia
• M 4 — 2011-09-04
  5 km WSW of Habartov, Czechia
• M 2.9 — 2008-11-23
  4 km SW of Oloví, Czechia
• M 2.9 — 2008-10-31
  3 km NW of Zwota, Germany