Forchheim

Forchheim
City hall
Coat of arms
Forchheim
Location of Forchheim within Forchheim district
Coordinates: 49°43′11″N 11°03′29″E / 49.71972°N 11.05806°E / 49.71972; 11.05806Coordinates: 49°43′11″N 11°03′29″E / 49.71972°N 11.05806°E / 49.71972; 11.05806
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Oberfranken
District	Forchheim
Government
• Lord Mayor	Uwe Kirschstein (SPD)
Area
• Total	44.95 km2 (17.36 sq mi)
Elevation	266 m (873 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	31,651
• Density	700/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	91301
Dialling codes	09191
Vehicle registration	FO, EBS, PEG
Website	www.forchheim.de

Forchheim is a large town in Upper Franconia (German: Oberfranken) in northern Bavaria, and also the seat of the administrative district of Forchheim. Forchheim is a former royal city, and is sometimes called the “Gateway to the Franconian Switzerland”, as the region is known. Its population, as of December 2013, was 30,705, and its land area is 44.95 square kilometres (17.36 square miles). Its position is 49° 44' N, 11° 04' E and its elevation is 265 metres (869 feet) above sea level.

In 2005, Forchheim celebrated its 1,200th anniversary of first documentary mention, on the occasion of which the Deutsche Post (German Post) issued special commemorative stamps worth 45 cents. In 2004, the city played host to the Bavarian provincial Exhibition. There were about 199,100 visitors.

When the coat of arms was bestowed upon the town at the beginning of the 13th century, people wrongly believed that their town’s name, "Vorchheim" originates from the Old High German word vorhe (“trout”). This resulted in the coat of arms showing two trout (above). Although the rivers around the town were certainly home to a great number of trout in those days, it seems likelier that the town's name was actually derived from the Old High German word vorha (“pine”). Hence, the name means “pine home” with a probability bordering on certainty.

The name most likely originates in the 7th century, when Frankish settlers first ensconced themselves in the region. They established many riverside towns with names ending in –heim.

Forchheim is directly connected to the Autobahn network by way of the A 73, via 2 Exits Forchheim-Nord and Forchheim-Süd.

Through Forchheim run Federal Highways (Bundesstraßen) B 470. In 2011, the former B 4 which also ran through Forchheim was downgraded to a regional road because of its parallelity concerning the regional importance to the Autobahn A 73.

Rail traffic from the station goes towards Bamberg, Nuremberg and Ebermannstadt. The railway line to Höchstadt was permanently closed on 1 April 2005. Since 2010, Forchheim is also connected to the Nuremberg S-Bahn; work began on this project in 2006.