Zapfendorf

Zapfendorf
Zapfendorf
Location of Zapfendorf within Bamberg district
Coordinates: 50°3′33″N 11°33′33″E / 50.05917°N 11.55917°E / 50.05917; 11.55917Coordinates: 50°3′33″N 11°33′33″E / 50.05917°N 11.55917°E / 50.05917; 11.55917
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Oberfranken
District	Bamberg
Government
• Mayor	Josef Martin
Area
• Total	30.55 km2 (11.80 sq mi)
Elevation	248 m (814 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	5,095
• Density	170/km2 (430/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	96199
Dialling codes	09547
Vehicle registration	BA
Website	www.zapfendorf.de

Zapfendorf is a community with market rights in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg in Bavaria, Germany with roughly 5,000 inhabitants.

Lying as it did on a transport corridor along the Main running east-west as well as from Thuringia to Bavaria, Zapfendorf in the Main Valley was always a way station. On the Main itself, log drivers floated wood from the Frankenwald (forest) down to the Rhine and even as far as Rotterdam.

On 30 June 2006, Zapfendorf had 5,063 inhabitants, and on 31 December 2006, 5,083. In the next half year, the figure fell to 5,016 by 30 June 2007.

Zapfendorf’s main and namesake centre is by far the biggest of its Gemeindeteile with a population of 2,796. The community furthermore has these outlying centres, each given here with its own population figure:

The place was already settled quite early on, as witnessed by finds from the Bronze Age. Zapfendorf had its first documentary mention in 904. The name stems from “Zapfo” (Dorf means “village” in German), and may well refer to an innkeeper who tapped beer (zapfen means “draw”, as from a beer keg, in German). The original overlords were the Meranians, who were followed by the Truhendingens, who in turn sold the community in 1390 to the High Monastery at Bamberg. Since the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803, the community has belonged to Bavaria.

On 1 April 1945, a munitions train on a siding in Zapfendorf was struck by low-level bombers. Burning parts of this train rained down on the village and destroyed it utterly, leaving only a few houses unscathed.

In 1955, Zapfendorf was designated a market. In 1972, the communities of Lauf, Oberleiterbach, Kirchschletten, Sassendorf, Reuthlos, Roth and Oberoberndorf were amalgamated with Zapfendorf, as was Unterleiterbach in 1978. Until 1972, Zapfendorf belonged to the Staffelstein district before it passed to the Bamberg district. Today, it is classed as a small centre in the Upper Franconia-West region.