Heilsbronn

Heilsbronn
Coat of arms of Heilsbronn Coat of arms
Heilsbronn
Location of Heilsbronn within Ansbach district 250px
Coordinates:
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Mittelfranken
District	Ansbach
Government
• Mayor	Jürgen Pfeiffer
Area
• Total	62.23 km2 (24.03 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)
• Total	9,145
• Density	150/km2 (380/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	91560
Dialling codes	09872
Vehicle registration	AN
Website	www.heilsbronn.de

Heilsbronn is a town in the Ansbach district of the Mittelfranken administrative region of Franconia, in the German state of Bavaria between Nuremberg and Ansbach, in the wooded valley of the Rangau. Its hallmark is the Katharinenturm, a medieval tower.

Heilsbronn Abbey

Main article: Heilsbronn Abbey

In the Middle Ages it was the seat of one of the great monasteries of Germany, with possessions around Franconia as far as Regensburg and in Württemberg. It was founded in 1132 and continued to exist till 1555. Its sepulchral monuments, many of which are figured by Hocker, Heilsbronnischer Antiquitätenschatz (Ansbach, 1731-1740), are of exceptionally high artistic interest. It was the hereditary burial-place of the Hohenzollern family and ten burgraves of Nuremberg, five margraves and three electors of Brandenburg, and many other persons of note are buried within its walls.

The Monk of Heilsbronn is the ordinary appellation of a didactic poet of the 14th century, whose Sieben Graden, Tochter Syon and Leben des heiligen Alexius were published by J. F. L. T. Merzdorf at Berlin in 1870.