Crailsheim

Crailsheim is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Incorporated in 1338, it lies 32km east of Schwäbisch Hall and 40km southwest of Ansbach in the Schwäbisch Hall district. The city's main attractions include two Evangelical churches, a Catholic church, and the 67 metre tower of its town hall.HistoryCrailsheim is famed for withstanding a siege by forces of three imperial cities - Schwäbisch Hall, Dinkelsbühl, and Rothenburg ob der Tauber - lasting from 1379 until 1380, a feat which it celebrates annually. Crailsheim became a possession of the Burgrave of Nuremberg following the siege. In 1791 it became part of the Prussian administrative region, before returning to Bavaria in 1806 and becoming a part of Württemberg in 1810.Crailsheim's railroad and airfield were heavily defended by the Waffen-SS in 1945 (World War II). Following an American Army assault in mid-April 1945 the town was occupied briefly by US forces before being lost to German counter-offensive. Intense US bombing and artillery shelling during a second US conquest destroyed much of the city, with subsequent fires consuming its historic inner city. Only the Johanneskirche (St. John's Church) escaped unharmed.Crailsheim became the postwar home to the U.S. Army's McKee Barracks until the facility closed in January 1994.