Stadelhofen

Stadelhofen is a community in the Upper Franconian (German: Oberfranken) district of Bamberg and a member of the administrative community (Verwaltungsgemeinschaft) of Steinfeld.GeographyThe community lies on the edge of the “Franconian Switzerland” on the Autobahn from Bamberg to Bayreuth.Constituent communitiesStadelhofen’s namesake centre is not the biggest of its Gemeindeteile with Steinfeld being more than twice its size. The community has these centres, each given here with its own population figure:The community also has 5 traditional rural land units, known in German as Gemarkungen, named Hohenhäusling, Schederndorf, Stadelhofen, Steinfeld and Wölkendorf, four of which have the same names as four of the constituent communities (it is traditional for a Gemarkung to be named after a town or village lying nearby).HistoryThe community had its first documentary mention in 1248. The placename Stadelhofen is believed to mean “at the farms furnished with a barn”. However, it could also have come from a corrupted personal name.Stadelhofen lies at the spot where an old army road from Bamberg to Kulmbach once crossed the way from Weismain to Hollfeld.Even if Stadelhofen had its first documentary mention rather late, it is clear that the area was already settled by the year 630. On a map from 1595, the area around Stadelhofen bears the description Uf dem Gebürg.