Königshofen

The market town at the junction of the Tauber and Umpfer rivers has existed for over 1250 years and is thus by far the oldest municipal district. From the time of Saint Boniface, the Royal Church St. Martin in Königshofen/Tauber is mentioned in 741/742 in a deed presented by the Frankish steward Karlmann.

After the Frankish kings, the princes of Hohenlohe secured the lordship over the town in the 13th century. In 1418 Königshofen was sold to Kurmainz. For nearly four centuries the market community remained with the Kurmainz (only sporadically mortgaged), and became the seat of a bailiwick and the tithe court for the Schüpfergrund as well. In 1753 the town was named "Stättlein" (small city) for the first time in a document. The town joined the Leiningen Principality in 1803, then became a part of the Great Duchy Baden in 1806.

During several fateful events such as the Peasants' War in 1525, the Thirty Years War, the dreadful flooding of 1732 and the Second World War in 1945, Königshofen repeatedly lost a large portion of its population and numerous historical buildings. Only some remains of the wall on the Tauber side, the old tithe Gothic tower, the lower part of the Romanesque church spire and the Watchtower on the Turmberg remain preserved as witnesses of mediaeval times. 

In 1492, Emperor Friedrich III granted Königshofen the right to hold two fairs. In 1525 the market rights were lost, then regained once again in 1530 by Emperor Karl V. The market privilege is cultivated to this day by the second largest district as a special attraction – the Königshofen fair.