With Wallenstein in World History – With toys all around the world
Prehistoric findings prove that the area around the valley of the river Bibert was settled already during the transition period of the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. The establishment of some isolated farms near the Banderbach (a stream near Zirndorf) probably marked the beginnings of Zirndorf. The foundation of the town was accompanied by the development of the church. Around the middle of the 10th century, the diocese of Eichstätt erected a church in Zirndorf. First the building was consecrated to the Holy Clemence; after several epidemics of the plague, however, it was newly consecrated to the Holy Rochus.
In the peak of the Middle Ages, the Alte Veste (“Old Fortress”) was built by a noble family of officials called “von Berg”. Zirndorf was mentioned for the first time officially on the 9th of September 1297 in the “Katerbeck'sche Urkunde” (document of Katerbeck). During the “Städtekrieg” (“Cities' War”), the Alte Veste was conquered and destroyed entirely by the army of Nuremberg.
Zirndorf gained its place in World History, when in 1632 the armies of the Swedish king Gustav Adolph and those of the imperial commander Albrecht von Wallenstein faced each other at the Alte Veste during the 30 Years' War. After their battle, the small village was pillaged entirely.
A new rise was brought along in 1674 by the construction of an official brewery by margrave Johann Friedrich of Ansbach. Merely half a century after the horrible war had ended, Zirndorf rose again to an important town within the margravate of Ansbach.
On the 5th of January 1792 Zirndorf came under Prussian rule, in 1806, however, Zirndorf was annexed by the Bavarian king Maximilian I.
A document signed by prince regent Luitpold on the 15th October 1911 finally gave Zirndorf town status.
The development of so-called “Hammerschlottern” with pebbles in them (an early form of a rattle), which were used as a toy for children, started the industrial development of the town in 1840. The toy industry in Zirndorf was born. In 1913, the Lorenz Bolz company invented the humming top. Still today, the toy industry represents an important pillar in Zirndorf. Today the Playmobil figures by the industrialist Brandstätter (a citizen of Zirndorf) have conquered the hearts of children all over the world.