Erlangen district: Kosbach/Häusling/Steudach

cottager

The Häusling district is located on the Bimbach River, which feeds a chain of ponds and flows into the Regnitz River near Neumühle as a left tributary. This village, six kilometers southwest of Erlangen's old town, is surrounded by farmland and grassland.

Its first mention as "Heuslans" dates back to 1400. The place name is derived from the Middle High German word hūselin (little house). In 1468, it was first mentioned in the Urbar (property register) of the cathedral provost of Bamberg as "Hewsling" or "Hewslein" (to the little houses). The village consisted of three full farms with four owners and belonged to the Büchenbach district.

From the 16th century until its destruction in 1632 during the Thirty Years' War (30 to 1618), it was granted to the Nuremberg patrician family of the "Schürstab." It was not until 1648 that the Büchenbach bailiff was able to reassign the five vacant farms.

After the transfer to Bavaria in 1810, Häusling became a district of the municipality of Kosbach when the rural communities were formed in 1818, and was incorporated into Erlangen in 1967. Until the 1970s, the village was entirely dominated by agriculture. Subsequently, a new housing development was built next to the old village. Today, it has a population of 180 (as of 2000).

Kosbach

Numerous ponds surround the Kosbach district, which is located six kilometers west of Erlangen's old town.

A very special historical monument is thanks to the energetic efforts of Erlangen pastor Rudolf Herold – appointed by the Royal Conservatory General in 1913 as the state representative of archaeological monuments –: In the Mönau (forest area between the Main-Danube Canal, Dechsendorf, Untermembach, and Kosbach) he uncovered a prehistoric burial mound with a diameter of 18 meters in the same year.Kosbach Altar“ Burials were carried out from the 10th to the 5th century BC – some of them with very extensive traditional costumes.
The village was first mentioned in a document in 1348 as "Kospach," although the meaning of the name remains unclear. At that time, it comprised 22 farmsteads with fields of 11 manses (medieval land units between 30 and 65 ares) and 1 fief (land granted by a prince to a subordinate).

In 1468, the village comprised approximately 11 full farms with 13 owners and belonged to the provost's office of Büchenbach of the Bishopric of Bamberg. Since the 16th century, Kosbach possessed a forester's lodge (Am Deckersweiher 4), from which the forester, subordinate to the Büchenbach bailiff, managed the Mönau. (The Mönau has been a landscape conservation area since 1966 and, as a protected forest, enjoys the highest degree of protection under the Bavarian Forest Act.)

The municipality of Kosbach was incorporated into Erlangen in 1967. Since then, the town has experienced a significant influx of residents. Today, it has a population of 942 (as of 2000).

Steudach

"Schdait" or "Schdaidi" is what Middle Franconians call the Erlangen district of Steudach. Idyllically situated on the Rittersbach stream, a right tributary of the Bimbach, it is surrounded by farmland and grassland. A little further southwest lies the Klosterwald forest.

The village was first mentioned as "Steudech" in 1348 in the legal code of Bamberg's Bishop Friedrich I of Hohenlohe. The place name derives from the Old High German word stūda (perennial, bush, thornbush), thus referring to an area covered with bushes. Originally, the small village was a forest-hufen settlement, meaning that the land created by clearing was allocated to farmers in narrow strips. In the first half of the 15th century, eight estates were granted to the Nuremberg patrician family of the "Schürstab."

In the 16th century, five estates were again granted to the Lords of “Löffelholz”.
After Steudach became part of Bavaria in 1810, it became part of the rural community of Kosbach in 1818.

In 1923, the St. Michael War Memorial Chapel was consecrated in Steudach, but had to be demolished in April 1976 due to dilapidation. A house was built in 1973, which still serves as both a church and fire station today. In early 1967, Steudach was incorporated into Erlangen as part of the municipality of Kosbach. Today, a new housing development stands directly adjacent to the old town. Today, it has 285 residents (as of 2000).