In 1321 Butzbach was given city rights by Ludwig, "by God�s grace king of the Romans". This meant that Butzbach obtained the right to hold market, the right of jurisdiction and the right to fortify the town. Trade and commerce were now able to de-velop.
Butzbach�s cultural life was enriched by the advent of the monkish order of the Kugelherrn, who among other institutions founded the Latin School in 1540. This was the beginning of the present Weidig School (Juliane�s high school).
In 1603 as many as 100 houses and the castle were destroyed by fire. Though the loss of one�s home is always a great desaster, the fire gave way to new and spacious houses which attribute to Butzbach�s exceptional atmosphere today.
During World War II Butzbach received several blows from air attacks, but the damages were not serious. Most of the destruction was done by the town planners and architects in the 60s when the beginning prosperity of the community called for better housing and the removal of run-down historic structures.
The US Army took the town without fighting in April 1945, fell in love with the location - and stayed. Until today service people contribute to the appearance of the town, although the large units are not here anymore.
One peculiar anecdote should not be left unmentioned:
When the housing area for the U.S. soldiers was built in 1953, archeologists discovered remains of Roman dwellings. They found out that the cohorte that was stationed here (around 300 AD) belonged to the 22nd infantry legion.
The U.S. force to move in there was the 22nd infantry regiment and their insignia were almost identical with those of the Roman legion.
Now take me to the picture tour of the town or to the previous page.