Hofheim am Taunus, Germany

The first documented mention was in 1254 under the name Hoveheim, but the suffix -heim indicates a much earlier Frankish foundation. Hofheim belonged to Count Philipp VI the Elder of Falkenstein, when Emperor Charles IV granted the town a charter. This document gave the lords of Hofheim the right to build walls, gates and bridges, to erect a gallows, to hold court, to conduct crafts and to hold a market. In the imperial war against Philip the Elder of Falkenstein (Falkenstein Feud), the town was conquered by the Electorate of Mainz in 1366, to which it was subject until 1418. This was followed by the rule of the Counts of Eppstein-Königstein until the extinction of the dynasty in 1535. During this time, the first Jews were recorded in Hofheim. Within the 16th century, the owners changed only twice. From 1535 to 1574 the dominion of Eppstein-Königstein belonged to Count Ludwig von Stolberg, who introduced the Reformation in Hofheim in 1540, and from 1574 to 1581 to Christoph von Stolberg. But already in 1559 Elector and Archbishop Daniel Brendel von Homburg had redeemed an old pledge and thus regained Eppstein and Hofheim. After the death of Christoph von Stolberg, the rest of the county of Königstein also went to the Electorate of Mainz in 1581.

Under the reign of Wolfgang von Dalberg, Archbishop and Elector of Mainz, and his successor Johann Adam von Bicken, the witch trials in the Electorate of Mainz reached their peak in the period from 1588 to 1602 in both the Höchst and Hofheim districts. From the remains of old court records, the Aschaffenburg archive remains, 23 women could be identified who were accused of witchcraft, 15 of them found death at the stake. On 3 November 2010 the town council of Hofheim am Taunus decided to rehabilitate the citizens convicted of witchcraft.

Until the beginning of 1603, Protestantism was still the predominant religion among the inhabitants despite the town's affiliation with the Catholic Electorate of Mainz. It was not until June that year that the Protestant pastor was replaced by a Catholic one. During the Thirty Years' War, Spanish, Bavarian, Swedish and French troops occupied, plundered and devastated the town and its present-day districts. Inhabitants were tortured into revealing the hiding places of cattle, horses and household goods. In addition to famine, epidemics broke out again and again, and in 1635 the plague spread through the region. In Hofheim, the number of men (burghers) dropped from 76 and 13 widows to 27 within four years in 1635 (no subdivision into men and widows). Finally, at the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648, there were 40 men and 4 widows. Children, women and bystanders were not recorded in counts as a matter of principle. From 1665 on, the plague raged in Mainz and Frankfurt as well as in the region of today's Main-Taunus district.

The following year Hofheim was still free of the plague, and on 3 July 1666 Pastor Gleidener led the inhabitants in a procession to the "Rabberg" (today's Kapellenberg) to take a vow: If the town was spared from the plague, a chapel should be built on this spot in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The chapel was built in 1667 and replaced by a successor building in 1774.

Hoffheim [Hofheim]. a small town; surrounded by walls; located on very fertile soil, a mile from the renowned Höchst; two miles from Franckfurt [Frankfurt]; and also as much from Mäyntz [Mainz]. Has next to the city wall; two small castles; surrounded by good moats, one of which is completely burned; but the other stands vacant. Ten years ago; due to a blacksmith's neglect; the majority of this place was destroyed by fire; as reported on 22 August 1643 from Franckfurt.

With the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789, a 26-year period of peace ended for Hofheim. The population had come to a modest prosperity and had grown to a thousand inhabitants. With the occupation of the city of Mainz by French Revolutionary troops and finally of the city of Frankfurt in 1792, Hofheim residents began years of suffering. Alternating troop marches and quarterings brought looting, famine, and epidemics.

In the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803, Hofheim fell to the principality of Nassau-Usingen. In 1806, it was united with the principality of Nassau-Weilburg. Together they formed the Duchy of Nassau. In 1866 this was annexed by Prussia and from then on existed as the province of Hesse-Nassau. After Hofheim had long been sidelined in terms of transportation, the town was connected to the railroad network from 1874 to 1877 with the construction of the Main-Lahn Railway between Frankfurt and Limburg. A renewed economic upswing began. Hofheim had also become interesting for Taunus tourists from Frankfurt thanks to the rail connection.