Künzelsau is a town in Baden-Württemberg, in south central Germany. It is the capital of the Hohenlohe district. It is located on the river Kocher, 19 km (12 mi) north of Schwäbisch Hall, and 37 km (23 mi) northeast of Heilbronn. The city of Künzelsau is located, at elevation 210–43 m (689–1,427 ft), along the Kocher River, a right tributary of the Neckar River, some 40 km east (25 mi) of Heilbronn. The city is, after Öhringen, the second largest city of the Hohenlohe district, whose seat it is.
The Hohenlohe district was created on 1 January 1973 by merging the former districts of Künzelsau (KÜN) and Öhringen (ÖHR). The city of Künzelsau thus retained being the district seat, so that the license plate number still uses KÜN. Künzelsau is one of seven centers in the region Heilbronn-Franken within the administrative district of Stuttgart.
The city of Künzelsau is located in the valley (elevation 218 m) and is surrounded by the higher-lying towns: Amrichshausen (401 m), Belsenberg (256 m) (with the parts Rodachshof and Siegelhof), Gaisbach (381 m) (with the hamlets Etzlinsweiler, Haag, Kemmeten, Oberhof, Unterhof and Weckhof and the farmstead Schnaihof), Garnberg (404 m), Kocherstetten (254 m) (with hamlet Schloß Stetten and farmsteads Bienenhof and Buchenmühle), Laßbach (with villages Mäusdorf and Vogelsberg and 3 farmsteads Falkenhof, Kügelhof and Rappoldsweiler Hof) (435 m), Morsbach (223 m), Nagelsberg (312 m), Nitzenhausen (431 m) (with hamlets Berndshausen and Sonnhofen), Ohrenbach (430 m), Steinbach (412 m) (with 3 hamlets Büttelbronn, Ohrenbach and Wolfsölden) – the data in each case in meters above sea level. Belonging to Künzelsau before the municipal reform of the 1970s were: the city Künzelsau, the villages of Garnberg and Nagelberg, and residential places Gaisbacher Rank and Hofratsmühle. In the urban area of Künzelsau are several assigned areas (to former municipalities assigned): Neugreut to Amrichshausen, chapel of the Holy Cross to Belsenberg, Hefenhofen, Herborten, Steinbach, Gackstatt and Schupperg to Gaisbach, Baldehofen, Kronhofen, Webern, Wartturm of the Burg Zarge to Künzelsau, Alosweiler, Bole oder Bohel, Hitels (in Vogelsberg), Schätzlinshof and Schlothof to Laßbach, the named Heidenschlößchen to Morsbach, as well as Holderbach, Dörrenhof, Klingen and Wilhelmshaus to Steinbach.
It was first documented in the year 1098 as Künzelsau. Until 1802, the city was under a Ganerbengemeinschaft, which consisted of a varying number of members. In 1806 Künzelsau along with the Principality of Hohenlohe was joined to the Kingdom of Württemberg. In 1811 Künzelsau became the seat of the higher administrative division of the same name (since 1938: Künzelsau District). In 1892, the railway station was inaugurated in Künzelsau. Künzelsau was, in the late 18th and early 19th century, the centre point of emigration to the UK of pork butchers. The pioneers noticed a niche for speciality pork products in the rapidly growing English cities, especially those in the industrial north. Most married local women, but sent word home that a good living could be made in England, and others followed. In 1948, L. Hermann clothes factory (now the Mustang apparel Werke GmbH + Co. KG), produced the first jeans in Germany. In 1973, with the district reform, the former county seat of the district Künzelsau, became county seat of the new Hohenlohe district, which includes the old-district Öhringen and a small part of the old-district Buchen.
