How old is the town of Wolfstein in Germany?
Wolfstein, Rhineland-Palatinate
Wolfstein was founded in 1275 on Habsburg King Rudolph I's orders, which called for a “fortified and free” town near his castle, “Woluisstein”, now known as the Alt-Wolfstein (“Old Wolfstein”) ruin. Rudolph forthwith granted the new town the same town rights and freedoms as the town of Speyer. As an “everlasting marketplace”, it was to be a sanctuary for commerce, trade and dealing. The first townsmen and -women came from the surrounding, much older villages.
Wolfheze
Wolfheze, litterly meaning 'the young forest where wolves live', started as a living area at the slopes of the natural streams which still run the little valley. From very early days buriel mounts (1500 B.C.) can be found, one of these known as the 'Kings grave', for the remains found in it.
In the 10th or 11th century a stone church, approx. 8 meters wide and about 20 meters long, was built on what's today still called the 'Capellenheuvel' (chapels hill) A few farms (all disappeared), ground walls against game and crop fields built the former hamlet of 'Wolffheezen'. It must have been abandonned at the end of the 16th century. The last of the church remains were sold as building material as an historic source says in the year of 1624. The hamlet wasn't on this location by accident; routes for heavy traffic from Germany to the Netherlands went right through, as still can be seen by the deep trails in the heath.