FORCHHEIM, a town of Germany, in the kingdom of Bavaria, near the confluence of the Wiesent and the Regnitz, 16 m. S.S.E. of Bamberg. Pop. (1905) 8417. It has four Roman Catholic churches, including the Gothic Collegiate church and a Protestant church. Among the other public buildings are the progymnasium and an orphanage. The industries of the town include spinning and weaving, bleaching and dyeing, bone and glue works, brewing and paper-making. The spacious château occupies the site of the Carolingian palace which was destroyed in 1246.
Forchheim is of very early origin, having been the residence of the Carolingian sovereigns, including Charlemagne, in the 9th century. Consequently many diets were held here, and here also Conrad I. and Louis the Child were chosen German kings. The town was given by the emperor Henry II. in 1007 to the bishopric of Bamberg, and, except for a short period during the 11th century, it remained in the possession of the bishops until 1802, when it was ceded to Bavaria. In August 1796 a battle took place near Forchheim between the French and the Austrians. The fortifications of the town were dismantled in 1838.
See Hübsch, Chronik der Stadt Forchheim (Nüremberg, 1867).