CRAILSHEIM

crailsheim, or krailsheim, a town of germany, in the kingdom of wurttemberg, on the jagst, a tributary of the neckar, at the junction of railways to heilbronn and furth. pop. (1900) 5251. there are two evangelical churches and a roman catholic church, and a handsome town hall, with a tower 225 ft. high. the industrial establishments include extensive tanneries and machine workshops, and there is a brisk trade in cattle and agricultural produce. crailsheim was incorporated as a town in 1338, successfully withstood a siege by the forces of several swabian imperial cities (1379-1380), a feat which is annually celebrated, passed later into the possession of the burgraves of nuremberg, and came in 1791 to prussia, in 1806 to bavaria and 1810 to wurttemberg.