Naila

Naila is a town in the Hof district of Bavaria, Germany. It lies in the Franconian Forest. Naila is 18 km from the larger city of Hof, on both banks of the Selbitz river.

History
The earliest documentation of Naila dates at 9 January 1343. The first settlements in the area around Naila probably happened between the 12th and 14th century. The name Naila first appeared as "Neulins" (and variations thereof), has its origins most likely in the meaning "Small new settlement". In 1454, Naila was awarded a coat of arms by its overlord, Margrave John.

After a brief episode under Prussian reign (1792–1810), Naila was included into the newly-established Kingdom of Bavaria. In 1818, it was awarded town privileges and in 1886, a railroad station was opened in Naila. After World War II, the Iron Curtain, just 8 km north of Naila, cut off a large part of the market for the local industries.

The town was the seat of the then district of Naila until this was merged into Hof district in 1972, and had to give up their number-plate code NAI in favour of HO. The villages of Marxgrün, Lippertsgrün and Marlesreuth were incorporated to Naila in 1978.

In 1979, Naila was the landing site of the Strelzyk and Wetzel families' famous homemade hot-air balloon escape from East Germany.

Mayors

 * 1906–1919: Wilhelm Hagen
 * 1919–1926: Heinrich Kanzler
 * 1926–1933: Julius Borger
 * 1933-1933: Ludwig Wunner
 * 1933–1945: Karl Jakob Schmidt
 * 1945–1945: Georg Fugmann
 * 1945–1948: Heinrich Lang senior
 * 1948–1952: Christian Schlicht
 * 1952–1953: Georg Fugmann
 * 1953–1956: Karl Otto Zander
 * 1956–1959: Hilmar Jahn
 * 1960–1964: Fritz Jahn
 * 1964–1968: Hans Künzel
 * 1968–1972: Albin Bischoff
 * 1972–1996: Robert Strobel
 * 1996–2001: Hannsjürgen Lommer
 * 2001- : Frank Stumpf

Population development
The numbers are with the incorporated districts.

Personalities

 * Emre Dönmez (born 1996), screenwriter, photographer and movie critic
 * Hans-Peter Friedrich (born 1957), jurist, CSU politician, Member of Bundestag since 1998, Federal Ministry of the Interior 2011-2013