[7] In 1122, Holy Roman Emperor Henry V gifted Kronach and its surroundings (the praedium crana) to the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg.

The town's massive fortress originates from 1130, when Otto of Bamberg had a "stone house and tower" erected in Kronach.

Although the defense was successful and the fortress remained unconquered, its inhabitants burned part of the town to block the invaders.

[8] With the Reformation in 1517, Kronach became an important border bulwark of the Catholic Prince-Bishopric against the newly Protestant Electorate of Saxony, this function continued until peace was made in 1648.

Protestants were eventually expelled from the town by the early 17th century, following the maxim of Cuius regio, eius religio, and were only allowed back after the secularization in 1803.

Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, attempted to put the town under siege but failed due to the insufficient size of his army.

[12][9] The unlikely victory is, to this day, commemorated by a "Swede's Procession" on the Sunday after Corpus Christi, where the citizens and clergy, led by women, march from the fortress to the town square.

The supporters of the shield are two flayed men: according to legend, saboteurs who were executed by the Swedes and their corpses sent back to the town gates.

[9] In 1803, as a result of the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss, the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg was secularized, and Kronach was made part of the Electorate, later Kingdom of Bavaria.

Kronach lost some of its privileges, and its town walls and fortress were no longer seen as modern or necessary, with parts of the former being reused or demolished.

Synagogue services were ended in 1936, with the building being sold to the town, and the remaining Jewish families were deported starting in 1938.

After heavy fighting that resulted in the destruction of 15 buildings, the Americans marched into the town square in the evening of the same day.