Like one can imagine, the town had its share of war and calamity. The worst disaster came during the 30 Years War, after the Battle of Nördlingen in 1634, when the emperor's troops swept through the city like a roaring flood. The troops completely plundered the town and perpetrated horrible atrocities on the inhabitants. Due to famine and horrible plague, the population sank from about 1000 before the war to about a fifth of that after. At the end of the war houses stood empty and abandoned.