 King Wenceslaus of Bohemia entitled the community with special laws to use the river Main commercially in 1397.The prince bishops of Bamberg used Zeil's strategic location as a northern enclave to provide a buffer against their Würzburg rivals, and 1695 saw the construction of a hunting lodge for the prince bishop.In the early 19th century, church lands were secularized, and Zeil am Main became a municipality within Bavaria by edict in 1818.