the village's location in a secluded dale meant that there was never any through traffic. nevertheless, in no way was glattbach spared the hardship and war that time and again beset the lower main area. this may well have had something to do with the village's lying right near the town of aschaffenburg, or perhaps it was the "gelnhäuser straße", an old army and trade road running by glattbach to the west, which led up to the "johannesberger höhe" (heights). warlike peoples came plundering, burning and murdering their way through the village, bringing the population hardship and misery. frightful pestilences took a heavy toll on the people. after the thirty years' war only ten families out of what had been 33 were still alive, and 20 houses had vanished from the earth. many times the people fled before the soldiers. in 1743, when the english were plundering the whole community from 18 to 26 june, the population fled, hiding out in the spessart forests.