in the first, voluntary phase of municipal reform, the formerly self-administering communities of breunsberg, johannesberg, oberafferbach and rückersbach merged into a new entity with the name johannesberg. in 1976, the communities of johannesberg and glattbach together formed the "verwaltungsgemeinschaft" (municipal association) of rauenthal. in accordance with the lower franconian government's decision, the outlying centre of rauenthal – formerly an exclave – was split from the community of johannesberg and merged into the community of glattbach instead. after the voluntary phase of municipal reform ended, the community of steinbach was forcibly incorporated into johannesberg in 1978.