The precipitation event in July 1342, which happened over an area now situated in central Germany, most probably exceeded in damage any other reported event in historic and recent times in Central Europe. According to historic sources, the event lasted several days and resulted in widespread and extreme soil erosion with gullies up to 10m deep which devastated landscapes and ruined farmers. In several regional records the resulting river levels were the highest of their entire records. Remarkable are also observations of extreme flood levels also in regions without significant rainfall. Occasionally the spatial extent of the flooding was reported to reach from the North Sea coast to northern Italy, but other studies hint at missing flood reports from catchments in-between. Due to these and other partially contradicting reports we critically review the body of evidence in order to come to a more conclusive synopsis of the event.Based on confirmed reports on floods and related rainfall, the millennium flood, we come to the conclusion that the event was generated by an extended convective system mainly confined to the catchment of the River Main and adjacent headwaters of tributaries of the Rivers Danube, Elbe, Weser and, Lahn. The intensity of the rainfall was sufficient to cause devastating soil erosion and extreme flood magnitudes along the river catchments even far downstream the precipitation area. Based on circulation patterns most likely related to extreme summer precipitation over the area indicated by those reports to which we attribute the highest confidence a Central European trough (TRM) configuration seems more plausible than the frequently postulated “Vb-track cyclone” (Genoa Low).Peak discharge estimations along the Rivers Main (Würzburg, Frankfurt) and Rhine (Mainz, Cologne) suggest values up to approximately twice the largest flood ever observed by a gauge; for most downstream gauges the values are the largest of the entire historic record. Several findings previously related to this flood event fit to our explanation, when considering that during the year 1342 four additional severe floods took place in Central Europe.