Bayreuth
Encyclopedia
Bayreuth is a sizeable town in northern Bavaria
, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura
and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194 and it is nowadays the capital of Upper Franconia
with a population of 72,576 (2009). It is world-famous for its annual Bayreuth Festival
at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner
are presented.
probably around the mid-12th century, but was first mentioned in 1194 as Baierrute in a document by Bishop Otto II of Bamberg. The syllable -rute may mean Rodung or "clearing", whilst Baier- indicates immigrants from the Bavarian region.
Already documented earlier, were villages later merged into Bayreuth: Seulbitz (in 1035 as the royal Salian
estate of Silewize in a document by Emperor Conrad II
) and St. Johannis (possibly 1149 as Altentrebgast). Even the district of Altstadt (formerly Altenstadt) west of the town centre must be older than the town of Bayreuth itself. Even older traces of human presence were found in the hamlets of Meyernberg: pieces of pottery and wooden crockery were dated to the 9th century based on their decoration.
While Bayreuth was previously (1199) referred to as a villa (village), the term civitas ("town") appeared for the first time in a document published in 1231. One can therefore assume that Bayreuth was awarded its town charter between 1200 and 1230. The town was ruled until 1248 by the counts of Andechs-Merania. After they died out in 1260 the burgraves of Nuremberg from the House of Hohenzollern
took over the inheritance. Initially, however, their residence and the centre of the territory was the castle of Plassenburg
in Kulmbach
. The town of Bayreuth developed slowly and was affected time and again by disasters.
As early as 1361 Emperor Charles IV
had conferred on Burgrave Frederick V the right to mint coins for the towns of Bayreuth and Kulmbach.
Bayreuth was first published on a map in 1421.
In February 1430, the Hussites devastated Bayreuth and the town hall and churches were razed. Matthäus Merian
described this event in 1642 as follows:"In 1430 the Hussites from Bohemia attacked / Culmbach and Barreut / and committed great acts of cruelty / like wild animals / against the common people / and certain individuals. / The priests / monks and nuns they either burnt at the stake / or took them onto the ice of lakes and rivers / (in Franconia and Bavaria) and doused them with cold water / and killed them in a deplorable way / as Boreck reported in the Bohemian Chronicle, page 450"((Source: Frühwald (Hg.): Fränkische Städte und Burgen um 1650 based on texts and engravings by Merian, Sennfeld 1991.)
By 1528, less than ten years after the start of the Reformation, the lords of the Frankish margrave territories switched to the Lutheran
faith.
In 1605 a great fire, caused by negligence, destroyed 137 of the town's 251 houses. In 1620 plague broke out and, in 1621, there was another big fire in the town. The town also suffered during the Thirty Years War.
A turning point in the town's history came in 1603 when Margrave Christian, the son of the elector, John George of Brandenburg, moved the aristocratic residence from the castle of Plassenburg above Kulmbach to Bayreuth. The first Hohenzollern palace was built in 1440-1457 under Margrave John the Alchemist. It was the forerunner of today's Old Palace (Altes Schloss) and was expanded and renovated many times. The development of the new capital stagnated due to the Thirty Years' War
, but afterwards many famous baroque
buildings were added to the town. After Christian's death in 1655 his grandson, Christian Ernest, followed him, ruling from 1661 until 1712. He was an educated and well-travelled man, whose tutor had been the statesman Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal
. He founded the Christian-Ernestinum Grammar School and, in 1683, participated in the liberation of Vienna
which had been besieged by the Turks. To commemorate this feat, he had the Margrave Fountain built as a monument on which he is depicted as the victor of the Turks; it now stands outside the New Palace (Neues Schloss). During this time, the outer ring of the town wall and the castle chapel (Schlosskirche) were built.
His successor, the Crown Prince and later Margrave, George William, began in 1701 to establish the then independent town of St. Georgen am See (today, the district of St. Georgen) with its castle, the so-called Ordensschloss, a town hall, a prison and a small barracks. In 1705 he founded the Order of Sincerity (Ordre de la Sincérité
), which was renamed in 1734 to the Order of the Red Eagle
and had the monastery church built, which was completed in 1711. In 1716 a princely porcelain
factory was established in St. Georgen.
The first 'castle' in the park of the Hermitage
was built at this time by Margrave George William (1715–1719).
In 1721 the town council acquired the palace of Baroness Sponheim (today's Old Town Hall or Altes Rathaus) as a replacement for the town hall built in 1440 in the middle of the market place and destroyed by fire.
In 1735 a nursing home, the so-called Gravenreuth
Stift, was founded by a private foundation in St. Georgen. The cost of the building exceeded the funds of the foundation, but Margrave Frederick came to their aid.
Bayreuth experienced its Golden Age during the reign (1735–1763) of Margrave Frederick and Margravine Wilhelmina of Bayreuth, the favourite sister of Frederick the Great
. During this time, under the direction of court architects, Joseph Saint-Pierre and Carl von Gontard
, numerous courtly buildings and attractions were created: the Margravial Opera House with its richly furnished baroque theatre (1744–1748), the New 'Castle' and Sun Temple (1749–1753) at the Hermitage, the New Palace with its courtyard garden (1754 ff) to replace the Old Palace which had burned down through the carelessness of the margrave, and the magnificent row of buildings in today's Friedrichstraße. There was even a unique version of the rococo
architectural style, the so-called Bayreuth Rococo which characterised the aforementioned buildings, especially their interior design.
The old, sombre gatehouses were demolished because they impeded transport and were an outmoded form of defence. The walls were built over in places. Margrave Frederick successfully kept his principality out of the wars being waged by his brother-in-law, Frederick the Great, at this time, and, as a result, brought a time of peace to the Frankish kingdom.
1742 saw the founding of the Frederick Academy, which was became a university in 1743, but was moved that same year to Erlangen
after serious riots because of the adverse reaction of the population. The university has remained there to the present today. From 1756 to 1763 there was also an Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Roman Catholics were given the right to set up a prayer room and Jewish families settled here again. In 1760 the synagogue was opened and in 1787 the Jewish cemetery was dedicated.
Countess Wilhelmina died in 1758 and, although, Margrave Frederick married again, the marriage was only short-lived and without issue. After his death in 1763, many artists and craftsmen migrated to Berlin and Potsdam, to work for King Frederick the Great, because Frederick's successor, Margrave Frederick Christian had little understanding of art. He also lacked the means due to the elaborate lifestyle of his predecessor, because the buildings and the salaries of the mainly foreign artists had swallowed up a lot of money. For example the court - which under George Frederick Charles had comprised around 140 people - had grown to about 600 employees by the end of the reign of Margrave Frederick. By 1769 the principality was close to bankruptcy.
In 1769 Margrave Charles Alexander, from the Ansbach line of Frankish Hohenzollerns, followed the childless Frederick Christian and Bayreuth was reduced to a secondary residence. Charles Alexander continued to live in Ansbach and rarely came to Bayreuth.
In 1775 the Brandenburg Pond (Brandenburger Weiher) in St.Georgen was drained.
Following the abdication of the last Margrave, Charles Alexander, from the principalities of Ansbach
and Bayreuth on 2 December 1791 its territories became part of a Prussian province. The Prussian Minister Karl August von Hardenberg
took over its administration at the beginning of 1792.
The town centre still possesses the typical structure of a Bavarian street market: the settlement is grouped around a road widening into a square; the Town Hall was located in the middle. The church stood apart from it and on a small hill stood the castle. Some sixty years later the town (at that time a tiny village) became subordinate to the Hohenzollern state, and when this state was divided, Bayreuth ended up in the county of Kulmbach
.
moved from Coburg
to Bayreuth, where he lived until his death in 1825.
The rule of the Hohenzollerns over the Principality of Kulmbach-Bayreuth ended in 1806 after the defeat of Prussia by Napoleonic France. During the French occupation from 1806 to 1810 Bayreuth was treated as a province of the French Empire and had to pay high war contributions. It was placed under the administration of Comte Camille de Tournon, who wrote a detailed inventory of the former Principality of Bayreuth. On 30 June 1810 the French army handed over the former principality to the what was now the Kingdom of Bavaria
, which it had bought from Napoleon for 15 million francs.
Bayreuth became the capital of the Bavarian district of Mainkreis, which later transferred into Obermainkreis and was finally renamed as the province of Upper Franconia
.
As Bavaria was opened up by the railways, the main line from Nuremberg to Hof went past Bayreuth, running via Lichtenfels, Kulmbach and Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg to Hof. Bayreuth was first given a railway connexion in 1853, when the Bayreuth–Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg railway was built at the town's expense. It was followed in 1863 by the line to Weiden, in 1877 by the railway to Schnabelwaid, in 1896 by the branch line to Warmensteinach
, in 1904 by the branch to Hollfeld
and in 1909 by the branch via Thurnau to Kulmbach
, known as the Thurnauer Bockala (which means something like "Thurnau Goat").
On 17 April 1870 Richard Wagner
visited Bayreuth, because he had read about the Margrave Opera House, whose great stage seemed fitting for his works. However, the orchestra pit could not accommodate the large number of musicians required, for example, for the Ring of the Nibelung and the ambience of the auditorium seemed inappropriate for his piece, The Artwork of the Future
(Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft). So, he toyed with the idea of building his own festival hall (the Festspielhaus) in Bayreuth. The town supported him in this project and made a piece of land available to him, an undeveloped area outside the town between the railway station and Hohe Warte, the Grüner Hügel ("Green Hill"). At the same time Wagner acquired a property at Hofgarten to build his own house, Wahnfried
. On 22 May 1872 the cornerstone for the Festival Hall was laid and, on 13 August 1876, it was officially opened (see Bayreuth Festival
). Planning and construction were in the hands of the Leipzig architect, Otto Brückwald, who had already made a name for himself in the building of theatres in Leipzig and Altenburg.
In 1886, the composer Franz Liszt
died in Bayreuth while visiting his daughter Cosima Liszt, Wagner's widow. Both Liszt and Wagner are buried in Bayreuth; however Wagner did not die there. Rather he died in Venice
in 1883, but his family had his body brought to Bayreuth for burial.
In 1914-15, one section of the northern arm of the Red Main was straightened and widened after areas along the river had been flooded during a period of high water in 1909.
After the First World War had ended in 1918, the Workers' and Soldiers' Council
took power briefly in Bayreuth. On 17 February 1919 there was a three-day coup, the so-called Speckputsch, a brief interlude of excitement in the otherwise rather staid town.
In a series of völkisch
and nationalist
"Deutscher Tag" (German Days), the NSDAP organised the event in Bayreuth on September 30, 1923. More than 5.000 military and civilian people gathered (equivalent to 15% of the inhabitants), although Minister of Defence Otto Gessler
had forbidden the participation of Reichswehr
units. Among the guests were mayor Albert Preu as well as Siegfried
and Winifred Wagner
, who invitated keynote speaker Adolf Hitler
to Wahnfried
house. There he met writer Houston Stewart Chamberlain
, son-in-law of Richard Wagner
and anti-semitic race theorist
. Also on that day, Hans Schemm
met Hitler for the first time.
In 1932 the provinces of Upper and Middle Franconia were merged and Ansbach chosen as the seat of government. As a small compensation, Bayreuth was given the merged state insurance agency for Upper and Middle Franconia. Unlike the provincial merger, the merger of those institutions was never reversed.
ideology. In 1933, it was made capital of the Nazi Gau of Bavarian Ostmark (Bayerische Ostmark, in 1943 Gau Bayreuth). Nazi leaders often visited the Wagner festival
and tried to turn Bayreuth into a Nazi model town. It was one of several places in which town planning was administered directly from Berlin, due to Hitler's special interest in the town and in the festival. Hitler loved the music of Richard Wagner, and he became a close friend of Winifred Wagner
after she took over the festival. Hitler frequently attended Wagner performances in the Bayreuth Festival Hall.
Bayreuth was to have received a so-called Gauforum, a combined government building and marching square built to symbolise the centre of power in the town. Bayreuth's first Gauleiter
was Hans Schemm
, who was also the head (Reichswalter) of the National Socialist Teachers League
, NSLB, which was located in Bayreuth. In 1937 the town was connected to the new Reichsautobahn.
Under Nazi dictatorship the synagogue
of the Jewish Community in Münzgasse was desecrated and looted on Kristallnacht
but, due to its proximity to the Opera House it was not razed. Inside the building, which is once again used by a Jewish community as a synagogue, a plaque next to the Torah
Shrine recalls the persecution and murder of Jews in the Shoa
, which at cost the lives of at least 145 Jews in Bayreuth.
During the Second World War a subcamp of the Flossenbürg concentration camp
was based in the town, in which prisoners had to participate in physical experiments for the V2. Wieland Wagner
, the grandson of the composer, Richard Wagner
, was the deputy civilian director there from September 1944 to April 1945. Shortly before the war's end branches of the People's Court (Volksgerichtshof) were to have been set up in Bayreuth.
On 5, 8 and 11 April 1945 about one third of the town, including many public buildings and industrial installations were destroyed by heavy air strikes, along with 4,500 houses. 741 people were also killed. On 14 April, the U.S. Army occupied the town.
s (DP). Most of them came from the Ukraine
. The camp was supervised by the UNRRA
.
The housing situation was very difficult at first: there were about 55,000 inhabitants in the town, many more than before the war began. This increase was primarily due to the high number of refugees and expellees. Even in 1948 more than 11,000 refugees were counted. In addition, because many homes had been destroyed due to the war, thousands of people were living in temporary shelters, even the festival restaurant next to the Festival Hall housed some 500 people.
In 1945, 1,400 men were conscripted by the town council for "essential work" (clean-up work on damaged buildings and the clearing of roads).
But cultural life was also soon back on track: in 1947 Mozart festival weeks were held in the Opera House, from which the Franconian Festival Weeks developed. In 1949 the Festival Hall was used for the first time again and there was a gala concert with the Vienna Philharmonic led by Hans Knappertsbusch
. In 1951, the first post-war Richard Wagner Festival took place under the leadership of Wieland
and Wolfgang Wagner
.
In 1949 Bayreuth became the seat of the government of Upper Franconia again.
After the war a significant number of historic buildings were demolished.
In 1971 the Bavarian State Parliament decided to establish the University of Bayreuth
and, on 3 November 1975, it opened for lectures and research. There are now about 10,000 students in the town.
In May 1972, a serious accident occurred at the folk festival in the town, when an overcrowded carriage derailed and several people were thrown out. Four died and five were injured, some seriously. At that time, it was the worst disaster on a roller coaster since the Second World War.
In 1999 the world gliding championship took place at Bayreuth municipal airport.
The town is best known for its association with the composer Richard Wagner
, who lived in Bayreuth from 1872 until his death in 1883. Wagner's villa, "Wahnfried
", was constructed in Bayreuth under the sponsorship of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, and was converted after World War II into a Wagner Museum. To the north of Bayreuth is the Festival Hall
, an opera house
specially constructed for and exclusively devoted to the performance of Wagner's opera
s. The premieres of the final two works of Wagner's Ring Cycle
("Siegfried
" and "Götterdämmerung
"); the cycle as a whole; and of Parsifal
took place here.
Every summer, Wagner's operas are performed at the Festspielhaus during the month-long Richard Wagner Festival, commonly known as the Bayreuth Festival
. The Festival draws thousands each year, and has persistently been sold out since its inauguration in 1876. Currently, waiting lists for tickets can stretch for 10 years or more.
Owing to Wagner's relationship with the then unknown philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche
, the first Bayreuth festival is cited as a key turning point in Nietzsche's philosophical development. Though at first an enthusiastic champion of Wagner's music, Nietzsche ultimately became hostile, viewing the festival and its revellers as symptom of cultural decay and bourgeois decadence —an event which led him to turn his eye upon the moral values esteemed by society as a whole.
.
, France
, since 1966 Rudolstadt
, Thuringia
, since 1990 La Spezia
, Italy
, since 1999 District 6, Prague
, Czech Republic
, since 2008
Further twinnings with other European towns are planned. Under discussion are Shrewsbury
, United Kingdom, and Tekirdağ
in western Turkey.
There is also a cultural partnership with the state of Burgenland
, Austria
, and a university partnership between the University of Bayreuth and the Washington and Lee University
in Lexington, Virginia
.
from the town of Franzensbad in Okres Cheb.
The Festival Hall
dates to the 19th century and is now used solely for the Bayreuth Festival
. Only works by Richard Wagner
are put on.
The Bayreuth Town House (Stadthaus), likewise, does not have its own ensemble. It is regularly used by the Theater Hof as well as the Tourneetheater.
The only two theatres with their own ensemble are the Studiobühne Bayreuth and amateur dramatic society, Brandenburg Kulturstadl. The venues of the studio theatre in Bayreuth are the domicile of the theatre in the Röntgenstraße, the ruins of the Bayreuth Hermitage and the courtyard of Bayreuth piano manufacturer, Steingraeber & Söhne
.
. On the Königsallee, east of the town centre, is the relatively small Miedel Garden.
The best known park in Bayreuth is that of the 'Eremitage' (Hermitage) in the district of St. Johannis. With a total area of almost 50 hectares it is the largest park in Bayreuth.
Bayreuth has been chosen to host the Bavarian Country Garden Show in 2016. For this reason another park is planned on the Main water meadows between the Volksfestplatz and A 9 motorway.
The oldest surviving cemetery is the Town Cemetery (Stadtfriedhof) with a large number of gravestones of famous people. On the southern edge of the town is the Southern Cemetery (Südfriedhof) and crematorium. The districts of St. Johannis and St. Georgen have their own cemeteries. On Nürnberger Straße, in the east of the town, is an Israeli cemetery.
plays in the Basketball Bundesliga
(division 1), the HaSpo Bayreuth handball team, the footballers of SpVgg Bayreuth
and the volleyball players of BSV Bayreuth each play in their respective Bavarian League. The ice hockey team, EHC Bayreuth, has also just entered the Bavarian League.
Bayreuth had its sporting heyday in the late 1980s and early 90s. The basketball team, Steiner Bayreuth, were twice German Cup winners (1987/1988 and 1988/1989) and in the 1988/1989 season they also won the German championship. The hockey team of Bayreuth's swimming club (SCC) was twice champions of Second Division South and also played for a year in the Hockey League. At the time that the table tennis
team of Steiner Bayreuth was also first class (since 1983 2nd Division, in 1984/85, 1986/87 and 1987/88 1st Division, 1988 relegated and the team has played for many years in the 2nd Football Division. The table tennis players of the 1. Bayreuth FC played in the 1st Division from 1994 to 1997.
In 1999 the World Glider
Championships took place in Bayreuth.
Federal roads (Bundesstraßen):
(Hauptbahnhof) railway lines run north to Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg, and from there to Bamberg and over the Schiefe Ebene
to Hof, east to Weidenberg
, southeast to Weiden and south to Schnabelwaid with connexions to Nuremberg
on the Pegnitz Valley Railway. The lines around Bayreuth are all single-tracked and non-electrified.
Since 23 May 1992 tilting
diesel multiple units of Class 610
have worked the last-named route. These were bought by the former Deutsche Bundesbahn
specifically for the winding track. Since the 2006/2007 timetable change, Bayreuth has no longer been connected to the DB's long-distance network.
The Franken-Sachsen-Express still provides a direct connexion to Dresden, however, and since December 2007 even every two hours. The technology used for this is the Class 612
diesel multiple set. There are also Regional Express links via Lichtenfels
to Bamberg
and Würzburg
, and via Lichtenfels and Kronach
to Saalfeld.
Regional rail is operated by the Omnibusverkehr Franken. From 1 January 2010 public transport from the town and district of Bayreuth was integrated into the Nuremberg Regional Transport Network (Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg).
network. In the centre of Bayreuth itself, cycling is fairly straightforward due to the relatively flat topography
, something which encourages the use bicycles as an everyday means of transport. Because of the proximity of the 600 kilometre long Main Cycle Path, Bayreuth is also a destination for many tourist cycle routes.
Because of the long service intervals of the Bayreuth town bus system and its long overnight pause, students use bicycles as their everyday mode of transport.
Bicycles may be carried for a fee on DB Regio
trains leaving Bayreuth and in the VGN's buses.
The airfield at Bindlacher Berg is also one of the most important bases for gliding in Germany. For example, the World Championships took place here in 1999. For the air sports community in Bayreuth, the airport is a departure point for glider flights taking part in the national Bundesliga competition league. The local gliding club also provides instruction in flying gliders and light aircraft.
See also: Bayreuth Airport.
Bayreuth (baɪˈʁɔʏt; ba(ː)ˈɾaɪ̯t; beɪˈruːθ) is a sizeable town in northern Bavaria
, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura
and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194 and it is nowadays the capital of Upper Franconia
with a population of 72,576 (2009). It is world-famous for its annual Bayreuth Festival
at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner
are presented.
probably around the mid-12th century, but was first mentioned in 1194 as Baierrute in a document by Bishop Otto II of Bamberg. The syllable -rute may mean Rodung or "clearing", whilst Baier- indicates immigrants from the Bavarian region.
Already documented earlier, were villages later merged into Bayreuth: Seulbitz (in 1035 as the royal Salian
estate of Silewize in a document by Emperor Conrad II
) and St. Johannis (possibly 1149 as Altentrebgast). Even the district of Altstadt (formerly Altenstadt) west of the town centre must be older than the town of Bayreuth itself. Even older traces of human presence were found in the hamlets of Meyernberg: pieces of pottery and wooden crockery were dated to the 9th century based on their decoration.
While Bayreuth was previously (1199) referred to as a villa (village), the term civitas ("town") appeared for the first time in a document published in 1231. One can therefore assume that Bayreuth was awarded its town charter between 1200 and 1230. The town was ruled until 1248 by the counts of Andechs-Merania. After they died out in 1260 the burgraves of Nuremberg from the House of Hohenzollern
took over the inheritance. Initially, however, their residence and the centre of the territory was the castle of Plassenburg
in Kulmbach
. The town of Bayreuth developed slowly and was affected time and again by disasters.
As early as 1361 Emperor Charles IV
had conferred on Burgrave Frederick V the right to mint coins for the towns of Bayreuth and Kulmbach.
Bayreuth was first published on a map in 1421.
In February 1430, the Hussites devastated Bayreuth and the town hall and churches were razed. Matthäus Merian
described this event in 1642 as follows:"In 1430 the Hussites from Bohemia attacked / Culmbach and Barreut / and committed great acts of cruelty / like wild animals / against the common people / and certain individuals. / The priests / monks and nuns they either burnt at the stake / or took them onto the ice of lakes and rivers / (in Franconia and Bavaria) and doused them with cold water / and killed them in a deplorable way / as Boreck reported in the Bohemian Chronicle, page 450"((Source: Frühwald (Hg.): Fränkische Städte und Burgen um 1650 based on texts and engravings by Merian, Sennfeld 1991.)
By 1528, less than ten years after the start of the Reformation, the lords of the Frankish margrave territories switched to the Lutheran
faith.
In 1605 a great fire, caused by negligence, destroyed 137 of the town's 251 houses. In 1620 plague broke out and, in 1621, there was another big fire in the town. The town also suffered during the Thirty Years War.
A turning point in the town's history came in 1603 when Margrave Christian, the son of the elector, John George of Brandenburg, moved the aristocratic residence from the castle of Plassenburg above Kulmbach to Bayreuth. The first Hohenzollern palace was built in 1440-1457 under Margrave John the Alchemist. It was the forerunner of today's Old Palace (Altes Schloss) and was expanded and renovated many times. The development of the new capital stagnated due to the Thirty Years' War
, but afterwards many famous baroque
buildings were added to the town. After Christian's death in 1655 his grandson, Christian Ernest, followed him, ruling from 1661 until 1712. He was an educated and well-travelled man, whose tutor had been the statesman Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal
. He founded the Christian-Ernestinum Grammar School and, in 1683, participated in the liberation of Vienna
which had been besieged by the Turks. To commemorate this feat, he had the Margrave Fountain built as a monument on which he is depicted as the victor of the Turks; it now stands outside the New Palace (Neues Schloss). During this time, the outer ring of the town wall and the castle chapel (Schlosskirche) were built.
His successor, the Crown Prince and later Margrave, George William, began in 1701 to establish the then independent town of St. Georgen am See (today, the district of St. Georgen) with its castle, the so-called Ordensschloss, a town hall, a prison and a small barracks. In 1705 he founded the Order of Sincerity (Ordre de la Sincérité
), which was renamed in 1734 to the Order of the Red Eagle
and had the monastery church built, which was completed in 1711. In 1716 a princely porcelain
factory was established in St. Georgen.
The first 'castle' in the park of the Hermitage
was built at this time by Margrave George William (1715–1719).
In 1721 the town council acquired the palace of Baroness Sponheim (today's Old Town Hall or Altes Rathaus) as a replacement for the town hall built in 1440 in the middle of the market place and destroyed by fire.
In 1735 a nursing home, the so-called Gravenreuth
Stift, was founded by a private foundation in St. Georgen. The cost of the building exceeded the funds of the foundation, but Margrave Frederick came to their aid.
Bayreuth experienced its Golden Age during the reign (1735–1763) of Margrave Frederick and Margravine Wilhelmina of Bayreuth, the favourite sister of Frederick the Great
. During this time, under the direction of court architects, Joseph Saint-Pierre and Carl von Gontard
, numerous courtly buildings and attractions were created: the Margravial Opera House with its richly furnished baroque theatre (1744–1748), the New 'Castle' and Sun Temple (1749–1753) at the Hermitage, the New Palace with its courtyard garden (1754 ff) to replace the Old Palace which had burned down through the carelessness of the margrave, and the magnificent row of buildings in today's Friedrichstraße. There was even a unique version of the rococo
architectural style, the so-called Bayreuth Rococo which characterised the aforementioned buildings, especially their interior design.
The old, sombre gatehouses were demolished because they impeded transport and were an outmoded form of defence. The walls were built over in places. Margrave Frederick successfully kept his principality out of the wars being waged by his brother-in-law, Frederick the Great, at this time, and, as a result, brought a time of peace to the Frankish kingdom.
1742 saw the founding of the Frederick Academy, which was became a university in 1743, but was moved that same year to Erlangen
after serious riots because of the adverse reaction of the population. The university has remained there to the present today. From 1756 to 1763 there was also an Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Roman Catholics were given the right to set up a prayer room and Jewish families settled here again. In 1760 the synagogue was opened and in 1787 the Jewish cemetery was dedicated.
Countess Wilhelmina died in 1758 and, although, Margrave Frederick married again, the marriage was only short-lived and without issue. After his death in 1763, many artists and craftsmen migrated to Berlin and Potsdam, to work for King Frederick the Great, because Frederick's successor, Margrave Frederick Christian had little understanding of art. He also lacked the means due to the elaborate lifestyle of his predecessor, because the buildings and the salaries of the mainly foreign artists had swallowed up a lot of money. For example the court - which under George Frederick Charles had comprised around 140 people - had grown to about 600 employees by the end of the reign of Margrave Frederick. By 1769 the principality was close to bankruptcy.
In 1769 Margrave Charles Alexander, from the Ansbach line of Frankish Hohenzollerns, followed the childless Frederick Christian and Bayreuth was reduced to a secondary residence. Charles Alexander continued to live in Ansbach and rarely came to Bayreuth.
In 1775 the Brandenburg Pond (Brandenburger Weiher) in St.Georgen was drained.
Following the abdication of the last Margrave, Charles Alexander, from the principalities of Ansbach
and Bayreuth on 2 December 1791 its territories became part of a Prussian province. The Prussian Minister Karl August von Hardenberg
took over its administration at the beginning of 1792.
The town centre still possesses the typical structure of a Bavarian street market: the settlement is grouped around a road widening into a square; the Town Hall was located in the middle. The church stood apart from it and on a small hill stood the castle. Some sixty years later the town (at that time a tiny village) became subordinate to the Hohenzollern state, and when this state was divided, Bayreuth ended up in the county of Kulmbach
.
moved from Coburg
to Bayreuth, where he lived until his death in 1825.
The rule of the Hohenzollerns over the Principality of Kulmbach-Bayreuth ended in 1806 after the defeat of Prussia by Napoleonic France. During the French occupation from 1806 to 1810 Bayreuth was treated as a province of the French Empire and had to pay high war contributions. It was placed under the administration of Comte Camille de Tournon, who wrote a detailed inventory of the former Principality of Bayreuth. On 30 June 1810 the French army handed over the former principality to the what was now the Kingdom of Bavaria
, which it had bought from Napoleon for 15 million francs.
Bayreuth became the capital of the Bavarian district of Mainkreis, which later transferred into Obermainkreis and was finally renamed as the province of Upper Franconia
.
As Bavaria was opened up by the railways, the main line from Nuremberg to Hof went past Bayreuth, running via Lichtenfels, Kulmbach and Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg to Hof. Bayreuth was first given a railway connexion in 1853, when the Bayreuth–Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg railway was built at the town's expense. It was followed in 1863 by the line to Weiden, in 1877 by the railway to Schnabelwaid, in 1896 by the branch line to Warmensteinach
, in 1904 by the branch to Hollfeld
and in 1909 by the branch via Thurnau to Kulmbach
, known as the Thurnauer Bockala (which means something like "Thurnau Goat").
On 17 April 1870 Richard Wagner
visited Bayreuth, because he had read about the Margrave Opera House, whose great stage seemed fitting for his works. However, the orchestra pit could not accommodate the large number of musicians required, for example, for the Ring of the Nibelung and the ambience of the auditorium seemed inappropriate for his piece, The Artwork of the Future
(Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft). So, he toyed with the idea of building his own festival hall (the Festspielhaus) in Bayreuth. The town supported him in this project and made a piece of land available to him, an undeveloped area outside the town between the railway station and Hohe Warte, the Grüner Hügel ("Green Hill"). At the same time Wagner acquired a property at Hofgarten to build his own house, Wahnfried
. On 22 May 1872 the cornerstone for the Festival Hall was laid and, on 13 August 1876, it was officially opened (see Bayreuth Festival
). Planning and construction were in the hands of the Leipzig architect, Otto Brückwald, who had already made a name for himself in the building of theatres in Leipzig and Altenburg.
In 1886, the composer Franz Liszt
died in Bayreuth while visiting his daughter Cosima Liszt, Wagner's widow. Both Liszt and Wagner are buried in Bayreuth; however Wagner did not die there. Rather he died in Venice
in 1883, but his family had his body brought to Bayreuth for burial.
In 1914-15, one section of the northern arm of the Red Main was straightened and widened after areas along the river had been flooded during a period of high water in 1909.
After the First World War had ended in 1918, the Workers' and Soldiers' Council
took power briefly in Bayreuth. On 17 February 1919 there was a three-day coup, the so-called Speckputsch, a brief interlude of excitement in the otherwise rather staid town.
In a series of völkisch
and nationalist
"Deutscher Tag" (German Days), the NSDAP organised the event in Bayreuth on September 30, 1923. More than 5.000 military and civilian people gathered (equivalent to 15% of the inhabitants), although Minister of Defence Otto Gessler
had forbidden the participation of Reichswehr
units. Among the guests were mayor Albert Preu as well as Siegfried
and Winifred Wagner
, who invitated keynote speaker Adolf Hitler
to Wahnfried
house. There he met writer Houston Stewart Chamberlain
, son-in-law of Richard Wagner
and anti-semitic race theorist
. Also on that day, Hans Schemm
met Hitler for the first time.
In 1932 the provinces of Upper and Middle Franconia were merged and Ansbach chosen as the seat of government. As a small compensation, Bayreuth was given the merged state insurance agency for Upper and Middle Franconia. Unlike the provincial merger, the merger of those institutions was never reversed.
ideology. In 1933, it was made capital of the Nazi Gau of Bavarian Ostmark (Bayerische Ostmark, in 1943 Gau Bayreuth). Nazi leaders often visited the Wagner festival
and tried to turn Bayreuth into a Nazi model town. It was one of several places in which town planning was administered directly from Berlin, due to Hitler's special interest in the town and in the festival. Hitler loved the music of Richard Wagner, and he became a close friend of Winifred Wagner
after she took over the festival. Hitler frequently attended Wagner performances in the Bayreuth Festival Hall.
Bayreuth was to have received a so-called Gauforum, a combined government building and marching square built to symbolise the centre of power in the town. Bayreuth's first Gauleiter
was Hans Schemm
, who was also the head (Reichswalter) of the National Socialist Teachers League
, NSLB, which was located in Bayreuth. In 1937 the town was connected to the new Reichsautobahn.
Under Nazi dictatorship the synagogue
of the Jewish Community in Münzgasse was desecrated and looted on Kristallnacht
but, due to its proximity to the Opera House it was not razed. Inside the building, which is once again used by a Jewish community as a synagogue, a plaque next to the Torah
Shrine recalls the persecution and murder of Jews in the Shoa
, which at cost the lives of at least 145 Jews in Bayreuth.
During the Second World War a subcamp of the Flossenbürg concentration camp
was based in the town, in which prisoners had to participate in physical experiments for the V2. Wieland Wagner
, the grandson of the composer, Richard Wagner
, was the deputy civilian director there from September 1944 to April 1945. Shortly before the war's end branches of the People's Court (Volksgerichtshof) were to have been set up in Bayreuth.
On 5, 8 and 11 April 1945 about one third of the town, including many public buildings and industrial installations were destroyed by heavy air strikes, along with 4,500 houses. 741 people were also killed. On 14 April, the U.S. Army occupied the town.
s (DP). Most of them came from the Ukraine
. The camp was supervised by the UNRRA
.
The housing situation was very difficult at first: there were about 55,000 inhabitants in the town, many more than before the war began. This increase was primarily due to the high number of refugees and expellees. Even in 1948 more than 11,000 refugees were counted. In addition, because many homes had been destroyed due to the war, thousands of people were living in temporary shelters, even the festival restaurant next to the Festival Hall housed some 500 people.
In 1945, 1,400 men were conscripted by the town council for "essential work" (clean-up work on damaged buildings and the clearing of roads).
But cultural life was also soon back on track: in 1947 Mozart festival weeks were held in the Opera House, from which the Franconian Festival Weeks developed. In 1949 the Festival Hall was used for the first time again and there was a gala concert with the Vienna Philharmonic led by Hans Knappertsbusch
. In 1951, the first post-war Richard Wagner Festival took place under the leadership of Wieland
and Wolfgang Wagner
.
In 1949 Bayreuth became the seat of the government of Upper Franconia again.
After the war a significant number of historic buildings were demolished.
In 1971 the Bavarian State Parliament decided to establish the University of Bayreuth
and, on 3 November 1975, it opened for lectures and research. There are now about 10,000 students in the town.
In May 1972, a serious accident occurred at the folk festival in the town, when an overcrowded carriage derailed and several people were thrown out. Four died and five were injured, some seriously. At that time, it was the worst disaster on a roller coaster since the Second World War.
In 1999 the world gliding championship took place at Bayreuth municipal airport.
The town is best known for its association with the composer Richard Wagner
, who lived in Bayreuth from 1872 until his death in 1883. Wagner's villa, "Wahnfried
", was constructed in Bayreuth under the sponsorship of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, and was converted after World War II into a Wagner Museum. To the north of Bayreuth is the Festival Hall
, an opera house
specially constructed for and exclusively devoted to the performance of Wagner's opera
s. The premieres of the final two works of Wagner's Ring Cycle
("Siegfried
" and "Götterdämmerung
"); the cycle as a whole; and of Parsifal
took place here.
Every summer, Wagner's operas are performed at the Festspielhaus during the month-long Richard Wagner Festival, commonly known as the Bayreuth Festival
. The Festival draws thousands each year, and has persistently been sold out since its inauguration in 1876. Currently, waiting lists for tickets can stretch for 10 years or more.
Owing to Wagner's relationship with the then unknown philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche
, the first Bayreuth festival is cited as a key turning point in Nietzsche's philosophical development. Though at first an enthusiastic champion of Wagner's music, Nietzsche ultimately became hostile, viewing the festival and its revellers as symptom of cultural decay and bourgeois decadence —an event which led him to turn his eye upon the moral values esteemed by society as a whole.
.
, France
, since 1966 Rudolstadt
, Thuringia
, since 1990 La Spezia
, Italy
, since 1999 District 6, Prague
, Czech Republic
, since 2008
Further twinnings with other European towns are planned. Under discussion are Shrewsbury
, United Kingdom, and Tekirdağ
in western Turkey.
There is also a cultural partnership with the state of Burgenland
, Austria
, and a university partnership between the University of Bayreuth and the Washington and Lee University
in Lexington, Virginia
.
from the town of Franzensbad in Okres Cheb.
The Festival Hall
dates to the 19th century and is now used solely for the Bayreuth Festival
. Only works by Richard Wagner
are put on.
The Bayreuth Town House (Stadthaus), likewise, does not have its own ensemble. It is regularly used by the Theater Hof as well as the Tourneetheater.
The only two theatres with their own ensemble are the Studiobühne Bayreuth and amateur dramatic society, Brandenburg Kulturstadl. The venues of the studio theatre in Bayreuth are the domicile of the theatre in the Röntgenstraße, the ruins of the Bayreuth Hermitage and the courtyard of Bayreuth piano manufacturer, Steingraeber & Söhne
.
. On the Königsallee, east of the town centre, is the relatively small Miedel Garden.
The best known park in Bayreuth is that of the 'Eremitage' (Hermitage) in the district of St. Johannis. With a total area of almost 50 hectares it is the largest park in Bayreuth.
Bayreuth has been chosen to host the Bavarian Country Garden Show in 2016. For this reason another park is planned on the Main water meadows between the Volksfestplatz and A 9 motorway.
The oldest surviving cemetery is the Town Cemetery (Stadtfriedhof) with a large number of gravestones of famous people. On the southern edge of the town is the Southern Cemetery (Südfriedhof) and crematorium. The districts of St. Johannis and St. Georgen have their own cemeteries. On Nürnberger Straße, in the east of the town, is an Israeli cemetery.
plays in the Basketball Bundesliga
(division 1), the HaSpo Bayreuth handball team, the footballers of SpVgg Bayreuth
and the volleyball players of BSV Bayreuth each play in their respective Bavarian League. The ice hockey team, EHC Bayreuth, has also just entered the Bavarian League.
Bayreuth had its sporting heyday in the late 1980s and early 90s. The basketball team, Steiner Bayreuth, were twice German Cup winners (1987/1988 and 1988/1989) and in the 1988/1989 season they also won the German championship. The hockey team of Bayreuth's swimming club (SCC) was twice champions of Second Division South and also played for a year in the Hockey League. At the time that the table tennis
team of Steiner Bayreuth was also first class (since 1983 2nd Division, in 1984/85, 1986/87 and 1987/88 1st Division, 1988 relegated and the team has played for many years in the 2nd Football Division. The table tennis players of the 1. Bayreuth FC played in the 1st Division from 1994 to 1997.
In 1999 the World Glider
Championships took place in Bayreuth.
Federal roads (Bundesstraßen):
(Hauptbahnhof) railway lines run north to Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg, and from there to Bamberg and over the Schiefe Ebene
to Hof, east to Weidenberg
, southeast to Weiden and south to Schnabelwaid with connexions to Nuremberg
on the Pegnitz Valley Railway. The lines around Bayreuth are all single-tracked and non-electrified.
Since 23 May 1992 tilting
diesel multiple units of Class 610
have worked the last-named route. These were bought by the former Deutsche Bundesbahn
specifically for the winding track. Since the 2006/2007 timetable change, Bayreuth has no longer been connected to the DB's long-distance network.
The Franken-Sachsen-Express still provides a direct connexion to Dresden, however, and since December 2007 even every two hours. The technology used for this is the Class 612
diesel multiple set. There are also Regional Express links via Lichtenfels
to Bamberg
and Würzburg
, and via Lichtenfels and Kronach
to Saalfeld.
Regional rail is operated by the Omnibusverkehr Franken. From 1 January 2010 public transport from the town and district of Bayreuth was integrated into the Nuremberg Regional Transport Network (Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg).
network. In the centre of Bayreuth itself, cycling is fairly straightforward due to the relatively flat topography
, something which encourages the use bicycles as an everyday means of transport. Because of the proximity of the 600 kilometre long Main Cycle Path, Bayreuth is also a destination for many tourist cycle routes.
Because of the long service intervals of the Bayreuth town bus system and its long overnight pause, students use bicycles as their everyday mode of transport.
Bicycles may be carried for a fee on DB Regio
trains leaving Bayreuth and in the VGN's buses.
The airfield at Bindlacher Berg is also one of the most important bases for gliding in Germany. For example, the World Championships took place here in 1999. For the air sports community in Bayreuth, the airport is a departure point for glider flights taking part in the national Bundesliga competition league. The local gliding club also provides instruction in flying gliders and light aircraft.
See also: Bayreuth Airport.
Bayreuth (baɪˈʁɔʏt; ba(ː)ˈɾaɪ̯t; beɪˈruːθ) is a sizeable town in northern Bavaria
, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura
and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194 and it is nowadays the capital of Upper Franconia
with a population of 72,576 (2009). It is world-famous for its annual Bayreuth Festival
at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner
are presented.
probably around the mid-12th century, but was first mentioned in 1194 as Baierrute in a document by Bishop Otto II of Bamberg. The syllable -rute may mean Rodung or "clearing", whilst Baier- indicates immigrants from the Bavarian region.
Already documented earlier, were villages later merged into Bayreuth: Seulbitz (in 1035 as the royal Salian
estate of Silewize in a document by Emperor Conrad II
) and St. Johannis (possibly 1149 as Altentrebgast). Even the district of Altstadt (formerly Altenstadt) west of the town centre must be older than the town of Bayreuth itself. Even older traces of human presence were found in the hamlets of Meyernberg: pieces of pottery and wooden crockery were dated to the 9th century based on their decoration.
While Bayreuth was previously (1199) referred to as a villa (village), the term civitas ("town") appeared for the first time in a document published in 1231. One can therefore assume that Bayreuth was awarded its town charter between 1200 and 1230. The town was ruled until 1248 by the counts of Andechs-Merania. After they died out in 1260 the burgraves of Nuremberg from the House of Hohenzollern
took over the inheritance. Initially, however, their residence and the centre of the territory was the castle of Plassenburg
in Kulmbach
. The town of Bayreuth developed slowly and was affected time and again by disasters.
As early as 1361 Emperor Charles IV
had conferred on Burgrave Frederick V the right to mint coins for the towns of Bayreuth and Kulmbach.
Bayreuth was first published on a map in 1421.
In February 1430, the Hussites devastated Bayreuth and the town hall and churches were razed. Matthäus Merian
described this event in 1642 as follows:"In 1430 the Hussites from Bohemia attacked / Culmbach and Barreut / and committed great acts of cruelty / like wild animals / against the common people / and certain individuals. / The priests / monks and nuns they either burnt at the stake / or took them onto the ice of lakes and rivers / (in Franconia and Bavaria) and doused them with cold water / and killed them in a deplorable way / as Boreck reported in the Bohemian Chronicle, page 450"((Source: Frühwald (Hg.): Fränkische Städte und Burgen um 1650 based on texts and engravings by Merian, Sennfeld 1991.)
By 1528, less than ten years after the start of the Reformation, the lords of the Frankish margrave territories switched to the Lutheran
faith.
In 1605 a great fire, caused by negligence, destroyed 137 of the town's 251 houses. In 1620 plague broke out and, in 1621, there was another big fire in the town. The town also suffered during the Thirty Years War.
A turning point in the town's history came in 1603 when Margrave Christian, the son of the elector, John George of Brandenburg, moved the aristocratic residence from the castle of Plassenburg above Kulmbach to Bayreuth. The first Hohenzollern palace was built in 1440-1457 under Margrave John the Alchemist. It was the forerunner of today's Old Palace (Altes Schloss) and was expanded and renovated many times. The development of the new capital stagnated due to the Thirty Years' War
, but afterwards many famous baroque
buildings were added to the town. After Christian's death in 1655 his grandson, Christian Ernest, followed him, ruling from 1661 until 1712. He was an educated and well-travelled man, whose tutor had been the statesman Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal
. He founded the Christian-Ernestinum Grammar School and, in 1683, participated in the liberation of Vienna
which had been besieged by the Turks. To commemorate this feat, he had the Margrave Fountain built as a monument on which he is depicted as the victor of the Turks; it now stands outside the New Palace (Neues Schloss). During this time, the outer ring of the town wall and the castle chapel (Schlosskirche) were built.
His successor, the Crown Prince and later Margrave, George William, began in 1701 to establish the then independent town of St. Georgen am See (today, the district of St. Georgen) with its castle, the so-called Ordensschloss, a town hall, a prison and a small barracks. In 1705 he founded the Order of Sincerity (Ordre de la Sincérité
), which was renamed in 1734 to the Order of the Red Eagle
and had the monastery church built, which was completed in 1711. In 1716 a princely porcelain
factory was established in St. Georgen.
The first 'castle' in the park of the Hermitage
was built at this time by Margrave George William (1715–1719).
In 1721 the town council acquired the palace of Baroness Sponheim (today's Old Town Hall or Altes Rathaus) as a replacement for the town hall built in 1440 in the middle of the market place and destroyed by fire.
In 1735 a nursing home, the so-called Gravenreuth
Stift, was founded by a private foundation in St. Georgen. The cost of the building exceeded the funds of the foundation, but Margrave Frederick came to their aid.
Bayreuth experienced its Golden Age during the reign (1735–1763) of Margrave Frederick and Margravine Wilhelmina of Bayreuth, the favourite sister of Frederick the Great
. During this time, under the direction of court architects, Joseph Saint-Pierre and Carl von Gontard
, numerous courtly buildings and attractions were created: the Margravial Opera House with its richly furnished baroque theatre (1744–1748), the New 'Castle' and Sun Temple (1749–1753) at the Hermitage, the New Palace with its courtyard garden (1754 ff) to replace the Old Palace which had burned down through the carelessness of the margrave, and the magnificent row of buildings in today's Friedrichstraße. There was even a unique version of the rococo
architectural style, the so-called Bayreuth Rococo which characterised the aforementioned buildings, especially their interior design.
The old, sombre gatehouses were demolished because they impeded transport and were an outmoded form of defence. The walls were built over in places. Margrave Frederick successfully kept his principality out of the wars being waged by his brother-in-law, Frederick the Great, at this time, and, as a result, brought a time of peace to the Frankish kingdom.
1742 saw the founding of the Frederick Academy, which was became a university in 1743, but was moved that same year to Erlangen
after serious riots because of the adverse reaction of the population. The university has remained there to the present today. From 1756 to 1763 there was also an Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Roman Catholics were given the right to set up a prayer room and Jewish families settled here again. In 1760 the synagogue was opened and in 1787 the Jewish cemetery was dedicated.
Countess Wilhelmina died in 1758 and, although, Margrave Frederick married again, the marriage was only short-lived and without issue. After his death in 1763, many artists and craftsmen migrated to Berlin and Potsdam, to work for King Frederick the Great, because Frederick's successor, Margrave Frederick Christian had little understanding of art. He also lacked the means due to the elaborate lifestyle of his predecessor, because the buildings and the salaries of the mainly foreign artists had swallowed up a lot of money. For example the court - which under George Frederick Charles had comprised around 140 people - had grown to about 600 employees by the end of the reign of Margrave Frederick. By 1769 the principality was close to bankruptcy.
In 1769 Margrave Charles Alexander, from the Ansbach line of Frankish Hohenzollerns, followed the childless Frederick Christian and Bayreuth was reduced to a secondary residence. Charles Alexander continued to live in Ansbach and rarely came to Bayreuth.
In 1775 the Brandenburg Pond (Brandenburger Weiher) in St.Georgen was drained.
Following the abdication of the last Margrave, Charles Alexander, from the principalities of Ansbach
and Bayreuth on 2 December 1791 its territories became part of a Prussian province. The Prussian Minister Karl August von Hardenberg
took over its administration at the beginning of 1792.
The town centre still possesses the typical structure of a Bavarian street market: the settlement is grouped around a road widening into a square; the Town Hall was located in the middle. The church stood apart from it and on a small hill stood the castle. Some sixty years later the town (at that time a tiny village) became subordinate to the Hohenzollern state, and when this state was divided, Bayreuth ended up in the county of Kulmbach
.
moved from Coburg
to Bayreuth, where he lived until his death in 1825.
The rule of the Hohenzollerns over the Principality of Kulmbach-Bayreuth ended in 1806 after the defeat of Prussia by Napoleonic France. During the French occupation from 1806 to 1810 Bayreuth was treated as a province of the French Empire and had to pay high war contributions. It was placed under the administration of Comte Camille de Tournon, who wrote a detailed inventory of the former Principality of Bayreuth. On 30 June 1810 the French army handed over the former principality to the what was now the Kingdom of Bavaria
, which it had bought from Napoleon for 15 million francs.
Bayreuth became the capital of the Bavarian district of Mainkreis, which later transferred into Obermainkreis and was finally renamed as the province of Upper Franconia
.
As Bavaria was opened up by the railways, the main line from Nuremberg to Hof went past Bayreuth, running via Lichtenfels, Kulmbach and Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg to Hof. Bayreuth was first given a railway connexion in 1853, when the Bayreuth–Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg railway was built at the town's expense. It was followed in 1863 by the line to Weiden, in 1877 by the railway to Schnabelwaid, in 1896 by the branch line to Warmensteinach
, in 1904 by the branch to Hollfeld
and in 1909 by the branch via Thurnau to Kulmbach
, known as the Thurnauer Bockala (which means something like "Thurnau Goat").
On 17 April 1870 Richard Wagner
visited Bayreuth, because he had read about the Margrave Opera House, whose great stage seemed fitting for his works. However, the orchestra pit could not accommodate the large number of musicians required, for example, for the Ring of the Nibelung and the ambience of the auditorium seemed inappropriate for his piece, The Artwork of the Future
(Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft). So, he toyed with the idea of building his own festival hall (the Festspielhaus) in Bayreuth. The town supported him in this project and made a piece of land available to him, an undeveloped area outside the town between the railway station and Hohe Warte, the Grüner Hügel ("Green Hill"). At the same time Wagner acquired a property at Hofgarten to build his own house, Wahnfried
. On 22 May 1872 the cornerstone for the Festival Hall was laid and, on 13 August 1876, it was officially opened (see Bayreuth Festival
). Planning and construction were in the hands of the Leipzig architect, Otto Brückwald, who had already made a name for himself in the building of theatres in Leipzig and Altenburg.
In 1886, the composer Franz Liszt
died in Bayreuth while visiting his daughter Cosima Liszt, Wagner's widow. Both Liszt and Wagner are buried in Bayreuth; however Wagner did not die there. Rather he died in Venice
in 1883, but his family had his body brought to Bayreuth for burial.
In 1914-15, one section of the northern arm of the Red Main was straightened and widened after areas along the river had been flooded during a period of high water in 1909.
After the First World War had ended in 1918, the Workers' and Soldiers' Council
took power briefly in Bayreuth. On 17 February 1919 there was a three-day coup, the so-called Speckputsch, a brief interlude of excitement in the otherwise rather staid town.
In a series of völkisch
and nationalist
"Deutscher Tag" (German Days), the NSDAP organised the event in Bayreuth on September 30, 1923. More than 5.000 military and civilian people gathered (equivalent to 15% of the inhabitants), although Minister of Defence Otto Gessler
had forbidden the participation of Reichswehr
units. Among the guests were mayor Albert Preu as well as Siegfried
and Winifred Wagner
, who invitated keynote speaker Adolf Hitler
to Wahnfried
house. There he met writer Houston Stewart Chamberlain
, son-in-law of Richard Wagner
and anti-semitic race theorist
. Also on that day, Hans Schemm
met Hitler for the first time.
In 1932 the provinces of Upper and Middle Franconia were merged and Ansbach chosen as the seat of government. As a small compensation, Bayreuth was given the merged state insurance agency for Upper and Middle Franconia. Unlike the provincial merger, the merger of those institutions was never reversed.
ideology. In 1933, it was made capital of the Nazi Gau of Bavarian Ostmark (Bayerische Ostmark, in 1943 Gau Bayreuth). Nazi leaders often visited the Wagner festival
and tried to turn Bayreuth into a Nazi model town. It was one of several places in which town planning was administered directly from Berlin, due to Hitler's special interest in the town and in the festival. Hitler loved the music of Richard Wagner, and he became a close friend of Winifred Wagner
after she took over the festival. Hitler frequently attended Wagner performances in the Bayreuth Festival Hall.
Bayreuth was to have received a so-called Gauforum, a combined government building and marching square built to symbolise the centre of power in the town. Bayreuth's first Gauleiter
was Hans Schemm
, who was also the head (Reichswalter) of the National Socialist Teachers League
, NSLB, which was located in Bayreuth. In 1937 the town was connected to the new Reichsautobahn.
Under Nazi dictatorship the synagogue
of the Jewish Community in Münzgasse was desecrated and looted on Kristallnacht
but, due to its proximity to the Opera House it was not razed. Inside the building, which is once again used by a Jewish community as a synagogue, a plaque next to the Torah
Shrine recalls the persecution and murder of Jews in the Shoa
, which at cost the lives of at least 145 Jews in Bayreuth.
During the Second World War a subcamp of the Flossenbürg concentration camp
was based in the town, in which prisoners had to participate in physical experiments for the V2. Wieland Wagner
, the grandson of the composer, Richard Wagner
, was the deputy civilian director there from September 1944 to April 1945. Shortly before the war's end branches of the People's Court (Volksgerichtshof) were to have been set up in Bayreuth.
On 5, 8 and 11 April 1945 about one third of the town, including many public buildings and industrial installations were destroyed by heavy air strikes, along with 4,500 houses. 741 people were also killed. On 14 April, the U.S. Army occupied the town.
s (DP). Most of them came from the Ukraine
. The camp was supervised by the UNRRA
.
The housing situation was very difficult at first: there were about 55,000 inhabitants in the town, many more than before the war began. This increase was primarily due to the high number of refugees and expellees. Even in 1948 more than 11,000 refugees were counted. In addition, because many homes had been destroyed due to the war, thousands of people were living in temporary shelters, even the festival restaurant next to the Festival Hall housed some 500 people.
In 1945, 1,400 men were conscripted by the town council for "essential work" (clean-up work on damaged buildings and the clearing of roads).
But cultural life was also soon back on track: in 1947 Mozart festival weeks were held in the Opera House, from which the Franconian Festival Weeks developed. In 1949 the Festival Hall was used for the first time again and there was a gala concert with the Vienna Philharmonic led by Hans Knappertsbusch
. In 1951, the first post-war Richard Wagner Festival took place under the leadership of Wieland
and Wolfgang Wagner
.
In 1949 Bayreuth became the seat of the government of Upper Franconia again.
After the war a significant number of historic buildings were demolished.
In 1971 the Bavarian State Parliament decided to establish the University of Bayreuth
and, on 3 November 1975, it opened for lectures and research. There are now about 10,000 students in the town.
In May 1972, a serious accident occurred at the folk festival in the town, when an overcrowded carriage derailed and several people were thrown out. Four died and five were injured, some seriously. At that time, it was the worst disaster on a roller coaster since the Second World War.
In 1999 the world gliding championship took place at Bayreuth municipal airport.
The town is best known for its association with the composer Richard Wagner
, who lived in Bayreuth from 1872 until his death in 1883. Wagner's villa, "Wahnfried
", was constructed in Bayreuth under the sponsorship of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, and was converted after World War II into a Wagner Museum. To the north of Bayreuth is the Festival Hall
, an opera house
specially constructed for and exclusively devoted to the performance of Wagner's opera
s. The premieres of the final two works of Wagner's Ring Cycle
("Siegfried
" and "Götterdämmerung
"); the cycle as a whole; and of Parsifal
took place here.
Every summer, Wagner's operas are performed at the Festspielhaus during the month-long Richard Wagner Festival, commonly known as the Bayreuth Festival
. The Festival draws thousands each year, and has persistently been sold out since its inauguration in 1876. Currently, waiting lists for tickets can stretch for 10 years or more.
Owing to Wagner's relationship with the then unknown philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche
, the first Bayreuth festival is cited as a key turning point in Nietzsche's philosophical development. Though at first an enthusiastic champion of Wagner's music, Nietzsche ultimately became hostile, viewing the festival and its revellers as symptom of cultural decay and bourgeois decadence —an event which led him to turn his eye upon the moral values esteemed by society as a whole.
.
, France
, since 1966 Rudolstadt
, Thuringia
, since 1990 La Spezia
, Italy
, since 1999 District 6, Prague
, Czech Republic
, since 2008
Further twinnings with other European towns are planned. Under discussion are Shrewsbury
, United Kingdom, and Tekirdağ
in western Turkey.
There is also a cultural partnership with the state of Burgenland
, Austria
, and a university partnership between the University of Bayreuth and the Washington and Lee University
in Lexington, Virginia
.
from the town of Franzensbad in Okres Cheb.
The Festival Hall
dates to the 19th century and is now used solely for the Bayreuth Festival
. Only works by Richard Wagner
are put on.
The Bayreuth Town House (Stadthaus), likewise, does not have its own ensemble. It is regularly used by the Theater Hof as well as the Tourneetheater.
The only two theatres with their own ensemble are the Studiobühne Bayreuth and amateur dramatic society, Brandenburg Kulturstadl. The venues of the studio theatre in Bayreuth are the domicile of the theatre in the Röntgenstraße, the ruins of the Bayreuth Hermitage and the courtyard of Bayreuth piano manufacturer, Steingraeber & Söhne
.
. On the Königsallee, east of the town centre, is the relatively small Miedel Garden.
The best known park in Bayreuth is that of the 'Eremitage' (Hermitage) in the district of St. Johannis. With a total area of almost 50 hectares it is the largest park in Bayreuth.
Bayreuth has been chosen to host the Bavarian Country Garden Show in 2016. For this reason another park is planned on the Main water meadows between the Volksfestplatz and A 9 motorway.
The oldest surviving cemetery is the Town Cemetery (Stadtfriedhof) with a large number of gravestones of famous people. On the southern edge of the town is the Southern Cemetery (Südfriedhof) and crematorium. The districts of St. Johannis and St. Georgen have their own cemeteries. On Nürnberger Straße, in the east of the town, is an Israeli cemetery.
plays in the Basketball Bundesliga
(division 1), the HaSpo Bayreuth handball team, the footballers of SpVgg Bayreuth
and the volleyball players of BSV Bayreuth each play in their respective Bavarian League. The ice hockey team, EHC Bayreuth, has also just entered the Bavarian League.
Bayreuth had its sporting heyday in the late 1980s and early 90s. The basketball team, Steiner Bayreuth, were twice German Cup winners (1987/1988 and 1988/1989) and in the 1988/1989 season they also won the German championship. The hockey team of Bayreuth's swimming club (SCC) was twice champions of Second Division South and also played for a year in the Hockey League. At the time that the table tennis
team of Steiner Bayreuth was also first class (since 1983 2nd Division, in 1984/85, 1986/87 and 1987/88 1st Division, 1988 relegated and the team has played for many years in the 2nd Football Division. The table tennis players of the 1. Bayreuth FC played in the 1st Division from 1994 to 1997.
In 1999 the World Glider
Championships took place in Bayreuth.
Federal roads (Bundesstraßen):
(Hauptbahnhof) railway lines run north to Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg, and from there to Bamberg and over the Schiefe Ebene
to Hof, east to Weidenberg
, southeast to Weiden and south to Schnabelwaid with connexions to Nuremberg
on the Pegnitz Valley Railway. The lines around Bayreuth are all single-tracked and non-electrified.
Since 23 May 1992 tilting
diesel multiple units of Class 610
have worked the last-named route. These were bought by the former Deutsche Bundesbahn
specifically for the winding track. Since the 2006/2007 timetable change, Bayreuth has no longer been connected to the DB's long-distance network.
The Franken-Sachsen-Express still provides a direct connexion to Dresden, however, and since December 2007 even every two hours. The technology used for this is the Class 612
diesel multiple set. There are also Regional Express links via Lichtenfels
to Bamberg
and Würzburg
, and via Lichtenfels and Kronach
to Saalfeld.
Regional rail is operated by the Omnibusverkehr Franken. From 1 January 2010 public transport from the town and district of Bayreuth was integrated into the Nuremberg Regional Transport Network (Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg).
network. In the centre of Bayreuth itself, cycling is fairly straightforward due to the relatively flat topography
, something which encourages the use bicycles as an everyday means of transport. Because of the proximity of the 600 kilometre long Main Cycle Path, Bayreuth is also a destination for many tourist cycle routes.
Because of the long service intervals of the Bayreuth town bus system and its long overnight pause, students use bicycles as their everyday mode of transport.
Bicycles may be carried for a fee on DB Regio
trains leaving Bayreuth and in the VGN's buses.
The airfield at Bindlacher Berg is also one of the most important bases for gliding in Germany. For example, the World Championships took place here in 1999. For the air sports community in Bayreuth, the airport is a departure point for glider flights taking part in the national Bundesliga competition league. The local gliding club also provides instruction in flying gliders and light aircraft.
See also: Bayreuth Airport.
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura
Franconian Jura
The Franconian Jura is an upland in Bavaria, Germany. Located between two rivers, the Danube in the south and the Main in the north, its peaks reach elevations of up to .Large portions of the Franconian Jura are part of the Altmühl Valley Nature Park...
and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194 and it is nowadays the capital of Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia , all now part of the German Federal State of Bayern .With more than 200 independent breweries which brew...
with a population of 72,576 (2009). It is world-famous for its annual Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
are presented.
Middle Ages and Early Modern Period
The town is believed to have been founded by the Counts of AndechsCounts of Andechs
The House of Andechs was a feudal line of German princes in 12th and 13th century. The Counts of Dießen-Andechs obtained territiories in northern Dalmatia on the Adriatic seacoast, where they became Margraves of Istria and ultimately Dukes of a short-lived Imperial State named Merania from 1180 to...
probably around the mid-12th century, but was first mentioned in 1194 as Baierrute in a document by Bishop Otto II of Bamberg. The syllable -rute may mean Rodung or "clearing", whilst Baier- indicates immigrants from the Bavarian region.
Already documented earlier, were villages later merged into Bayreuth: Seulbitz (in 1035 as the royal Salian
Salian dynasty
The Salian dynasty was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages of four German Kings , also known as the Frankish dynasty after the family's origin and role as dukes of Franconia...
estate of Silewize in a document by Emperor Conrad II
Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor
Conrad II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1027 until his death.The son of a mid-level nobleman in Franconia, Count Henry of Speyer and Adelaide of Alsace, he inherited the titles of count of Speyer and of Worms as an infant when Henry died at age twenty...
) and St. Johannis (possibly 1149 as Altentrebgast). Even the district of Altstadt (formerly Altenstadt) west of the town centre must be older than the town of Bayreuth itself. Even older traces of human presence were found in the hamlets of Meyernberg: pieces of pottery and wooden crockery were dated to the 9th century based on their decoration.
While Bayreuth was previously (1199) referred to as a villa (village), the term civitas ("town") appeared for the first time in a document published in 1231. One can therefore assume that Bayreuth was awarded its town charter between 1200 and 1230. The town was ruled until 1248 by the counts of Andechs-Merania. After they died out in 1260 the burgraves of Nuremberg from the House of Hohenzollern
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
took over the inheritance. Initially, however, their residence and the centre of the territory was the castle of Plassenburg
Plassenburg
Plassenburg is a castle in the city of Kulmbach in Bavaria. It is one of the most impressive castles in Germany and a symbol of the city. It was first mentioned in 1135. The Plassenberg family were ministerial of the counts of Andechs and used as their seat the Plassenburg...
in Kulmbach
Kulmbach
Kulmbach is the capital of the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany. The town is famous for Plassenburg Castle, which houses the largest tin soldier museum in the world, and for its famous sausages, or Bratwürste.-Location:...
. The town of Bayreuth developed slowly and was affected time and again by disasters.
As early as 1361 Emperor Charles IV
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
had conferred on Burgrave Frederick V the right to mint coins for the towns of Bayreuth and Kulmbach.
Bayreuth was first published on a map in 1421.
In February 1430, the Hussites devastated Bayreuth and the town hall and churches were razed. Matthäus Merian
Matthäus Merian
Matthäus Merian der Ältere was a Swiss-born engraver who worked in Frankfurt for most of his career, where he also ran a publishing house.-Early life and marriage:...
described this event in 1642 as follows:"In 1430 the Hussites from Bohemia attacked / Culmbach and Barreut / and committed great acts of cruelty / like wild animals / against the common people / and certain individuals. / The priests / monks and nuns they either burnt at the stake / or took them onto the ice of lakes and rivers / (in Franconia and Bavaria) and doused them with cold water / and killed them in a deplorable way / as Boreck reported in the Bohemian Chronicle, page 450"((Source: Frühwald (Hg.): Fränkische Städte und Burgen um 1650 based on texts and engravings by Merian, Sennfeld 1991.)
By 1528, less than ten years after the start of the Reformation, the lords of the Frankish margrave territories switched to the Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
faith.
In 1605 a great fire, caused by negligence, destroyed 137 of the town's 251 houses. In 1620 plague broke out and, in 1621, there was another big fire in the town. The town also suffered during the Thirty Years War.
A turning point in the town's history came in 1603 when Margrave Christian, the son of the elector, John George of Brandenburg, moved the aristocratic residence from the castle of Plassenburg above Kulmbach to Bayreuth. The first Hohenzollern palace was built in 1440-1457 under Margrave John the Alchemist. It was the forerunner of today's Old Palace (Altes Schloss) and was expanded and renovated many times. The development of the new capital stagnated due to the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, but afterwards many famous baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
buildings were added to the town. After Christian's death in 1655 his grandson, Christian Ernest, followed him, ruling from 1661 until 1712. He was an educated and well-travelled man, whose tutor had been the statesman Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal
Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal
Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal was a German nobleman of the von Blumenthal family. He was a diplomat and the founder of the Brandenburg-Prussian Army.-Biography:He was born in 1609 and educated at the Viadrina...
. He founded the Christian-Ernestinum Grammar School and, in 1683, participated in the liberation of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
which had been besieged by the Turks. To commemorate this feat, he had the Margrave Fountain built as a monument on which he is depicted as the victor of the Turks; it now stands outside the New Palace (Neues Schloss). During this time, the outer ring of the town wall and the castle chapel (Schlosskirche) were built.
18th century
Ordre de la Sincérité
The Ordre de la Sincérité , was an order of knighthood of the German Margrave of Bayreuth. The order's name came from 18th-century courtiers who spoke French. The order had fifty knights...
), which was renamed in 1734 to the Order of the Red Eagle
Order of the Red Eagle
The Order of the Red Eagle was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, or other achievements...
and had the monastery church built, which was completed in 1711. In 1716 a princely porcelain
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
factory was established in St. Georgen.
The first 'castle' in the park of the Hermitage
Hermitage Museum (Bayreuth)
The State Hermitage Museum in Bayreuth was created from a 1715 historical park with fountains and remains one of the major town attractions. Notible buildings include the Old Palace, a New Castle with sun temple and other smaller buildings. The Hermitage is within the district of the independent...
was built at this time by Margrave George William (1715–1719).
In 1721 the town council acquired the palace of Baroness Sponheim (today's Old Town Hall or Altes Rathaus) as a replacement for the town hall built in 1440 in the middle of the market place and destroyed by fire.
In 1735 a nursing home, the so-called Gravenreuth
Gravenreuth
Gravenreuth was a German local noble family.The familys origin seat was located in Grafenreuth, now part of Thiersheim in the District of Wunsiedel in Upper Franconia, first mentioned in 1180. Up to the 18th century, the family, supplied with the title Freiherren, was the owner of nearby land and...
Stift, was founded by a private foundation in St. Georgen. The cost of the building exceeded the funds of the foundation, but Margrave Frederick came to their aid.
Bayreuth experienced its Golden Age during the reign (1735–1763) of Margrave Frederick and Margravine Wilhelmina of Bayreuth, the favourite sister of Frederick the Great
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
. During this time, under the direction of court architects, Joseph Saint-Pierre and Carl von Gontard
Carl von Gontard
Carl von Gontard was a German architect; he worked primarily in Berlin, Potsdam, and Bayreuth....
, numerous courtly buildings and attractions were created: the Margravial Opera House with its richly furnished baroque theatre (1744–1748), the New 'Castle' and Sun Temple (1749–1753) at the Hermitage, the New Palace with its courtyard garden (1754 ff) to replace the Old Palace which had burned down through the carelessness of the margrave, and the magnificent row of buildings in today's Friedrichstraße. There was even a unique version of the rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
architectural style, the so-called Bayreuth Rococo which characterised the aforementioned buildings, especially their interior design.
The old, sombre gatehouses were demolished because they impeded transport and were an outmoded form of defence. The walls were built over in places. Margrave Frederick successfully kept his principality out of the wars being waged by his brother-in-law, Frederick the Great, at this time, and, as a result, brought a time of peace to the Frankish kingdom.
1742 saw the founding of the Frederick Academy, which was became a university in 1743, but was moved that same year to Erlangen
Erlangen
Erlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large tributary, the Untere Schwabach.Erlangen has more than 100,000 inhabitants....
after serious riots because of the adverse reaction of the population. The university has remained there to the present today. From 1756 to 1763 there was also an Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Roman Catholics were given the right to set up a prayer room and Jewish families settled here again. In 1760 the synagogue was opened and in 1787 the Jewish cemetery was dedicated.
Countess Wilhelmina died in 1758 and, although, Margrave Frederick married again, the marriage was only short-lived and without issue. After his death in 1763, many artists and craftsmen migrated to Berlin and Potsdam, to work for King Frederick the Great, because Frederick's successor, Margrave Frederick Christian had little understanding of art. He also lacked the means due to the elaborate lifestyle of his predecessor, because the buildings and the salaries of the mainly foreign artists had swallowed up a lot of money. For example the court - which under George Frederick Charles had comprised around 140 people - had grown to about 600 employees by the end of the reign of Margrave Frederick. By 1769 the principality was close to bankruptcy.
In 1769 Margrave Charles Alexander, from the Ansbach line of Frankish Hohenzollerns, followed the childless Frederick Christian and Bayreuth was reduced to a secondary residence. Charles Alexander continued to live in Ansbach and rarely came to Bayreuth.
In 1775 the Brandenburg Pond (Brandenburger Weiher) in St.Georgen was drained.
Following the abdication of the last Margrave, Charles Alexander, from the principalities of Ansbach
Ansbach
Ansbach, originally Onolzbach, is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is situated southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the Fränkische Rezat, a tributary of the Main river. As of 2004, its population was 40,723.Ansbach...
and Bayreuth on 2 December 1791 its territories became part of a Prussian province. The Prussian Minister Karl August von Hardenberg
Karl August von Hardenberg
Karl August Fürst von Hardenberg was a Prussian statesman and Prime Minister of Prussia. While during his late career he acquiesced to reactionary policies, earlier in his career he implemented a variety of Liberal reforms...
took over its administration at the beginning of 1792.
The town centre still possesses the typical structure of a Bavarian street market: the settlement is grouped around a road widening into a square; the Town Hall was located in the middle. The church stood apart from it and on a small hill stood the castle. Some sixty years later the town (at that time a tiny village) became subordinate to the Hohenzollern state, and when this state was divided, Bayreuth ended up in the county of Kulmbach
Principality of Bayreuth
The Principality of Bayreuth or Brandenburg-Bayreuth was a reichsfrei principality in the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Bavarian city of Bayreuth. Until 1604 its capital city was Kulmbach; then the margraves used their palaces in Bayreuth as their residence...
.
19th century
In 1804, the author Jean Paul RichterJean Paul
Jean Paul , born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, was a German Romantic writer, best known for his humorous novels and stories.-Life and work:...
moved from Coburg
Coburg
Coburg is a town located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany. Its 2005 population was 42,015. Long one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined with Bavaria by popular vote in 1920...
to Bayreuth, where he lived until his death in 1825.
The rule of the Hohenzollerns over the Principality of Kulmbach-Bayreuth ended in 1806 after the defeat of Prussia by Napoleonic France. During the French occupation from 1806 to 1810 Bayreuth was treated as a province of the French Empire and had to pay high war contributions. It was placed under the administration of Comte Camille de Tournon, who wrote a detailed inventory of the former Principality of Bayreuth. On 30 June 1810 the French army handed over the former principality to the what was now the Kingdom of Bavaria
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Bavarian Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1806 as Maximilian I Joseph. The monarchy would remain held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom's dissolution in 1918...
, which it had bought from Napoleon for 15 million francs.
Bayreuth became the capital of the Bavarian district of Mainkreis, which later transferred into Obermainkreis and was finally renamed as the province of Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia , all now part of the German Federal State of Bayern .With more than 200 independent breweries which brew...
.
As Bavaria was opened up by the railways, the main line from Nuremberg to Hof went past Bayreuth, running via Lichtenfels, Kulmbach and Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg to Hof. Bayreuth was first given a railway connexion in 1853, when the Bayreuth–Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg railway was built at the town's expense. It was followed in 1863 by the line to Weiden, in 1877 by the railway to Schnabelwaid, in 1896 by the branch line to Warmensteinach
Bayreuth–Warmensteinach railway
The Bayreuth–Warmensteinach railway is a branch line in the Bavarian province of Upper Franconia in southern Germany. It is the last still partially intact of the seven branch lines, that formerly served the Fichtelgebirge.- History :...
, in 1904 by the branch to Hollfeld
Bayreuth–Hollfeld railway
The Bayreuth–Hollfeld railway was a branch line in the Bavarian province of Upper Franconia. It ran from Bayreuth to Hollfeld in the northern part of Franconian Switzerland.- Construction :Plans for the construction of this line went back to the 1860s...
and in 1909 by the branch via Thurnau to Kulmbach
Bayreuth Altstadt–Kulmbach railway
The Bayreuth Altstadt–Kulmbach railway was a branch line in the Bavarian provinces of Upper Franconia in southern Germany. It was also known colloquially as the Thurnauer Bockela ....
, known as the Thurnauer Bockala (which means something like "Thurnau Goat").
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
visited Bayreuth, because he had read about the Margrave Opera House, whose great stage seemed fitting for his works. However, the orchestra pit could not accommodate the large number of musicians required, for example, for the Ring of the Nibelung and the ambience of the auditorium seemed inappropriate for his piece, The Artwork of the Future
The Artwork of the Future
"The Artwork of the Future" is a long essay written by Richard Wagner, first published in 1849 in Leipzig, in which he sets out some of his ideals on the topics of art in general and music drama in particular....
(Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft). So, he toyed with the idea of building his own festival hall (the Festspielhaus) in Bayreuth. The town supported him in this project and made a piece of land available to him, an undeveloped area outside the town between the railway station and Hohe Warte, the Grüner Hügel ("Green Hill"). At the same time Wagner acquired a property at Hofgarten to build his own house, Wahnfried
Wahnfried
Wahnfried may refer to:*Wahnfried, Richard Wagner's villa in Bayreuth*Richard Wahnfried , the long-time alias for German composer and musician Klaus Schulze...
. On 22 May 1872 the cornerstone for the Festival Hall was laid and, on 13 August 1876, it was officially opened (see Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
). Planning and construction were in the hands of the Leipzig architect, Otto Brückwald, who had already made a name for himself in the building of theatres in Leipzig and Altenburg.
In 1886, the composer Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
died in Bayreuth while visiting his daughter Cosima Liszt, Wagner's widow. Both Liszt and Wagner are buried in Bayreuth; however Wagner did not die there. Rather he died in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
in 1883, but his family had his body brought to Bayreuth for burial.
To the end of the Weimar Republic (1900–1933)
The new century also brought several innovations of modern technology: in 1892 the first electric street lights; in 1908 a municipal electricity station, and, in the same year, the first cinema.In 1914-15, one section of the northern arm of the Red Main was straightened and widened after areas along the river had been flooded during a period of high water in 1909.
After the First World War had ended in 1918, the Workers' and Soldiers' Council
Workers' council
A workers' council, or revolutionary councils, is the phenomenon where a single place of work or enterprise, such as a factory, school, or farm, is controlled collectively by the workers of that workplace, through the core principle of temporary and instantly revocable delegates.In a system with...
took power briefly in Bayreuth. On 17 February 1919 there was a three-day coup, the so-called Speckputsch, a brief interlude of excitement in the otherwise rather staid town.
In a series of völkisch
Völkisch movement
The volkisch movement is the German interpretation of the populist movement, with a romantic focus on folklore and the "organic"...
and nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
"Deutscher Tag" (German Days), the NSDAP organised the event in Bayreuth on September 30, 1923. More than 5.000 military and civilian people gathered (equivalent to 15% of the inhabitants), although Minister of Defence Otto Gessler
Otto Gessler
Otto Karl Gessler was a German politician during the Weimar Republic. From 1910 until 1914, he was mayor of Regensburg and from 1913 to 1919 mayor of Nuremberg. He served in Weimar cabinets from 1919 until 1928, usually as Minister of Defence.-Biography:Gessler was born in Ludwigsburg in the...
had forbidden the participation of Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
units. Among the guests were mayor Albert Preu as well as Siegfried
Siegfried Wagner
Siegfried Wagner was a German composer and conductor, the son of Richard Wagner. He was an opera composer and the artistic director of the Bayreuth Festival from 1908 to 1930.-Life:...
and Winifred Wagner
Winifred Wagner
Winifred Wagner was an English woman married to Siegfried Wagner, Richard Wagner's son. She was the effective head of the Wagner family from 1930 to 1945, and a close friend of German dictator Adolf Hitler....
, who invitated keynote speaker Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
to Wahnfried
Wahnfried
Wahnfried may refer to:*Wahnfried, Richard Wagner's villa in Bayreuth*Richard Wahnfried , the long-time alias for German composer and musician Klaus Schulze...
house. There he met writer Houston Stewart Chamberlain
Houston Stewart Chamberlain
Houston Stewart Chamberlain was a British-born German author of books on political philosophy, natural science and the German composer Richard Wagner. He later became a German citizen. Chamberlain married Wagner's daughter, Eva, some years after Wagner's death...
, son-in-law of Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
and anti-semitic race theorist
Racialism
Racialism is an emphasis on race or racial considerations. Currently, racialism entails a belief in the existence and significance of racial categories, but not necessarily that any absolute hierarchy between the races has been demonstrated by a rigorous and comprehensive scientific process...
. Also on that day, Hans Schemm
Hans Schemm
Hans Schemm was a Gauleiter in Nazi Germany.-Life:Schemm, whose parents ran a shoemaker's shop, first went to a Volksschule for five years and then as of 1905 a teaching seminary. In 1915 he got married; in 1917 a son was born...
met Hitler for the first time.
In 1932 the provinces of Upper and Middle Franconia were merged and Ansbach chosen as the seat of government. As a small compensation, Bayreuth was given the merged state insurance agency for Upper and Middle Franconia. Unlike the provincial merger, the merger of those institutions was never reversed.
The Nazi era (1933–1945)
Being a stronghold of right-wing parties since the 1920s, Bayreuth became a center of NaziNazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
ideology. In 1933, it was made capital of the Nazi Gau of Bavarian Ostmark (Bayerische Ostmark, in 1943 Gau Bayreuth). Nazi leaders often visited the Wagner festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
and tried to turn Bayreuth into a Nazi model town. It was one of several places in which town planning was administered directly from Berlin, due to Hitler's special interest in the town and in the festival. Hitler loved the music of Richard Wagner, and he became a close friend of Winifred Wagner
Winifred Wagner
Winifred Wagner was an English woman married to Siegfried Wagner, Richard Wagner's son. She was the effective head of the Wagner family from 1930 to 1945, and a close friend of German dictator Adolf Hitler....
after she took over the festival. Hitler frequently attended Wagner performances in the Bayreuth Festival Hall.
Bayreuth was to have received a so-called Gauforum, a combined government building and marching square built to symbolise the centre of power in the town. Bayreuth's first Gauleiter
Gauleiter
A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Creation and Early Usage:...
was Hans Schemm
Hans Schemm
Hans Schemm was a Gauleiter in Nazi Germany.-Life:Schemm, whose parents ran a shoemaker's shop, first went to a Volksschule for five years and then as of 1905 a teaching seminary. In 1915 he got married; in 1917 a son was born...
, who was also the head (Reichswalter) of the National Socialist Teachers League
National Socialist Teachers League
The National Socialist Teachers League, Nationalsozialistische Lehrerbund , was established as a wing of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei in 1927. This organization lasted until 1943. Its seat was in Bayreuth. The founder and first "Reichswalter" of the organization was Hans Schemm...
, NSLB, which was located in Bayreuth. In 1937 the town was connected to the new Reichsautobahn.
Under Nazi dictatorship the synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
of the Jewish Community in Münzgasse was desecrated and looted on Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
but, due to its proximity to the Opera House it was not razed. Inside the building, which is once again used by a Jewish community as a synagogue, a plaque next to the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
Shrine recalls the persecution and murder of Jews in the Shoa
Shoa
Shoa may refer to:* The Holocaust, named Ha-Shoah in Hebrew* Shoah .* Shoa, Ethiopia, the Shewa region, sometimes spelled Shoa* Shuwa Arabic or the Baggara Arabs* Shoa Magazine, a monthly magazine published from Pakistan...
, which at cost the lives of at least 145 Jews in Bayreuth.
During the Second World War a subcamp of the Flossenbürg concentration camp
Flossenbürg concentration camp
Konzentrationslager Flossenbürg was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the Schutzstaffel Economic-Administrative Main Office at Flossenbürg, in the Oberpfalz region of Bavaria, Germany, near the border with Czechoslovakia. Until its liberation in April 1945, more than 96,000 prisoners...
was based in the town, in which prisoners had to participate in physical experiments for the V2. Wieland Wagner
Wieland Wagner
Wieland Wagner was a German opera director.- Life :Wieland was the elder of two sons of Siegfried and Winifred Wagner and grandson of composer Richard Wagner....
, the grandson of the composer, Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
, was the deputy civilian director there from September 1944 to April 1945. Shortly before the war's end branches of the People's Court (Volksgerichtshof) were to have been set up in Bayreuth.
On 5, 8 and 11 April 1945 about one third of the town, including many public buildings and industrial installations were destroyed by heavy air strikes, along with 4,500 houses. 741 people were also killed. On 14 April, the U.S. Army occupied the town.
Post-war era and Reconstruction (1945–2000)
After the war Bayreuth tried to part with its ill-fated past. It became part of the American Zone. The American military government set up a DP camp to accommodate so-called displaced personDisplaced person
A displaced person is a person who has been forced to leave his or her native place, a phenomenon known as forced migration.- Origin of term :...
s (DP). Most of them came from the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. The camp was supervised by the UNRRA
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in 1943, it became part of the United Nations in 1945, was especially active in 1945 and 1946, and largely shut down...
.
The housing situation was very difficult at first: there were about 55,000 inhabitants in the town, many more than before the war began. This increase was primarily due to the high number of refugees and expellees. Even in 1948 more than 11,000 refugees were counted. In addition, because many homes had been destroyed due to the war, thousands of people were living in temporary shelters, even the festival restaurant next to the Festival Hall housed some 500 people.
In 1945, 1,400 men were conscripted by the town council for "essential work" (clean-up work on damaged buildings and the clearing of roads).
But cultural life was also soon back on track: in 1947 Mozart festival weeks were held in the Opera House, from which the Franconian Festival Weeks developed. In 1949 the Festival Hall was used for the first time again and there was a gala concert with the Vienna Philharmonic led by Hans Knappertsbusch
Hans Knappertsbusch
Hans Knappertsbusch was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Richard Wagner, Anton Bruckner and Richard Strauss....
. In 1951, the first post-war Richard Wagner Festival took place under the leadership of Wieland
Wieland Wagner
Wieland Wagner was a German opera director.- Life :Wieland was the elder of two sons of Siegfried and Winifred Wagner and grandson of composer Richard Wagner....
and Wolfgang Wagner
Wolfgang Wagner
Wolfgang Wagner was a German opera director. He is best known as the director of the Bayreuth Festival, a position he initially assumed alongside his brother Wieland in 1951 until the latter's death in 1966...
.
In 1949 Bayreuth became the seat of the government of Upper Franconia again.
After the war a significant number of historic buildings were demolished.
In 1971 the Bavarian State Parliament decided to establish the University of Bayreuth
University of Bayreuth
The University of Bayreuth is a public research university situated in Bayreuth, Germany. It was founded in 1975 as a campus university focusing on international collaboration and interdisciplinarity...
and, on 3 November 1975, it opened for lectures and research. There are now about 10,000 students in the town.
In May 1972, a serious accident occurred at the folk festival in the town, when an overcrowded carriage derailed and several people were thrown out. Four died and five were injured, some seriously. At that time, it was the worst disaster on a roller coaster since the Second World War.
In 1999 the world gliding championship took place at Bayreuth municipal airport.
21st century
In 2006, Bayreuth chose its first CSU member and mayor, the lawyer, Michael Hohl, and, in 2007, a Youth Parliament, consisting of 12 young people, aged 14–17 years, was elected for the first time. The end of October saw the opening of the long-planned bus station and its associated office building on the newly created Hohenzollernplatz.Richard Wagner and Bayreuth
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
, who lived in Bayreuth from 1872 until his death in 1883. Wagner's villa, "Wahnfried
Wahnfried
Wahnfried may refer to:*Wahnfried, Richard Wagner's villa in Bayreuth*Richard Wahnfried , the long-time alias for German composer and musician Klaus Schulze...
", was constructed in Bayreuth under the sponsorship of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, and was converted after World War II into a Wagner Museum. To the north of Bayreuth is the Festival Hall
Bayreuth Festspielhaus
The or Bayreuth Festival Theatre is an opera house north of Bayreuth, Germany, dedicated solely to the performance of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner...
, an opera house
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
specially constructed for and exclusively devoted to the performance of Wagner's opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s. The premieres of the final two works of Wagner's Ring Cycle
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Der Ring des Nibelungen is a cycle of four epic operas by the German composer Richard Wagner . The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied...
("Siegfried
Siegfried (opera)
Siegfried is the third of the four operas that constitute Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner. It received its premiere at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 16 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of The Ring...
" and "Götterdämmerung
Götterdämmerung
is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four operas titled Der Ring des Nibelungen...
"); the cycle as a whole; and of Parsifal
Parsifal
Parsifal is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. It is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, the 13th century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail, and on Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, the Story of the Grail.Wagner first conceived the work...
took place here.
Every summer, Wagner's operas are performed at the Festspielhaus during the month-long Richard Wagner Festival, commonly known as the Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
. The Festival draws thousands each year, and has persistently been sold out since its inauguration in 1876. Currently, waiting lists for tickets can stretch for 10 years or more.
Owing to Wagner's relationship with the then unknown philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
, the first Bayreuth festival is cited as a key turning point in Nietzsche's philosophical development. Though at first an enthusiastic champion of Wagner's music, Nietzsche ultimately became hostile, viewing the festival and its revellers as symptom of cultural decay and bourgeois decadence —an event which led him to turn his eye upon the moral values esteemed by society as a whole.
Location
Bayreuth lies on the Red Main river, the southern of the two headstreams of the River Main, between the Fichtelgebirge Mountains and Franconian SwitzerlandFranconian Switzerland
The Little Switzerland is an upland in Upper Franconia, northern Bavaria and a popular tourist retreat. Located between the Pegnitz River in the east and the south, the Regnitz River in the west and the Main River in the north, its relief reaches 600 metres in height.The Franconian Switzerland is...
.
Town divisions
The borough of Bayreuth is divided into 39 districts:- 1: Westliche Innenstadt (Western town centre)
- 2: Östliche Innenstadt/Obere Röth (Eastern town centre)
- 3: Cosima-Wagner-Straße/ Nürnberger Straße/Universitätsstraße
- 4: Südöstliche Innenstadt (Southeastern town centre)
- 5: Südwestliche Innenstadt (Southwestern town centre)
- 6: Birken
- 7: Justus-Liebig-Straße/Quellhöfe/Rückertweg
- 8: Leuschnerstraße/Ludwig-Thoma-Straße
- 9: Saas, originated from the parish village Saas, which was mentioned as early as 1528 in connecxion with the Baptists
- 10: Bismarckstraße/Friedrichstraße/Moritzhöfen
- 11: Freiheitsplatz/Malerviertel
- 12. Erlanger Straße/Wolfsgasse
- 13: Jakobshof
- 14: Hetzennest/Braunhof/Fantaisiestraße
- 15: Meyernberg
- 16: Nördlicher Roter Hügel
- 17: Grüner Hügel/Wendelhöfen
- 18: Kreuz
- 19: Herzoghöhe/Am Bauhof
- 20: Nördliche Innenstadt
- 21: Carl-Schüller-Straße/Bürgerreuther Straße/Gutenbergstraße
- 22: Gartenstadt
- 23: Bürgerreuth/Gravenreutherstraße
- 24: St. Georgen/Grüner Baum/Burg
- 25: Östliche Hammerstatt
- 26: Westliche Hammerstatt
- 27: Bernecker Straße/Insel/Riedelsberg
- 28: Industriegebiete St. Georgen
- 29: St. Johannis
- 30: Neue Heimat
- 31: Oberkonnersreuth
- 32: Laineck
- 33: Westlicher Roter Hügel
- 34: Eubener Straße/Furtwänglerstraße/Schupfenschlag/Hohe Warte
- 35: Seulbitz
- 36: Aichig/Grunau
- 37: Thiergarten/Destuben
- 38: Oberpreuschwitz
- 39: Wolfsbach
Town council
The results of the 2008 local elections in Bavaria were as follows (in brackets the change from the 2002 elections):- CSUChristian Social Union of BavariaThe Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union , operates in the other 15 states of Germany...
: 28.2 % (-3.1), 13 seats (-1) - SPDSocial Democratic Party of GermanyThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
: 22.5 % (-5.4), 10 seats (-3) - BG - FW: 21,6 % (+2.0), 10 seats (+1)
- Greens/indep.: 10.0 % (+2.8), 4 seats (+1)
- Young Bayreuth: 5.8 % (-0,9), 2 seats (-1)
- FDP: 4.4 % (+0.5), 2 seats (+1)
- BT go!: 4.2 % (+4,2), 2 seats (+2)
- BBL: 3.2 % (+3,2), 1 seat (+1)
- Others: 0.0 % (-3,4), 0 seats (-1)
(Lord) Mayors of Bayreuth since 1818
- 1818–1848: Erhard Christian Hagen von Hagenfels (First legally trained mayor)
- 1851–1863: Friedrich Karl Dilchert (civic mayor)
- 1863–1900: Theodor von Muncker (legally trained mayor)
- 1900–1918: Dr. Leopold von Casselmann (legally trained mayor, lord mayor from 1907)
- 1919–30 April 1933: Albert Preu (lord mayor)
- 1 May 1933–June 1937: Dr. Karl Schlumprecht (lord mayor; NSDAP)
- 21 July 1937–April 1938: Dr. Otto Schmidt (lord mayor; NSDAP)
- 3 May 1938–30 June 1938: Fritz Wächtler (Gauleiter, self-proclaimed commissarial lord mayor; NSDAP)
- 1 July 1938–April 1945: Dr. Fritz Kempfler (lord mayor; NSDAP)
- 24 April 1945–November 1945: Dr. Joseph Kauper (lord mayor)
- November 1945–30 June 1948: Dr. Oscar Meyer (lord mayor)
- 1 July 1948–30 April 1958: Hans Rollwagen (lord mayor; SPD)
- 1 May 1958–30 April 1988: Hans Walter Wild (lord mayor; SPD)
- 1 May 1988–30 April 2006: Dr. Dieter Mronz (lord mayor; SPD)
- since 1 May 2006: Dr. Michael Hohl (lord mayor; CSU)
Twin towns
The town of Bayreuth has twinning partnerships with the following towns: AnnecyAnnecy
Annecy is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy , 35 kilometres south of Geneva.-Administration:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, since 1966 Rudolstadt
Rudolstadt
Rudolstadt is a town in the German Bundesland of Thuringia, close to the Thuringian Forest to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north....
, Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
, since 1990 La Spezia
La Spezia
La Spezia , at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the Liguria region of northern Italy, is the capital city of the province of La Spezia. Located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and hosts one of Italy's biggest military...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, since 1999 District 6, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, since 2008
Further twinnings with other European towns are planned. Under discussion are Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
, United Kingdom, and Tekirdağ
Tekirdag
Tekirdağ , the ancient Bisanthi , is a city in Eastern Thrace, in the European part of Turkey. Tekirdağ is the capital of Tekirdağ Province, felt by the local people to be a quieter and more pleasant town than the industrial centre of Çorlu, which it administers. The city population as of 2009 was...
in western Turkey.
There is also a cultural partnership with the state of Burgenland
Burgenland
Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, and a university partnership between the University of Bayreuth and the Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
in Lexington, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Sponsorship
In 1955 Bayreuth took on sponsorship for displaced Sudeten GermansSudeten Germans
- Importance of Sudeten Germans :Czechoslovakia was inhabited by over 3 million ethnic Germans, comprising about 23 percent of the population of the republic and about 29.5% of Bohemia and Moravia....
from the town of Franzensbad in Okres Cheb.
Coat of arms
Margrave Albert Achilles, who was also Elector of Brandenburg, presented the town Bayreuth in December 1457 which the coat of arms that it still bears today. Two fields show the black and white coat of arms of the Hohenzollerns. The black lion on gold with a red and white border was the municipal coat of arms of the burgraves of Nuremberg. Along the two diagonals are two Reuten, small triangular shovels with a slightly bent shaft. They represent the ending -reuth in the town's name.“Theatre
The Margravial Opera House was opened in 1748 and is one of the finest Baroque theatres in Europe. It is both a museum and the oldest working tableau in Bayreuth.The Festival Hall
Bayreuth Festspielhaus
The or Bayreuth Festival Theatre is an opera house north of Bayreuth, Germany, dedicated solely to the performance of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner...
dates to the 19th century and is now used solely for the Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
. Only works by Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
are put on.
The Bayreuth Town House (Stadthaus), likewise, does not have its own ensemble. It is regularly used by the Theater Hof as well as the Tourneetheater.
The only two theatres with their own ensemble are the Studiobühne Bayreuth and amateur dramatic society, Brandenburg Kulturstadl. The venues of the studio theatre in Bayreuth are the domicile of the theatre in the Röntgenstraße, the ruins of the Bayreuth Hermitage and the courtyard of Bayreuth piano manufacturer, Steingraeber & Söhne
Steingraeber & Söhne
Steingraeber & Söhne was founded in 1820 in Thuringia and since 1852 it has made Bayreuth its home becoming in just three decades one of the best known manufacturers of grand and upright pianos....
.
Museums
- The Richard Wagner Museum at WahnfriedWahnfriedWahnfried may refer to:*Wahnfried, Richard Wagner's villa in Bayreuth*Richard Wahnfried , the long-time alias for German composer and musician Klaus Schulze...
House was the residence of Richard Wagner and his family's home until 1966. Since 1976 it has been a museum with attached national archives and a research centre for the Richard Wagner Foundation in Bayreuth - The Jean Paul Museum in the former residence of Richard Wagner's daughter, Eva Chamberlain, with autographAutographAn autograph is a document transcribed entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.Autograph also refers to a person's artistic signature...
s, first editions of works, portraits and other pictorial material - The Franz Liszt Museum in the house where Franz LisztFranz LisztFranz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
died, with about 300 photographs, scripts and printed papers from the collection of the Munich pianist, Ernst Burger, which were bought by the town of Bayreuth. In addition there is a Stummklavier, the Ibach wingIbachIbach is a town in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
of Haus Wahnfried, letters and first editions of Franz Liszt. Biographic information boards, a mould of the font from Liszt's birthplace Raiding, Austria and Liszt busts by Antonio Galli enhance the collection. Visits are accompanied by the music of Franz Liszt
- The Historical Museum in the Old Latin School on Kirchplatz. On the ground floor it portrays the history and development of Bayreuth from the late Middle Ages to the 20th century with a model of the town in the year 1763. On the first floor are divisions covering the art and cultural history of Bayreuth's margravial period (17th and 18th centuries). Another division portrays arts and crafts in Bayreuth and the surrounding area with examples of faience pottery, glass products from the Fichtelgebirge and stone pottery from CreußenCreußenCreußen is a town in the district of Bayreuth in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the Red Main river, 13 km southeast of Bayreuth.Creußen is famous for its jugs....
. Painting, crafts, and early industrial artefacts from the Biedermeier period and the late 19th century round off a visit to the museum - The Museum of Art in the Old Town Hall which contains the Helmut and Constanze Meyer Art Foundation, the Georg Tappert collection and the archives and collection of Caspar Walter Rauh. The collections contain key works from the 20th century
- The British American Tobacco's Historical Collection in the old Lord Mayor's rooms of the Old Town Hall
- The German Typewriter Museum with a collection of over 400 historic typewriters from the Research and Training Centre for Shorthand and Word Processing in Bayreuth
- A branch of the Bavarian State Painting Collection was opened in the New Palace in August 2007. 80 works from Dutch and German painters of the late 17th century and 18th century are displayed.
- The Archaeological Museum in the Italian Building of the New Palace was founded in 1827 by the Historic Society. Its eight exhibition rooms include artefacts such as New Stone Age stone axes, 80 pottery jars from the Hallstatt era and Celtic bronze jewellery. The discoveries on display, which all come from eastern Upper Franconia, especially Franconian SwitzerlandFranconian SwitzerlandThe Little Switzerland is an upland in Upper Franconia, northern Bavaria and a popular tourist retreat. Located between the Pegnitz River in the east and the south, the Regnitz River in the west and the Main River in the north, its relief reaches 600 metres in height.The Franconian Switzerland is...
and the region around Bayreuth, date from the Old Stone Age to the Middle AgesMiddle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. In the experimental field there is a reconstructed loom, a rock drill and an original Schiebemühle. - Maisel's Brewery and Cooper's Museum, which teaches everything about the production of Weizen beer on a 2400 m² (2,870 sq yd) layout, making it the largest brewery in the world, not least due to its collection of over 5,500 beer glasses and mugs).
- The Upper Franconia Prehistory Museum portrays the history of life in Upper Franconia since the beginning of the world. Exhibitions are constantly changing; currently the life-size dinosaurs attract especial interest.
- Bayreuth Football Museum (Altstadt-Kult-Museum of SpVgg BayreuthSpVgg BayreuthSpVgg Bayreuth is a German football club based in Bayreuth, Bavaria. Apart from coming within two games of earning promotion to the Fußball-Bundesliga in 1979, the club also reached the quarter finals of the DFB-Pokal twice, in 1977 and 1980.- 1921 to 1945 :...
) - The Bayreuth of Wilhelmina Museum in the New Castle
- Fire Brigade Museum
- Iwalewa House, the Africa Centre of the University of Bayreuth
- Johann Baptist Graser School Museum
- Catacombs of the Bayreuth Aktien Brewery
- Little Poster Museum
- Margravial state rooms and collection of Bayreuth faiences in the New Castle
- Museum of Agricultural Tools and Equipment
- Lindenhof Natural History Museum
- Richard Wagner Gymnasium School Museum
- Wedlich Transport Museum
- Walküre Porcelain Museum
- Wilhelm Leuschner Memorial
- Wo Sarazen Art
Buildings
- The Hermitage (Eremitage)
- Thiergarten Hunting Lodge (Jagdschloss Thiergarten)
- New Palace (Neues Schloss) and court garden, seat of the margraves from 1753
- St. Georgen Castle (Ordensschloss St. Georgen)
- St. Georgen Church (Ordenskirche St. Georgen)
- St. John's Parish Church (St. Johannis)
- Colmdorf Castle
- Rollwenzelei with Jean Paul's study (Dichterstube)
- Old Palace and castle chapel of Our Dear Lady (Altes Schloss)
- Victory Tower (Siegesturm)
- Spital Church (Spitalkirche)
- Church of the Holy Spirit (Stadtkirche Heilig Dreifaltigkeit)
- Stift church (Stiftskirche)
- Birken Castle
- The Goldener Anker hotel
- Baroque parks:
- Hermitage Park, former seat of the margraves, outside the inner town
- Castle and park of Fantaisie, in EckersdorfEckersdorfEckersdorf is a municipality in the district of Bayreuth in Bavaria in Germany.- Geography :The municipality of Eckersdorf is located on the northern edge of an area called "Little Switzerland" , close to the world-famous festival town of Bayreuth...
(vicinity of Bayreuth. 7 km (4 mi) west) - Sanspareil Park, about 30 km west of Bayreuth
- University Botanical Gardens
Public parks and cemeteries
In the town centre is the Court Garden (Hofgarten) of the New Palace. Near the Festival Hall is the Festival Park. On the southern edge of the town lie the Botanical Gardens of the University of BayreuthUniversity of Bayreuth
The University of Bayreuth is a public research university situated in Bayreuth, Germany. It was founded in 1975 as a campus university focusing on international collaboration and interdisciplinarity...
. On the Königsallee, east of the town centre, is the relatively small Miedel Garden.
The best known park in Bayreuth is that of the 'Eremitage' (Hermitage) in the district of St. Johannis. With a total area of almost 50 hectares it is the largest park in Bayreuth.
Bayreuth has been chosen to host the Bavarian Country Garden Show in 2016. For this reason another park is planned on the Main water meadows between the Volksfestplatz and A 9 motorway.
The oldest surviving cemetery is the Town Cemetery (Stadtfriedhof) with a large number of gravestones of famous people. On the southern edge of the town is the Southern Cemetery (Südfriedhof) and crematorium. The districts of St. Johannis and St. Georgen have their own cemeteries. On Nürnberger Straße, in the east of the town, is an Israeli cemetery.
Sport
Over 60 clubs offer just under one hundreds sports. The most successful club in the town is the street hockey team, Hurricans Bayreuth, who have been German runners-up three times (1998/2004/2006) and champions five times (1996/1997/2001/2005/2007). The only other first division team is the Bayreuth Gliding Club which won the league in 2002 and were runners-up in 2005 and 2008. They were also fourth in the World League in 2008. The basketball team of BBC BayreuthBBC Bayreuth
BBC Bayreuth is a German basketball club based in Bayreuth, Bavaria..The club won the 2009-10 Pro A Championship and will play Basketball Bundesliga in the 2010-11 season.- Season by season :...
plays in the Basketball Bundesliga
Basketball Bundesliga
The Basketball Bundesliga — commonly abbreviated BBL — is the highest level league of club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season is split into a league stage and a playoff stage...
(division 1), the HaSpo Bayreuth handball team, the footballers of SpVgg Bayreuth
SpVgg Bayreuth
SpVgg Bayreuth is a German football club based in Bayreuth, Bavaria. Apart from coming within two games of earning promotion to the Fußball-Bundesliga in 1979, the club also reached the quarter finals of the DFB-Pokal twice, in 1977 and 1980.- 1921 to 1945 :...
and the volleyball players of BSV Bayreuth each play in their respective Bavarian League. The ice hockey team, EHC Bayreuth, has also just entered the Bavarian League.
Bayreuth had its sporting heyday in the late 1980s and early 90s. The basketball team, Steiner Bayreuth, were twice German Cup winners (1987/1988 and 1988/1989) and in the 1988/1989 season they also won the German championship. The hockey team of Bayreuth's swimming club (SCC) was twice champions of Second Division South and also played for a year in the Hockey League. At the time that the table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
team of Steiner Bayreuth was also first class (since 1983 2nd Division, in 1984/85, 1986/87 and 1987/88 1st Division, 1988 relegated and the team has played for many years in the 2nd Football Division. The table tennis players of the 1. Bayreuth FC played in the 1st Division from 1994 to 1997.
In 1999 the World Glider
Glider (sailplane)
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...
Championships took place in Bayreuth.
Regular events
- In January, May, June, July, November and December: Young master pianists (concert series for young pianists from various music academies in the rooms of piano makers, Steingraeber & Söhne)
- April: Bayreuth Easter Festival (charity concerts for children with cancer)
- May: Musica Bayreuth
- June: Uniopenair
- June: Time for New Music
- June: Bayreuth Folk Festival
- July: Bayreuth Town Festival (on the first weekend in July)
- July: Bayreuth Piano Festival
- July–August: Bayreuth FestivalBayreuth FestivalThe Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
, Midsummer Night Festival - September: Rock in Bayreuth
- September: Bayreuth Baroque (opera performances in the Margravial Opera House)
- October: Bayreuth Kneipen Festival
- October: Bayreuth Museum Night (the day before the clocks go back)
- October: Since 2008 the town had awarded annually the Margravine Wilhelmina Prize of the Town of Bayreuth as part of the Bayreuth Future Forum symposium of the University of Bayreuth
Long-distance roads
Motorways (Autobahnen):- A 9: BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
–LeipzigLeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
–Bayreuth–Nuremberg–IngolstadtIngolstadtIngolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As at 31 March 2011, Ingolstadt had 125.407 residents...
–MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat... - A 70: SchweinfurtSchweinfurtSchweinfurt is a city in the Lower Franconia region of Bavaria in Germany on the right bank of the canalized Main, which is here spanned by several bridges, 27 km northeast of Würzburg.- History :...
–BambergBambergBamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
–Bayreuth
Federal roads (Bundesstraßen):
- B 2: RosowMescherinMescherin is a municipality in the Uckermark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is located on the western shore of the Oder river which is the international border to Poland since 1945.-Overview:...
–Berlin–Lutherstadt Wittenberg–Leipzig–GeraGeraGera, the third-largest city in the German state of Thuringia , lies in east Thuringia on the river Weiße Elster, approximately 60 kilometres to the south of the city of Leipzig and 80 kilometres to the east of Erfurt...
–Hof–Bayreuth–Nuremnberg–DonauwörthDonauwörthDonauwörth is a city in the German State of Bavaria , in the region of Swabia . It is said to have been founded by two fisherman where the Danube and Wörnitz rivers meet...
–AugsburgAugsburgAugsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
–Munich–MittenwaldMittenwaldMittenwald is a German municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria.-Geography:Mittenwald is located approx. 16 kilometers to the south-east of Garmisch-Partenkirchen... - B 22Bundesstraße 22Bundesstraße 22 is a German federal highway that runs from Würzburg in Lower Franconia, through the Upper Franconian cities of Bamberg and Bayreuth and the Upper Palatine town of Weiden, to Cham...
: WürzburgWürzburgWürzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
–Bamberg–HollfeldHollfeldHollfeld is a town in the district of Bayreuth, in Bavaria, Germany.It is situated 20 km west of Bayreuth, and 30 km east of Bamberg.-Villages:...
–Bayreuth–WeidenWeiden in der OberpfalzWeiden in der Oberpfalz is a district-free city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located 100 km east of Nuremberg and 35 km west of the Czech border. A branch of the German Army's NCO Academy is located here...
–Cham - B 85Bundesstraße 85The Bundesstraße 85 runs southeast through Thuringia and Bavaria, from Kyffhäuser to Passau, near the Austrian border. B85 is approximately long.Cities and towns along B85:...
: Berga–WeimarWeimarWeimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
–LudwigsstadtLudwigsstadtLudwigsstadt is a municipality in the district of Kronach, in the Upper Franconian region of Bavaria, Germany. It is situated at the state's northern border in the Franconian Forest mountain range, north of Kronach, and south of Saalfeld in Thuringia, the only Bavarian municipality north of the...
–Kulmbach–Bayreuth–AmbergAmbergAmberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. Population: 44,756 .- History :...
–SchwandorfSchwandorfThe town of Schwandorf is the seat of the district of Schwandorf in Bavaria in Germany. It is situated on the river Naab.-International relations:Schwandorf is twinned with:*Libourne *Sokolov...
–Cham–Neukirchen vorm WaldNeukirchen vorm WaldNeukirchen vorm Wald is a municipality in the district of Passau in Bavaria in Germany....
–PassauPassauPassau is a town in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the Dreiflüssestadt or "City of Three Rivers," because the Danube is joined at Passau by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north....
Railways
From Bayreuth Central StationBayreuth Hauptbahnhof
is the central railway station in the German city of Bayreuth.Railway lines run north to Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg, and from there to Bamberg and over the Schiefe Ebene to Hof, east to Weidenberg, southeast to Weiden and south to Schnabelwaid with connexions to Nuremberg on the Pegnitz Valley Railway...
(Hauptbahnhof) railway lines run north to Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg, and from there to Bamberg and over the Schiefe Ebene
Schiefe Ebene
The Schiefe Ebene is a steep railway incline on the course of the Ludwig South-North Railway from Bamberg to Hof in the region of Upper Franconia, in Bavaria, Germany....
to Hof, east to Weidenberg
Bayreuth–Warmensteinach railway
The Bayreuth–Warmensteinach railway is a branch line in the Bavarian province of Upper Franconia in southern Germany. It is the last still partially intact of the seven branch lines, that formerly served the Fichtelgebirge.- History :...
, southeast to Weiden and south to Schnabelwaid with connexions to Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
on the Pegnitz Valley Railway. The lines around Bayreuth are all single-tracked and non-electrified.
Since 23 May 1992 tilting
Tilting
Tilting may refer to:* Tilt , a cinematographic technique* Tilting train, a train with a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular railroad tracks* Tilting, Newfoundland and Labrador, a town on Fogo Island* Tilting, a type of jousting...
diesel multiple units of Class 610
DB Class 610
The DB Class 610 is a Diesel Multiple Unit train type operated by the Deutsche Bahn in Germany. They were built from 1991 to 1992 by MAN and DUEWAG. The class has a tilting system and was inspired by Italian Pendolino trains.-General Information:...
have worked the last-named route. These were bought by the former Deutsche Bundesbahn
Deutsche Bundesbahn
The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany on September 7, 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft '...
specifically for the winding track. Since the 2006/2007 timetable change, Bayreuth has no longer been connected to the DB's long-distance network.
The Franken-Sachsen-Express still provides a direct connexion to Dresden, however, and since December 2007 even every two hours. The technology used for this is the Class 612
DBAG Class 612
The DBAG Class 612 is a two car, diesel multiple unit operated by the Deutsche Bahn for fast regional rail services on unelectrified lines.-General Information:...
diesel multiple set. There are also Regional Express links via Lichtenfels
Lichtenfels
Lichtenfels is German placename and surname:Germany:There are two towns named Lichtenfels in Germany* Lichtenfels, Hesse* Lichtenfels, Bavaria ** Lichtenfels station** 1...
to Bamberg
Bamberg
Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
and Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
, and via Lichtenfels and Kronach
Kronach
Kronach is a town in Oberfranken, Bavaria, Germany, located in the Frankenwald area. It is the capital of the district Kronach.Kronach is the birthtown of Lucas Cranach the Elder and Maximilian von Welsch, as well as Johann Kaspar Zeuss and Josef Stangl....
to Saalfeld.
Local public transport
The town bus routes are operated by Bayreuth Transport and Public Baths (BVB) (Bayreuther Verkehrs- und Bäder GmbH). Sometimes private bus operators run services on behalf of the transport companies. The 14 routes (lines 301-314) operate from Monday to Friday at 20 or 30 minute intervals; on Saturday afternoon and Sunday the interval is extended to 40 minutes. Late evening services (from about 10-11 pm during the week and from 1 am at weekends) and on Sunday mornings a simplified network of four lines (lines 321-324) runs buses at 45-minute intervals. Some lines then operate like an on-call taxi service. The network is star-shaped. Originally, the central station was at the market square in Maximilianstrasse. Since 27 October 2007 the Central Bus Station (ZOH) has been at Hohenzollernplatz at the junction of Kanalstraße on the Hohenzollernring. At this stop there are also bus stops for local buses to facilitate transfers.Regional rail is operated by the Omnibusverkehr Franken. From 1 January 2010 public transport from the town and district of Bayreuth was integrated into the Nuremberg Regional Transport Network (Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg).
Cycling
In most places there is a signed cycle pathSegregated cycle facilities
Segregated cycle facilities are marked lanes, tracks, shoulders and paths designated for use by cyclists from which motorised traffic is generally excluded...
network. In the centre of Bayreuth itself, cycling is fairly straightforward due to the relatively flat topography
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
, something which encourages the use bicycles as an everyday means of transport. Because of the proximity of the 600 kilometre long Main Cycle Path, Bayreuth is also a destination for many tourist cycle routes.
Because of the long service intervals of the Bayreuth town bus system and its long overnight pause, students use bicycles as their everyday mode of transport.
Bicycles may be carried for a fee on DB Regio
DB Regio
DB Regio AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates short and medium distance passenger train services in Germany, and operates light and heavy rail infrastructure in the United Kingdom.-Germany:...
trains leaving Bayreuth and in the VGN's buses.
Air transport
The local airport supports Bayreuth's commercial aviation traffic, individual business travel, general aviation and air sports. By 2002 even the airline from Frankfurt to Hof stopped in Bayreuth three times a day.The airfield at Bindlacher Berg is also one of the most important bases for gliding in Germany. For example, the World Championships took place here in 1999. For the air sports community in Bayreuth, the airport is a departure point for glider flights taking part in the national Bundesliga competition league. The local gliding club also provides instruction in flying gliders and light aircraft.
See also: Bayreuth Airport.
Important firms
- Basell Bayreuth Chemie (Producer of polyolefins)
- Brauerei Gebrüder Maisel (wheat beer specialist)
- British American TobaccoBritish American TobaccoBritish American Tobacco p.l.c. is a global tobacco company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s second largest quoted tobacco company by global market share , with a leading position in more than 50 countries and a presence in more than 180 countries...
(Germany) GmbH (cigarette production) - CherryCherry (keyboards)ZF Electronics GmbH is a German computer peripheral-device maker. The company has its roots in the USA. They also manufacture a large range of products including sensors, input devices and automotive modules...
(Data entry devices, switches and sensors, car motifs) - Grundig Business SystemsGrundig Business SystemsGrundig Business Systems is a German company located in Bayreuth and Nuremberg in Germany and employs 170 people. Since 2001, it has been an independent corporation, manufacturing analogue and digital dictation devices featuring the "Made in Germany" quality label.- Background :The company has...
(world market leader for professional dictaphone systems) - W. Markgraf (construction)
- medi (medical aids)
- StäubliStäubliStäubli is an international mechatronics company, primarily known for its textile machinery, connectors and robotics products.-History:...
(textile machines, technical couplings and robot arms) - Steingraeber & SöhneSteingraeber & SöhneSteingraeber & Söhne was founded in 1820 in Thuringia and since 1852 it has made Bayreuth its home becoming in just three decades one of the best known manufacturers of grand and upright pianos....
piano manufacturers - ZapfZapfZapf can signify:* Zapf , a family name** Franz Zapf, German museum director** Helmut Zapf, German composer** Hermann Zapf, German typeface designer, professor, calligrapher, typographer and husband of Gudrun Zapf-von Hesse...
(manufacturer of ready-made garages and houses)
Former important firms
- F. C. Bayerlein 1809-1979 (textile company: weaving, spinning, cotton-spinning and dying)
Media
- Nordbayerischer Kurier (dail paper)
- Fränkische Zeitung (FZ) ; formerly the Bayreuther Anzeiger, renamed in October 2008 (advertising paper)
- Bayreuther Sonntag (advertising paper)
- Bayreuth4U (town magazine)
- Bayerischer RundfunkBayerischer RundfunkBayerischer Rundfunk [Bavarian Broadcasting] is the public broadcasting authority for the German Freistaat of Bavaria, with its main offices located in Munich. BR is a member of ARD.- Legal foundation :...
(North Upper Franconia correspondent office). In the 1950s/1960s Bayerische Rundfunk operated einen radio station in Bayreuth on medium wave with a frequencyFrequencyFrequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
of 520 kHz and a transmitter power of 200 watts using a 60 metre high transmission mast. - Campus TV (University of Bayreuth media project in media science)
- Der Tip (University of Bayreuth student paper)
- Oberfränkische Wirtschaft, (trade magazine for Upper Franconia)
- Radio Galaxy (local radio station for the Bavaria-wide youth radio)
- Radio Mainwelle (local radio)
- Schalltwerk (University of Bayreuth internet radio)
Bayreuth (baɪˈʁɔʏt; ba(ː)ˈɾaɪ̯t; beɪˈruːθ) is a sizeable town in northern Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura
Franconian Jura
The Franconian Jura is an upland in Bavaria, Germany. Located between two rivers, the Danube in the south and the Main in the north, its peaks reach elevations of up to .Large portions of the Franconian Jura are part of the Altmühl Valley Nature Park...
and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194 and it is nowadays the capital of Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia , all now part of the German Federal State of Bayern .With more than 200 independent breweries which brew...
with a population of 72,576 (2009). It is world-famous for its annual Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
are presented.
Middle Ages and Early Modern Period
The town is believed to have been founded by the Counts of AndechsCounts of Andechs
The House of Andechs was a feudal line of German princes in 12th and 13th century. The Counts of Dießen-Andechs obtained territiories in northern Dalmatia on the Adriatic seacoast, where they became Margraves of Istria and ultimately Dukes of a short-lived Imperial State named Merania from 1180 to...
probably around the mid-12th century, but was first mentioned in 1194 as Baierrute in a document by Bishop Otto II of Bamberg. The syllable -rute may mean Rodung or "clearing", whilst Baier- indicates immigrants from the Bavarian region.
Already documented earlier, were villages later merged into Bayreuth: Seulbitz (in 1035 as the royal Salian
Salian dynasty
The Salian dynasty was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages of four German Kings , also known as the Frankish dynasty after the family's origin and role as dukes of Franconia...
estate of Silewize in a document by Emperor Conrad II
Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor
Conrad II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1027 until his death.The son of a mid-level nobleman in Franconia, Count Henry of Speyer and Adelaide of Alsace, he inherited the titles of count of Speyer and of Worms as an infant when Henry died at age twenty...
) and St. Johannis (possibly 1149 as Altentrebgast). Even the district of Altstadt (formerly Altenstadt) west of the town centre must be older than the town of Bayreuth itself. Even older traces of human presence were found in the hamlets of Meyernberg: pieces of pottery and wooden crockery were dated to the 9th century based on their decoration.
While Bayreuth was previously (1199) referred to as a villa (village), the term civitas ("town") appeared for the first time in a document published in 1231. One can therefore assume that Bayreuth was awarded its town charter between 1200 and 1230. The town was ruled until 1248 by the counts of Andechs-Merania. After they died out in 1260 the burgraves of Nuremberg from the House of Hohenzollern
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
took over the inheritance. Initially, however, their residence and the centre of the territory was the castle of Plassenburg
Plassenburg
Plassenburg is a castle in the city of Kulmbach in Bavaria. It is one of the most impressive castles in Germany and a symbol of the city. It was first mentioned in 1135. The Plassenberg family were ministerial of the counts of Andechs and used as their seat the Plassenburg...
in Kulmbach
Kulmbach
Kulmbach is the capital of the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany. The town is famous for Plassenburg Castle, which houses the largest tin soldier museum in the world, and for its famous sausages, or Bratwürste.-Location:...
. The town of Bayreuth developed slowly and was affected time and again by disasters.
As early as 1361 Emperor Charles IV
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
had conferred on Burgrave Frederick V the right to mint coins for the towns of Bayreuth and Kulmbach.
Bayreuth was first published on a map in 1421.
In February 1430, the Hussites devastated Bayreuth and the town hall and churches were razed. Matthäus Merian
Matthäus Merian
Matthäus Merian der Ältere was a Swiss-born engraver who worked in Frankfurt for most of his career, where he also ran a publishing house.-Early life and marriage:...
described this event in 1642 as follows:"In 1430 the Hussites from Bohemia attacked / Culmbach and Barreut / and committed great acts of cruelty / like wild animals / against the common people / and certain individuals. / The priests / monks and nuns they either burnt at the stake / or took them onto the ice of lakes and rivers / (in Franconia and Bavaria) and doused them with cold water / and killed them in a deplorable way / as Boreck reported in the Bohemian Chronicle, page 450"((Source: Frühwald (Hg.): Fränkische Städte und Burgen um 1650 based on texts and engravings by Merian, Sennfeld 1991.)
By 1528, less than ten years after the start of the Reformation, the lords of the Frankish margrave territories switched to the Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
faith.
In 1605 a great fire, caused by negligence, destroyed 137 of the town's 251 houses. In 1620 plague broke out and, in 1621, there was another big fire in the town. The town also suffered during the Thirty Years War.
A turning point in the town's history came in 1603 when Margrave Christian, the son of the elector, John George of Brandenburg, moved the aristocratic residence from the castle of Plassenburg above Kulmbach to Bayreuth. The first Hohenzollern palace was built in 1440-1457 under Margrave John the Alchemist. It was the forerunner of today's Old Palace (Altes Schloss) and was expanded and renovated many times. The development of the new capital stagnated due to the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, but afterwards many famous baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
buildings were added to the town. After Christian's death in 1655 his grandson, Christian Ernest, followed him, ruling from 1661 until 1712. He was an educated and well-travelled man, whose tutor had been the statesman Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal
Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal
Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal was a German nobleman of the von Blumenthal family. He was a diplomat and the founder of the Brandenburg-Prussian Army.-Biography:He was born in 1609 and educated at the Viadrina...
. He founded the Christian-Ernestinum Grammar School and, in 1683, participated in the liberation of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
which had been besieged by the Turks. To commemorate this feat, he had the Margrave Fountain built as a monument on which he is depicted as the victor of the Turks; it now stands outside the New Palace (Neues Schloss). During this time, the outer ring of the town wall and the castle chapel (Schlosskirche) were built.
18th century
Ordre de la Sincérité
The Ordre de la Sincérité , was an order of knighthood of the German Margrave of Bayreuth. The order's name came from 18th-century courtiers who spoke French. The order had fifty knights...
), which was renamed in 1734 to the Order of the Red Eagle
Order of the Red Eagle
The Order of the Red Eagle was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, or other achievements...
and had the monastery church built, which was completed in 1711. In 1716 a princely porcelain
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
factory was established in St. Georgen.
The first 'castle' in the park of the Hermitage
Hermitage Museum (Bayreuth)
The State Hermitage Museum in Bayreuth was created from a 1715 historical park with fountains and remains one of the major town attractions. Notible buildings include the Old Palace, a New Castle with sun temple and other smaller buildings. The Hermitage is within the district of the independent...
was built at this time by Margrave George William (1715–1719).
In 1721 the town council acquired the palace of Baroness Sponheim (today's Old Town Hall or Altes Rathaus) as a replacement for the town hall built in 1440 in the middle of the market place and destroyed by fire.
In 1735 a nursing home, the so-called Gravenreuth
Gravenreuth
Gravenreuth was a German local noble family.The familys origin seat was located in Grafenreuth, now part of Thiersheim in the District of Wunsiedel in Upper Franconia, first mentioned in 1180. Up to the 18th century, the family, supplied with the title Freiherren, was the owner of nearby land and...
Stift, was founded by a private foundation in St. Georgen. The cost of the building exceeded the funds of the foundation, but Margrave Frederick came to their aid.
Bayreuth experienced its Golden Age during the reign (1735–1763) of Margrave Frederick and Margravine Wilhelmina of Bayreuth, the favourite sister of Frederick the Great
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
. During this time, under the direction of court architects, Joseph Saint-Pierre and Carl von Gontard
Carl von Gontard
Carl von Gontard was a German architect; he worked primarily in Berlin, Potsdam, and Bayreuth....
, numerous courtly buildings and attractions were created: the Margravial Opera House with its richly furnished baroque theatre (1744–1748), the New 'Castle' and Sun Temple (1749–1753) at the Hermitage, the New Palace with its courtyard garden (1754 ff) to replace the Old Palace which had burned down through the carelessness of the margrave, and the magnificent row of buildings in today's Friedrichstraße. There was even a unique version of the rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
architectural style, the so-called Bayreuth Rococo which characterised the aforementioned buildings, especially their interior design.
The old, sombre gatehouses were demolished because they impeded transport and were an outmoded form of defence. The walls were built over in places. Margrave Frederick successfully kept his principality out of the wars being waged by his brother-in-law, Frederick the Great, at this time, and, as a result, brought a time of peace to the Frankish kingdom.
1742 saw the founding of the Frederick Academy, which was became a university in 1743, but was moved that same year to Erlangen
Erlangen
Erlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large tributary, the Untere Schwabach.Erlangen has more than 100,000 inhabitants....
after serious riots because of the adverse reaction of the population. The university has remained there to the present today. From 1756 to 1763 there was also an Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Roman Catholics were given the right to set up a prayer room and Jewish families settled here again. In 1760 the synagogue was opened and in 1787 the Jewish cemetery was dedicated.
Countess Wilhelmina died in 1758 and, although, Margrave Frederick married again, the marriage was only short-lived and without issue. After his death in 1763, many artists and craftsmen migrated to Berlin and Potsdam, to work for King Frederick the Great, because Frederick's successor, Margrave Frederick Christian had little understanding of art. He also lacked the means due to the elaborate lifestyle of his predecessor, because the buildings and the salaries of the mainly foreign artists had swallowed up a lot of money. For example the court - which under George Frederick Charles had comprised around 140 people - had grown to about 600 employees by the end of the reign of Margrave Frederick. By 1769 the principality was close to bankruptcy.
In 1769 Margrave Charles Alexander, from the Ansbach line of Frankish Hohenzollerns, followed the childless Frederick Christian and Bayreuth was reduced to a secondary residence. Charles Alexander continued to live in Ansbach and rarely came to Bayreuth.
In 1775 the Brandenburg Pond (Brandenburger Weiher) in St.Georgen was drained.
Following the abdication of the last Margrave, Charles Alexander, from the principalities of Ansbach
Ansbach
Ansbach, originally Onolzbach, is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is situated southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the Fränkische Rezat, a tributary of the Main river. As of 2004, its population was 40,723.Ansbach...
and Bayreuth on 2 December 1791 its territories became part of a Prussian province. The Prussian Minister Karl August von Hardenberg
Karl August von Hardenberg
Karl August Fürst von Hardenberg was a Prussian statesman and Prime Minister of Prussia. While during his late career he acquiesced to reactionary policies, earlier in his career he implemented a variety of Liberal reforms...
took over its administration at the beginning of 1792.
The town centre still possesses the typical structure of a Bavarian street market: the settlement is grouped around a road widening into a square; the Town Hall was located in the middle. The church stood apart from it and on a small hill stood the castle. Some sixty years later the town (at that time a tiny village) became subordinate to the Hohenzollern state, and when this state was divided, Bayreuth ended up in the county of Kulmbach
Principality of Bayreuth
The Principality of Bayreuth or Brandenburg-Bayreuth was a reichsfrei principality in the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Bavarian city of Bayreuth. Until 1604 its capital city was Kulmbach; then the margraves used their palaces in Bayreuth as their residence...
.
19th century
In 1804, the author Jean Paul RichterJean Paul
Jean Paul , born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, was a German Romantic writer, best known for his humorous novels and stories.-Life and work:...
moved from Coburg
Coburg
Coburg is a town located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany. Its 2005 population was 42,015. Long one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined with Bavaria by popular vote in 1920...
to Bayreuth, where he lived until his death in 1825.
The rule of the Hohenzollerns over the Principality of Kulmbach-Bayreuth ended in 1806 after the defeat of Prussia by Napoleonic France. During the French occupation from 1806 to 1810 Bayreuth was treated as a province of the French Empire and had to pay high war contributions. It was placed under the administration of Comte Camille de Tournon, who wrote a detailed inventory of the former Principality of Bayreuth. On 30 June 1810 the French army handed over the former principality to the what was now the Kingdom of Bavaria
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Bavarian Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1806 as Maximilian I Joseph. The monarchy would remain held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom's dissolution in 1918...
, which it had bought from Napoleon for 15 million francs.
Bayreuth became the capital of the Bavarian district of Mainkreis, which later transferred into Obermainkreis and was finally renamed as the province of Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia , all now part of the German Federal State of Bayern .With more than 200 independent breweries which brew...
.
As Bavaria was opened up by the railways, the main line from Nuremberg to Hof went past Bayreuth, running via Lichtenfels, Kulmbach and Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg to Hof. Bayreuth was first given a railway connexion in 1853, when the Bayreuth–Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg railway was built at the town's expense. It was followed in 1863 by the line to Weiden, in 1877 by the railway to Schnabelwaid, in 1896 by the branch line to Warmensteinach
Bayreuth–Warmensteinach railway
The Bayreuth–Warmensteinach railway is a branch line in the Bavarian province of Upper Franconia in southern Germany. It is the last still partially intact of the seven branch lines, that formerly served the Fichtelgebirge.- History :...
, in 1904 by the branch to Hollfeld
Bayreuth–Hollfeld railway
The Bayreuth–Hollfeld railway was a branch line in the Bavarian province of Upper Franconia. It ran from Bayreuth to Hollfeld in the northern part of Franconian Switzerland.- Construction :Plans for the construction of this line went back to the 1860s...
and in 1909 by the branch via Thurnau to Kulmbach
Bayreuth Altstadt–Kulmbach railway
The Bayreuth Altstadt–Kulmbach railway was a branch line in the Bavarian provinces of Upper Franconia in southern Germany. It was also known colloquially as the Thurnauer Bockela ....
, known as the Thurnauer Bockala (which means something like "Thurnau Goat").
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
visited Bayreuth, because he had read about the Margrave Opera House, whose great stage seemed fitting for his works. However, the orchestra pit could not accommodate the large number of musicians required, for example, for the Ring of the Nibelung and the ambience of the auditorium seemed inappropriate for his piece, The Artwork of the Future
The Artwork of the Future
"The Artwork of the Future" is a long essay written by Richard Wagner, first published in 1849 in Leipzig, in which he sets out some of his ideals on the topics of art in general and music drama in particular....
(Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft). So, he toyed with the idea of building his own festival hall (the Festspielhaus) in Bayreuth. The town supported him in this project and made a piece of land available to him, an undeveloped area outside the town between the railway station and Hohe Warte, the Grüner Hügel ("Green Hill"). At the same time Wagner acquired a property at Hofgarten to build his own house, Wahnfried
Wahnfried
Wahnfried may refer to:*Wahnfried, Richard Wagner's villa in Bayreuth*Richard Wahnfried , the long-time alias for German composer and musician Klaus Schulze...
. On 22 May 1872 the cornerstone for the Festival Hall was laid and, on 13 August 1876, it was officially opened (see Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
). Planning and construction were in the hands of the Leipzig architect, Otto Brückwald, who had already made a name for himself in the building of theatres in Leipzig and Altenburg.
In 1886, the composer Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
died in Bayreuth while visiting his daughter Cosima Liszt, Wagner's widow. Both Liszt and Wagner are buried in Bayreuth; however Wagner did not die there. Rather he died in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
in 1883, but his family had his body brought to Bayreuth for burial.
To the end of the Weimar Republic (1900–1933)
The new century also brought several innovations of modern technology: in 1892 the first electric street lights; in 1908 a municipal electricity station, and, in the same year, the first cinema.In 1914-15, one section of the northern arm of the Red Main was straightened and widened after areas along the river had been flooded during a period of high water in 1909.
After the First World War had ended in 1918, the Workers' and Soldiers' Council
Workers' council
A workers' council, or revolutionary councils, is the phenomenon where a single place of work or enterprise, such as a factory, school, or farm, is controlled collectively by the workers of that workplace, through the core principle of temporary and instantly revocable delegates.In a system with...
took power briefly in Bayreuth. On 17 February 1919 there was a three-day coup, the so-called Speckputsch, a brief interlude of excitement in the otherwise rather staid town.
In a series of völkisch
Völkisch movement
The volkisch movement is the German interpretation of the populist movement, with a romantic focus on folklore and the "organic"...
and nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
"Deutscher Tag" (German Days), the NSDAP organised the event in Bayreuth on September 30, 1923. More than 5.000 military and civilian people gathered (equivalent to 15% of the inhabitants), although Minister of Defence Otto Gessler
Otto Gessler
Otto Karl Gessler was a German politician during the Weimar Republic. From 1910 until 1914, he was mayor of Regensburg and from 1913 to 1919 mayor of Nuremberg. He served in Weimar cabinets from 1919 until 1928, usually as Minister of Defence.-Biography:Gessler was born in Ludwigsburg in the...
had forbidden the participation of Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
units. Among the guests were mayor Albert Preu as well as Siegfried
Siegfried Wagner
Siegfried Wagner was a German composer and conductor, the son of Richard Wagner. He was an opera composer and the artistic director of the Bayreuth Festival from 1908 to 1930.-Life:...
and Winifred Wagner
Winifred Wagner
Winifred Wagner was an English woman married to Siegfried Wagner, Richard Wagner's son. She was the effective head of the Wagner family from 1930 to 1945, and a close friend of German dictator Adolf Hitler....
, who invitated keynote speaker Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
to Wahnfried
Wahnfried
Wahnfried may refer to:*Wahnfried, Richard Wagner's villa in Bayreuth*Richard Wahnfried , the long-time alias for German composer and musician Klaus Schulze...
house. There he met writer Houston Stewart Chamberlain
Houston Stewart Chamberlain
Houston Stewart Chamberlain was a British-born German author of books on political philosophy, natural science and the German composer Richard Wagner. He later became a German citizen. Chamberlain married Wagner's daughter, Eva, some years after Wagner's death...
, son-in-law of Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
and anti-semitic race theorist
Racialism
Racialism is an emphasis on race or racial considerations. Currently, racialism entails a belief in the existence and significance of racial categories, but not necessarily that any absolute hierarchy between the races has been demonstrated by a rigorous and comprehensive scientific process...
. Also on that day, Hans Schemm
Hans Schemm
Hans Schemm was a Gauleiter in Nazi Germany.-Life:Schemm, whose parents ran a shoemaker's shop, first went to a Volksschule for five years and then as of 1905 a teaching seminary. In 1915 he got married; in 1917 a son was born...
met Hitler for the first time.
In 1932 the provinces of Upper and Middle Franconia were merged and Ansbach chosen as the seat of government. As a small compensation, Bayreuth was given the merged state insurance agency for Upper and Middle Franconia. Unlike the provincial merger, the merger of those institutions was never reversed.
The Nazi era (1933–1945)
Being a stronghold of right-wing parties since the 1920s, Bayreuth became a center of NaziNazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
ideology. In 1933, it was made capital of the Nazi Gau of Bavarian Ostmark (Bayerische Ostmark, in 1943 Gau Bayreuth). Nazi leaders often visited the Wagner festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
and tried to turn Bayreuth into a Nazi model town. It was one of several places in which town planning was administered directly from Berlin, due to Hitler's special interest in the town and in the festival. Hitler loved the music of Richard Wagner, and he became a close friend of Winifred Wagner
Winifred Wagner
Winifred Wagner was an English woman married to Siegfried Wagner, Richard Wagner's son. She was the effective head of the Wagner family from 1930 to 1945, and a close friend of German dictator Adolf Hitler....
after she took over the festival. Hitler frequently attended Wagner performances in the Bayreuth Festival Hall.
Bayreuth was to have received a so-called Gauforum, a combined government building and marching square built to symbolise the centre of power in the town. Bayreuth's first Gauleiter
Gauleiter
A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Creation and Early Usage:...
was Hans Schemm
Hans Schemm
Hans Schemm was a Gauleiter in Nazi Germany.-Life:Schemm, whose parents ran a shoemaker's shop, first went to a Volksschule for five years and then as of 1905 a teaching seminary. In 1915 he got married; in 1917 a son was born...
, who was also the head (Reichswalter) of the National Socialist Teachers League
National Socialist Teachers League
The National Socialist Teachers League, Nationalsozialistische Lehrerbund , was established as a wing of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei in 1927. This organization lasted until 1943. Its seat was in Bayreuth. The founder and first "Reichswalter" of the organization was Hans Schemm...
, NSLB, which was located in Bayreuth. In 1937 the town was connected to the new Reichsautobahn.
Under Nazi dictatorship the synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
of the Jewish Community in Münzgasse was desecrated and looted on Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
but, due to its proximity to the Opera House it was not razed. Inside the building, which is once again used by a Jewish community as a synagogue, a plaque next to the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
Shrine recalls the persecution and murder of Jews in the Shoa
Shoa
Shoa may refer to:* The Holocaust, named Ha-Shoah in Hebrew* Shoah .* Shoa, Ethiopia, the Shewa region, sometimes spelled Shoa* Shuwa Arabic or the Baggara Arabs* Shoa Magazine, a monthly magazine published from Pakistan...
, which at cost the lives of at least 145 Jews in Bayreuth.
During the Second World War a subcamp of the Flossenbürg concentration camp
Flossenbürg concentration camp
Konzentrationslager Flossenbürg was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the Schutzstaffel Economic-Administrative Main Office at Flossenbürg, in the Oberpfalz region of Bavaria, Germany, near the border with Czechoslovakia. Until its liberation in April 1945, more than 96,000 prisoners...
was based in the town, in which prisoners had to participate in physical experiments for the V2. Wieland Wagner
Wieland Wagner
Wieland Wagner was a German opera director.- Life :Wieland was the elder of two sons of Siegfried and Winifred Wagner and grandson of composer Richard Wagner....
, the grandson of the composer, Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
, was the deputy civilian director there from September 1944 to April 1945. Shortly before the war's end branches of the People's Court (Volksgerichtshof) were to have been set up in Bayreuth.
On 5, 8 and 11 April 1945 about one third of the town, including many public buildings and industrial installations were destroyed by heavy air strikes, along with 4,500 houses. 741 people were also killed. On 14 April, the U.S. Army occupied the town.
Post-war era and Reconstruction (1945–2000)
After the war Bayreuth tried to part with its ill-fated past. It became part of the American Zone. The American military government set up a DP camp to accommodate so-called displaced personDisplaced person
A displaced person is a person who has been forced to leave his or her native place, a phenomenon known as forced migration.- Origin of term :...
s (DP). Most of them came from the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. The camp was supervised by the UNRRA
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in 1943, it became part of the United Nations in 1945, was especially active in 1945 and 1946, and largely shut down...
.
The housing situation was very difficult at first: there were about 55,000 inhabitants in the town, many more than before the war began. This increase was primarily due to the high number of refugees and expellees. Even in 1948 more than 11,000 refugees were counted. In addition, because many homes had been destroyed due to the war, thousands of people were living in temporary shelters, even the festival restaurant next to the Festival Hall housed some 500 people.
In 1945, 1,400 men were conscripted by the town council for "essential work" (clean-up work on damaged buildings and the clearing of roads).
But cultural life was also soon back on track: in 1947 Mozart festival weeks were held in the Opera House, from which the Franconian Festival Weeks developed. In 1949 the Festival Hall was used for the first time again and there was a gala concert with the Vienna Philharmonic led by Hans Knappertsbusch
Hans Knappertsbusch
Hans Knappertsbusch was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Richard Wagner, Anton Bruckner and Richard Strauss....
. In 1951, the first post-war Richard Wagner Festival took place under the leadership of Wieland
Wieland Wagner
Wieland Wagner was a German opera director.- Life :Wieland was the elder of two sons of Siegfried and Winifred Wagner and grandson of composer Richard Wagner....
and Wolfgang Wagner
Wolfgang Wagner
Wolfgang Wagner was a German opera director. He is best known as the director of the Bayreuth Festival, a position he initially assumed alongside his brother Wieland in 1951 until the latter's death in 1966...
.
In 1949 Bayreuth became the seat of the government of Upper Franconia again.
After the war a significant number of historic buildings were demolished.
In 1971 the Bavarian State Parliament decided to establish the University of Bayreuth
University of Bayreuth
The University of Bayreuth is a public research university situated in Bayreuth, Germany. It was founded in 1975 as a campus university focusing on international collaboration and interdisciplinarity...
and, on 3 November 1975, it opened for lectures and research. There are now about 10,000 students in the town.
In May 1972, a serious accident occurred at the folk festival in the town, when an overcrowded carriage derailed and several people were thrown out. Four died and five were injured, some seriously. At that time, it was the worst disaster on a roller coaster since the Second World War.
In 1999 the world gliding championship took place at Bayreuth municipal airport.
21st century
In 2006, Bayreuth chose its first CSU member and mayor, the lawyer, Michael Hohl, and, in 2007, a Youth Parliament, consisting of 12 young people, aged 14–17 years, was elected for the first time. The end of October saw the opening of the long-planned bus station and its associated office building on the newly created Hohenzollernplatz.Richard Wagner and Bayreuth
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
, who lived in Bayreuth from 1872 until his death in 1883. Wagner's villa, "Wahnfried
Wahnfried
Wahnfried may refer to:*Wahnfried, Richard Wagner's villa in Bayreuth*Richard Wahnfried , the long-time alias for German composer and musician Klaus Schulze...
", was constructed in Bayreuth under the sponsorship of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, and was converted after World War II into a Wagner Museum. To the north of Bayreuth is the Festival Hall
Bayreuth Festspielhaus
The or Bayreuth Festival Theatre is an opera house north of Bayreuth, Germany, dedicated solely to the performance of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner...
, an opera house
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
specially constructed for and exclusively devoted to the performance of Wagner's opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s. The premieres of the final two works of Wagner's Ring Cycle
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Der Ring des Nibelungen is a cycle of four epic operas by the German composer Richard Wagner . The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied...
("Siegfried
Siegfried (opera)
Siegfried is the third of the four operas that constitute Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner. It received its premiere at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 16 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of The Ring...
" and "Götterdämmerung
Götterdämmerung
is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four operas titled Der Ring des Nibelungen...
"); the cycle as a whole; and of Parsifal
Parsifal
Parsifal is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. It is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, the 13th century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail, and on Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, the Story of the Grail.Wagner first conceived the work...
took place here.
Every summer, Wagner's operas are performed at the Festspielhaus during the month-long Richard Wagner Festival, commonly known as the Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
. The Festival draws thousands each year, and has persistently been sold out since its inauguration in 1876. Currently, waiting lists for tickets can stretch for 10 years or more.
Owing to Wagner's relationship with the then unknown philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
, the first Bayreuth festival is cited as a key turning point in Nietzsche's philosophical development. Though at first an enthusiastic champion of Wagner's music, Nietzsche ultimately became hostile, viewing the festival and its revellers as symptom of cultural decay and bourgeois decadence —an event which led him to turn his eye upon the moral values esteemed by society as a whole.
Location
Bayreuth lies on the Red Main river, the southern of the two headstreams of the River Main, between the Fichtelgebirge Mountains and Franconian SwitzerlandFranconian Switzerland
The Little Switzerland is an upland in Upper Franconia, northern Bavaria and a popular tourist retreat. Located between the Pegnitz River in the east and the south, the Regnitz River in the west and the Main River in the north, its relief reaches 600 metres in height.The Franconian Switzerland is...
.
Town divisions
The borough of Bayreuth is divided into 39 districts:- 1: Westliche Innenstadt (Western town centre)
- 2: Östliche Innenstadt/Obere Röth (Eastern town centre)
- 3: Cosima-Wagner-Straße/ Nürnberger Straße/Universitätsstraße
- 4: Südöstliche Innenstadt (Southeastern town centre)
- 5: Südwestliche Innenstadt (Southwestern town centre)
- 6: Birken
- 7: Justus-Liebig-Straße/Quellhöfe/Rückertweg
- 8: Leuschnerstraße/Ludwig-Thoma-Straße
- 9: Saas, originated from the parish village Saas, which was mentioned as early as 1528 in connecxion with the Baptists
- 10: Bismarckstraße/Friedrichstraße/Moritzhöfen
- 11: Freiheitsplatz/Malerviertel
- 12. Erlanger Straße/Wolfsgasse
- 13: Jakobshof
- 14: Hetzennest/Braunhof/Fantaisiestraße
- 15: Meyernberg
- 16: Nördlicher Roter Hügel
- 17: Grüner Hügel/Wendelhöfen
- 18: Kreuz
- 19: Herzoghöhe/Am Bauhof
- 20: Nördliche Innenstadt
- 21: Carl-Schüller-Straße/Bürgerreuther Straße/Gutenbergstraße
- 22: Gartenstadt
- 23: Bürgerreuth/Gravenreutherstraße
- 24: St. Georgen/Grüner Baum/Burg
- 25: Östliche Hammerstatt
- 26: Westliche Hammerstatt
- 27: Bernecker Straße/Insel/Riedelsberg
- 28: Industriegebiete St. Georgen
- 29: St. Johannis
- 30: Neue Heimat
- 31: Oberkonnersreuth
- 32: Laineck
- 33: Westlicher Roter Hügel
- 34: Eubener Straße/Furtwänglerstraße/Schupfenschlag/Hohe Warte
- 35: Seulbitz
- 36: Aichig/Grunau
- 37: Thiergarten/Destuben
- 38: Oberpreuschwitz
- 39: Wolfsbach
Town council
The results of the 2008 local elections in Bavaria were as follows (in brackets the change from the 2002 elections):- CSUChristian Social Union of BavariaThe Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union , operates in the other 15 states of Germany...
: 28.2 % (-3.1), 13 seats (-1) - SPDSocial Democratic Party of GermanyThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
: 22.5 % (-5.4), 10 seats (-3) - BG - FW: 21,6 % (+2.0), 10 seats (+1)
- Greens/indep.: 10.0 % (+2.8), 4 seats (+1)
- Young Bayreuth: 5.8 % (-0,9), 2 seats (-1)
- FDP: 4.4 % (+0.5), 2 seats (+1)
- BT go!: 4.2 % (+4,2), 2 seats (+2)
- BBL: 3.2 % (+3,2), 1 seat (+1)
- Others: 0.0 % (-3,4), 0 seats (-1)
(Lord) Mayors of Bayreuth since 1818
- 1818–1848: Erhard Christian Hagen von Hagenfels (First legally trained mayor)
- 1851–1863: Friedrich Karl Dilchert (civic mayor)
- 1863–1900: Theodor von Muncker (legally trained mayor)
- 1900–1918: Dr. Leopold von Casselmann (legally trained mayor, lord mayor from 1907)
- 1919–30 April 1933: Albert Preu (lord mayor)
- 1 May 1933–June 1937: Dr. Karl Schlumprecht (lord mayor; NSDAP)
- 21 July 1937–April 1938: Dr. Otto Schmidt (lord mayor; NSDAP)
- 3 May 1938–30 June 1938: Fritz Wächtler (Gauleiter, self-proclaimed commissarial lord mayor; NSDAP)
- 1 July 1938–April 1945: Dr. Fritz Kempfler (lord mayor; NSDAP)
- 24 April 1945–November 1945: Dr. Joseph Kauper (lord mayor)
- November 1945–30 June 1948: Dr. Oscar Meyer (lord mayor)
- 1 July 1948–30 April 1958: Hans Rollwagen (lord mayor; SPD)
- 1 May 1958–30 April 1988: Hans Walter Wild (lord mayor; SPD)
- 1 May 1988–30 April 2006: Dr. Dieter Mronz (lord mayor; SPD)
- since 1 May 2006: Dr. Michael Hohl (lord mayor; CSU)
Twin towns
The town of Bayreuth has twinning partnerships with the following towns: AnnecyAnnecy
Annecy is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy , 35 kilometres south of Geneva.-Administration:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, since 1966 Rudolstadt
Rudolstadt
Rudolstadt is a town in the German Bundesland of Thuringia, close to the Thuringian Forest to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north....
, Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
, since 1990 La Spezia
La Spezia
La Spezia , at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the Liguria region of northern Italy, is the capital city of the province of La Spezia. Located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and hosts one of Italy's biggest military...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, since 1999 District 6, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, since 2008
Further twinnings with other European towns are planned. Under discussion are Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
, United Kingdom, and Tekirdağ
Tekirdag
Tekirdağ , the ancient Bisanthi , is a city in Eastern Thrace, in the European part of Turkey. Tekirdağ is the capital of Tekirdağ Province, felt by the local people to be a quieter and more pleasant town than the industrial centre of Çorlu, which it administers. The city population as of 2009 was...
in western Turkey.
There is also a cultural partnership with the state of Burgenland
Burgenland
Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, and a university partnership between the University of Bayreuth and the Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
in Lexington, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Sponsorship
In 1955 Bayreuth took on sponsorship for displaced Sudeten GermansSudeten Germans
- Importance of Sudeten Germans :Czechoslovakia was inhabited by over 3 million ethnic Germans, comprising about 23 percent of the population of the republic and about 29.5% of Bohemia and Moravia....
from the town of Franzensbad in Okres Cheb.
Coat of arms
Margrave Albert Achilles, who was also Elector of Brandenburg, presented the town Bayreuth in December 1457 which the coat of arms that it still bears today. Two fields show the black and white coat of arms of the Hohenzollerns. The black lion on gold with a red and white border was the municipal coat of arms of the burgraves of Nuremberg. Along the two diagonals are two Reuten, small triangular shovels with a slightly bent shaft. They represent the ending -reuth in the town's name.“Theatre
The Margravial Opera House was opened in 1748 and is one of the finest Baroque theatres in Europe. It is both a museum and the oldest working tableau in Bayreuth.The Festival Hall
Bayreuth Festspielhaus
The or Bayreuth Festival Theatre is an opera house north of Bayreuth, Germany, dedicated solely to the performance of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner...
dates to the 19th century and is now used solely for the Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
. Only works by Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
are put on.
The Bayreuth Town House (Stadthaus), likewise, does not have its own ensemble. It is regularly used by the Theater Hof as well as the Tourneetheater.
The only two theatres with their own ensemble are the Studiobühne Bayreuth and amateur dramatic society, Brandenburg Kulturstadl. The venues of the studio theatre in Bayreuth are the domicile of the theatre in the Röntgenstraße, the ruins of the Bayreuth Hermitage and the courtyard of Bayreuth piano manufacturer, Steingraeber & Söhne
Steingraeber & Söhne
Steingraeber & Söhne was founded in 1820 in Thuringia and since 1852 it has made Bayreuth its home becoming in just three decades one of the best known manufacturers of grand and upright pianos....
.
Museums
- The Richard Wagner Museum at WahnfriedWahnfriedWahnfried may refer to:*Wahnfried, Richard Wagner's villa in Bayreuth*Richard Wahnfried , the long-time alias for German composer and musician Klaus Schulze...
House was the residence of Richard Wagner and his family's home until 1966. Since 1976 it has been a museum with attached national archives and a research centre for the Richard Wagner Foundation in Bayreuth - The Jean Paul Museum in the former residence of Richard Wagner's daughter, Eva Chamberlain, with autographAutographAn autograph is a document transcribed entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.Autograph also refers to a person's artistic signature...
s, first editions of works, portraits and other pictorial material - The Franz Liszt Museum in the house where Franz LisztFranz LisztFranz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
died, with about 300 photographs, scripts and printed papers from the collection of the Munich pianist, Ernst Burger, which were bought by the town of Bayreuth. In addition there is a Stummklavier, the Ibach wingIbachIbach is a town in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
of Haus Wahnfried, letters and first editions of Franz Liszt. Biographic information boards, a mould of the font from Liszt's birthplace Raiding, Austria and Liszt busts by Antonio Galli enhance the collection. Visits are accompanied by the music of Franz Liszt
- The Historical Museum in the Old Latin School on Kirchplatz. On the ground floor it portrays the history and development of Bayreuth from the late Middle Ages to the 20th century with a model of the town in the year 1763. On the first floor are divisions covering the art and cultural history of Bayreuth's margravial period (17th and 18th centuries). Another division portrays arts and crafts in Bayreuth and the surrounding area with examples of faience pottery, glass products from the Fichtelgebirge and stone pottery from CreußenCreußenCreußen is a town in the district of Bayreuth in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the Red Main river, 13 km southeast of Bayreuth.Creußen is famous for its jugs....
. Painting, crafts, and early industrial artefacts from the Biedermeier period and the late 19th century round off a visit to the museum - The Museum of Art in the Old Town Hall which contains the Helmut and Constanze Meyer Art Foundation, the Georg Tappert collection and the archives and collection of Caspar Walter Rauh. The collections contain key works from the 20th century
- The British American Tobacco's Historical Collection in the old Lord Mayor's rooms of the Old Town Hall
- The German Typewriter Museum with a collection of over 400 historic typewriters from the Research and Training Centre for Shorthand and Word Processing in Bayreuth
- A branch of the Bavarian State Painting Collection was opened in the New Palace in August 2007. 80 works from Dutch and German painters of the late 17th century and 18th century are displayed.
- The Archaeological Museum in the Italian Building of the New Palace was founded in 1827 by the Historic Society. Its eight exhibition rooms include artefacts such as New Stone Age stone axes, 80 pottery jars from the Hallstatt era and Celtic bronze jewellery. The discoveries on display, which all come from eastern Upper Franconia, especially Franconian SwitzerlandFranconian SwitzerlandThe Little Switzerland is an upland in Upper Franconia, northern Bavaria and a popular tourist retreat. Located between the Pegnitz River in the east and the south, the Regnitz River in the west and the Main River in the north, its relief reaches 600 metres in height.The Franconian Switzerland is...
and the region around Bayreuth, date from the Old Stone Age to the Middle AgesMiddle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. In the experimental field there is a reconstructed loom, a rock drill and an original Schiebemühle. - Maisel's Brewery and Cooper's Museum, which teaches everything about the production of Weizen beer on a 2400 m² (2,870 sq yd) layout, making it the largest brewery in the world, not least due to its collection of over 5,500 beer glasses and mugs).
- The Upper Franconia Prehistory Museum portrays the history of life in Upper Franconia since the beginning of the world. Exhibitions are constantly changing; currently the life-size dinosaurs attract especial interest.
- Bayreuth Football Museum (Altstadt-Kult-Museum of SpVgg BayreuthSpVgg BayreuthSpVgg Bayreuth is a German football club based in Bayreuth, Bavaria. Apart from coming within two games of earning promotion to the Fußball-Bundesliga in 1979, the club also reached the quarter finals of the DFB-Pokal twice, in 1977 and 1980.- 1921 to 1945 :...
) - The Bayreuth of Wilhelmina Museum in the New Castle
- Fire Brigade Museum
- Iwalewa House, the Africa Centre of the University of Bayreuth
- Johann Baptist Graser School Museum
- Catacombs of the Bayreuth Aktien Brewery
- Little Poster Museum
- Margravial state rooms and collection of Bayreuth faiences in the New Castle
- Museum of Agricultural Tools and Equipment
- Lindenhof Natural History Museum
- Richard Wagner Gymnasium School Museum
- Wedlich Transport Museum
- Walküre Porcelain Museum
- Wilhelm Leuschner Memorial
- Wo Sarazen Art
Buildings
- The Hermitage (Eremitage)
- Thiergarten Hunting Lodge (Jagdschloss Thiergarten)
- New Palace (Neues Schloss) and court garden, seat of the margraves from 1753
- St. Georgen Castle (Ordensschloss St. Georgen)
- St. Georgen Church (Ordenskirche St. Georgen)
- St. John's Parish Church (St. Johannis)
- Colmdorf Castle
- Rollwenzelei with Jean Paul's study (Dichterstube)
- Old Palace and castle chapel of Our Dear Lady (Altes Schloss)
- Victory Tower (Siegesturm)
- Spital Church (Spitalkirche)
- Church of the Holy Spirit (Stadtkirche Heilig Dreifaltigkeit)
- Stift church (Stiftskirche)
- Birken Castle
- The Goldener Anker hotel
- Baroque parks:
- Hermitage Park, former seat of the margraves, outside the inner town
- Castle and park of Fantaisie, in EckersdorfEckersdorfEckersdorf is a municipality in the district of Bayreuth in Bavaria in Germany.- Geography :The municipality of Eckersdorf is located on the northern edge of an area called "Little Switzerland" , close to the world-famous festival town of Bayreuth...
(vicinity of Bayreuth. 7 km (4 mi) west) - Sanspareil Park, about 30 km west of Bayreuth
- University Botanical Gardens
Public parks and cemeteries
In the town centre is the Court Garden (Hofgarten) of the New Palace. Near the Festival Hall is the Festival Park. On the southern edge of the town lie the Botanical Gardens of the University of BayreuthUniversity of Bayreuth
The University of Bayreuth is a public research university situated in Bayreuth, Germany. It was founded in 1975 as a campus university focusing on international collaboration and interdisciplinarity...
. On the Königsallee, east of the town centre, is the relatively small Miedel Garden.
The best known park in Bayreuth is that of the 'Eremitage' (Hermitage) in the district of St. Johannis. With a total area of almost 50 hectares it is the largest park in Bayreuth.
Bayreuth has been chosen to host the Bavarian Country Garden Show in 2016. For this reason another park is planned on the Main water meadows between the Volksfestplatz and A 9 motorway.
The oldest surviving cemetery is the Town Cemetery (Stadtfriedhof) with a large number of gravestones of famous people. On the southern edge of the town is the Southern Cemetery (Südfriedhof) and crematorium. The districts of St. Johannis and St. Georgen have their own cemeteries. On Nürnberger Straße, in the east of the town, is an Israeli cemetery.
Sport
Over 60 clubs offer just under one hundreds sports. The most successful club in the town is the street hockey team, Hurricans Bayreuth, who have been German runners-up three times (1998/2004/2006) and champions five times (1996/1997/2001/2005/2007). The only other first division team is the Bayreuth Gliding Club which won the league in 2002 and were runners-up in 2005 and 2008. They were also fourth in the World League in 2008. The basketball team of BBC BayreuthBBC Bayreuth
BBC Bayreuth is a German basketball club based in Bayreuth, Bavaria..The club won the 2009-10 Pro A Championship and will play Basketball Bundesliga in the 2010-11 season.- Season by season :...
plays in the Basketball Bundesliga
Basketball Bundesliga
The Basketball Bundesliga — commonly abbreviated BBL — is the highest level league of club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season is split into a league stage and a playoff stage...
(division 1), the HaSpo Bayreuth handball team, the footballers of SpVgg Bayreuth
SpVgg Bayreuth
SpVgg Bayreuth is a German football club based in Bayreuth, Bavaria. Apart from coming within two games of earning promotion to the Fußball-Bundesliga in 1979, the club also reached the quarter finals of the DFB-Pokal twice, in 1977 and 1980.- 1921 to 1945 :...
and the volleyball players of BSV Bayreuth each play in their respective Bavarian League. The ice hockey team, EHC Bayreuth, has also just entered the Bavarian League.
Bayreuth had its sporting heyday in the late 1980s and early 90s. The basketball team, Steiner Bayreuth, were twice German Cup winners (1987/1988 and 1988/1989) and in the 1988/1989 season they also won the German championship. The hockey team of Bayreuth's swimming club (SCC) was twice champions of Second Division South and also played for a year in the Hockey League. At the time that the table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
team of Steiner Bayreuth was also first class (since 1983 2nd Division, in 1984/85, 1986/87 and 1987/88 1st Division, 1988 relegated and the team has played for many years in the 2nd Football Division. The table tennis players of the 1. Bayreuth FC played in the 1st Division from 1994 to 1997.
In 1999 the World Glider
Glider (sailplane)
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...
Championships took place in Bayreuth.
Regular events
- In January, May, June, July, November and December: Young master pianists (concert series for young pianists from various music academies in the rooms of piano makers, Steingraeber & Söhne)
- April: Bayreuth Easter Festival (charity concerts for children with cancer)
- May: Musica Bayreuth
- June: Uniopenair
- June: Time for New Music
- June: Bayreuth Folk Festival
- July: Bayreuth Town Festival (on the first weekend in July)
- July: Bayreuth Piano Festival
- July–August: Bayreuth FestivalBayreuth FestivalThe Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
, Midsummer Night Festival - September: Rock in Bayreuth
- September: Bayreuth Baroque (opera performances in the Margravial Opera House)
- October: Bayreuth Kneipen Festival
- October: Bayreuth Museum Night (the day before the clocks go back)
- October: Since 2008 the town had awarded annually the Margravine Wilhelmina Prize of the Town of Bayreuth as part of the Bayreuth Future Forum symposium of the University of Bayreuth
Long-distance roads
Motorways (Autobahnen):- A 9: BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
–LeipzigLeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
–Bayreuth–Nuremberg–IngolstadtIngolstadtIngolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As at 31 March 2011, Ingolstadt had 125.407 residents...
–MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat... - A 70: SchweinfurtSchweinfurtSchweinfurt is a city in the Lower Franconia region of Bavaria in Germany on the right bank of the canalized Main, which is here spanned by several bridges, 27 km northeast of Würzburg.- History :...
–BambergBambergBamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
–Bayreuth
Federal roads (Bundesstraßen):
- B 2: RosowMescherinMescherin is a municipality in the Uckermark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is located on the western shore of the Oder river which is the international border to Poland since 1945.-Overview:...
–Berlin–Lutherstadt Wittenberg–Leipzig–GeraGeraGera, the third-largest city in the German state of Thuringia , lies in east Thuringia on the river Weiße Elster, approximately 60 kilometres to the south of the city of Leipzig and 80 kilometres to the east of Erfurt...
–Hof–Bayreuth–Nuremnberg–DonauwörthDonauwörthDonauwörth is a city in the German State of Bavaria , in the region of Swabia . It is said to have been founded by two fisherman where the Danube and Wörnitz rivers meet...
–AugsburgAugsburgAugsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
–Munich–MittenwaldMittenwaldMittenwald is a German municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria.-Geography:Mittenwald is located approx. 16 kilometers to the south-east of Garmisch-Partenkirchen... - B 22Bundesstraße 22Bundesstraße 22 is a German federal highway that runs from Würzburg in Lower Franconia, through the Upper Franconian cities of Bamberg and Bayreuth and the Upper Palatine town of Weiden, to Cham...
: WürzburgWürzburgWürzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
–Bamberg–HollfeldHollfeldHollfeld is a town in the district of Bayreuth, in Bavaria, Germany.It is situated 20 km west of Bayreuth, and 30 km east of Bamberg.-Villages:...
–Bayreuth–WeidenWeiden in der OberpfalzWeiden in der Oberpfalz is a district-free city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located 100 km east of Nuremberg and 35 km west of the Czech border. A branch of the German Army's NCO Academy is located here...
–Cham - B 85Bundesstraße 85The Bundesstraße 85 runs southeast through Thuringia and Bavaria, from Kyffhäuser to Passau, near the Austrian border. B85 is approximately long.Cities and towns along B85:...
: Berga–WeimarWeimarWeimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
–LudwigsstadtLudwigsstadtLudwigsstadt is a municipality in the district of Kronach, in the Upper Franconian region of Bavaria, Germany. It is situated at the state's northern border in the Franconian Forest mountain range, north of Kronach, and south of Saalfeld in Thuringia, the only Bavarian municipality north of the...
–Kulmbach–Bayreuth–AmbergAmbergAmberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. Population: 44,756 .- History :...
–SchwandorfSchwandorfThe town of Schwandorf is the seat of the district of Schwandorf in Bavaria in Germany. It is situated on the river Naab.-International relations:Schwandorf is twinned with:*Libourne *Sokolov...
–Cham–Neukirchen vorm WaldNeukirchen vorm WaldNeukirchen vorm Wald is a municipality in the district of Passau in Bavaria in Germany....
–PassauPassauPassau is a town in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the Dreiflüssestadt or "City of Three Rivers," because the Danube is joined at Passau by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north....
Railways
From Bayreuth Central StationBayreuth Hauptbahnhof
is the central railway station in the German city of Bayreuth.Railway lines run north to Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg, and from there to Bamberg and over the Schiefe Ebene to Hof, east to Weidenberg, southeast to Weiden and south to Schnabelwaid with connexions to Nuremberg on the Pegnitz Valley Railway...
(Hauptbahnhof) railway lines run north to Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg, and from there to Bamberg and over the Schiefe Ebene
Schiefe Ebene
The Schiefe Ebene is a steep railway incline on the course of the Ludwig South-North Railway from Bamberg to Hof in the region of Upper Franconia, in Bavaria, Germany....
to Hof, east to Weidenberg
Bayreuth–Warmensteinach railway
The Bayreuth–Warmensteinach railway is a branch line in the Bavarian province of Upper Franconia in southern Germany. It is the last still partially intact of the seven branch lines, that formerly served the Fichtelgebirge.- History :...
, southeast to Weiden and south to Schnabelwaid with connexions to Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
on the Pegnitz Valley Railway. The lines around Bayreuth are all single-tracked and non-electrified.
Since 23 May 1992 tilting
Tilting
Tilting may refer to:* Tilt , a cinematographic technique* Tilting train, a train with a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular railroad tracks* Tilting, Newfoundland and Labrador, a town on Fogo Island* Tilting, a type of jousting...
diesel multiple units of Class 610
DB Class 610
The DB Class 610 is a Diesel Multiple Unit train type operated by the Deutsche Bahn in Germany. They were built from 1991 to 1992 by MAN and DUEWAG. The class has a tilting system and was inspired by Italian Pendolino trains.-General Information:...
have worked the last-named route. These were bought by the former Deutsche Bundesbahn
Deutsche Bundesbahn
The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany on September 7, 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft '...
specifically for the winding track. Since the 2006/2007 timetable change, Bayreuth has no longer been connected to the DB's long-distance network.
The Franken-Sachsen-Express still provides a direct connexion to Dresden, however, and since December 2007 even every two hours. The technology used for this is the Class 612
DBAG Class 612
The DBAG Class 612 is a two car, diesel multiple unit operated by the Deutsche Bahn for fast regional rail services on unelectrified lines.-General Information:...
diesel multiple set. There are also Regional Express links via Lichtenfels
Lichtenfels
Lichtenfels is German placename and surname:Germany:There are two towns named Lichtenfels in Germany* Lichtenfels, Hesse* Lichtenfels, Bavaria ** Lichtenfels station** 1...
to Bamberg
Bamberg
Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
and Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
, and via Lichtenfels and Kronach
Kronach
Kronach is a town in Oberfranken, Bavaria, Germany, located in the Frankenwald area. It is the capital of the district Kronach.Kronach is the birthtown of Lucas Cranach the Elder and Maximilian von Welsch, as well as Johann Kaspar Zeuss and Josef Stangl....
to Saalfeld.
Local public transport
The town bus routes are operated by Bayreuth Transport and Public Baths (BVB) (Bayreuther Verkehrs- und Bäder GmbH). Sometimes private bus operators run services on behalf of the transport companies. The 14 routes (lines 301-314) operate from Monday to Friday at 20 or 30 minute intervals; on Saturday afternoon and Sunday the interval is extended to 40 minutes. Late evening services (from about 10-11 pm during the week and from 1 am at weekends) and on Sunday mornings a simplified network of four lines (lines 321-324) runs buses at 45-minute intervals. Some lines then operate like an on-call taxi service. The network is star-shaped. Originally, the central station was at the market square in Maximilianstrasse. Since 27 October 2007 the Central Bus Station (ZOH) has been at Hohenzollernplatz at the junction of Kanalstraße on the Hohenzollernring. At this stop there are also bus stops for local buses to facilitate transfers.Regional rail is operated by the Omnibusverkehr Franken. From 1 January 2010 public transport from the town and district of Bayreuth was integrated into the Nuremberg Regional Transport Network (Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg).
Cycling
In most places there is a signed cycle pathSegregated cycle facilities
Segregated cycle facilities are marked lanes, tracks, shoulders and paths designated for use by cyclists from which motorised traffic is generally excluded...
network. In the centre of Bayreuth itself, cycling is fairly straightforward due to the relatively flat topography
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
, something which encourages the use bicycles as an everyday means of transport. Because of the proximity of the 600 kilometre long Main Cycle Path, Bayreuth is also a destination for many tourist cycle routes.
Because of the long service intervals of the Bayreuth town bus system and its long overnight pause, students use bicycles as their everyday mode of transport.
Bicycles may be carried for a fee on DB Regio
DB Regio
DB Regio AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates short and medium distance passenger train services in Germany, and operates light and heavy rail infrastructure in the United Kingdom.-Germany:...
trains leaving Bayreuth and in the VGN's buses.
Air transport
The local airport supports Bayreuth's commercial aviation traffic, individual business travel, general aviation and air sports. By 2002 even the airline from Frankfurt to Hof stopped in Bayreuth three times a day.The airfield at Bindlacher Berg is also one of the most important bases for gliding in Germany. For example, the World Championships took place here in 1999. For the air sports community in Bayreuth, the airport is a departure point for glider flights taking part in the national Bundesliga competition league. The local gliding club also provides instruction in flying gliders and light aircraft.
See also: Bayreuth Airport.
Important firms
- Basell Bayreuth Chemie (Producer of polyolefins)
- Brauerei Gebrüder Maisel (wheat beer specialist)
- British American TobaccoBritish American TobaccoBritish American Tobacco p.l.c. is a global tobacco company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s second largest quoted tobacco company by global market share , with a leading position in more than 50 countries and a presence in more than 180 countries...
(Germany) GmbH (cigarette production) - CherryCherry (keyboards)ZF Electronics GmbH is a German computer peripheral-device maker. The company has its roots in the USA. They also manufacture a large range of products including sensors, input devices and automotive modules...
(Data entry devices, switches and sensors, car motifs) - Grundig Business SystemsGrundig Business SystemsGrundig Business Systems is a German company located in Bayreuth and Nuremberg in Germany and employs 170 people. Since 2001, it has been an independent corporation, manufacturing analogue and digital dictation devices featuring the "Made in Germany" quality label.- Background :The company has...
(world market leader for professional dictaphone systems) - W. Markgraf (construction)
- medi (medical aids)
- StäubliStäubliStäubli is an international mechatronics company, primarily known for its textile machinery, connectors and robotics products.-History:...
(textile machines, technical couplings and robot arms) - Steingraeber & SöhneSteingraeber & SöhneSteingraeber & Söhne was founded in 1820 in Thuringia and since 1852 it has made Bayreuth its home becoming in just three decades one of the best known manufacturers of grand and upright pianos....
piano manufacturers - ZapfZapfZapf can signify:* Zapf , a family name** Franz Zapf, German museum director** Helmut Zapf, German composer** Hermann Zapf, German typeface designer, professor, calligrapher, typographer and husband of Gudrun Zapf-von Hesse...
(manufacturer of ready-made garages and houses)
Former important firms
- F. C. Bayerlein 1809-1979 (textile company: weaving, spinning, cotton-spinning and dying)
Media
- Nordbayerischer Kurier (dail paper)
- Fränkische Zeitung (FZ) ; formerly the Bayreuther Anzeiger, renamed in October 2008 (advertising paper)
- Bayreuther Sonntag (advertising paper)
- Bayreuth4U (town magazine)
- Bayerischer RundfunkBayerischer RundfunkBayerischer Rundfunk [Bavarian Broadcasting] is the public broadcasting authority for the German Freistaat of Bavaria, with its main offices located in Munich. BR is a member of ARD.- Legal foundation :...
(North Upper Franconia correspondent office). In the 1950s/1960s Bayerische Rundfunk operated einen radio station in Bayreuth on medium wave with a frequencyFrequencyFrequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
of 520 kHz and a transmitter power of 200 watts using a 60 metre high transmission mast. - Campus TV (University of Bayreuth media project in media science)
- Der Tip (University of Bayreuth student paper)
- Oberfränkische Wirtschaft, (trade magazine for Upper Franconia)
- Radio Galaxy (local radio station for the Bavaria-wide youth radio)
- Radio Mainwelle (local radio)
- Schalltwerk (University of Bayreuth internet radio)
Bayreuth (baɪˈʁɔʏt; ba(ː)ˈɾaɪ̯t; beɪˈruːθ) is a sizeable town in northern Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura
Franconian Jura
The Franconian Jura is an upland in Bavaria, Germany. Located between two rivers, the Danube in the south and the Main in the north, its peaks reach elevations of up to .Large portions of the Franconian Jura are part of the Altmühl Valley Nature Park...
and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194 and it is nowadays the capital of Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia , all now part of the German Federal State of Bayern .With more than 200 independent breweries which brew...
with a population of 72,576 (2009). It is world-famous for its annual Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
are presented.
Middle Ages and Early Modern Period
The town is believed to have been founded by the Counts of AndechsCounts of Andechs
The House of Andechs was a feudal line of German princes in 12th and 13th century. The Counts of Dießen-Andechs obtained territiories in northern Dalmatia on the Adriatic seacoast, where they became Margraves of Istria and ultimately Dukes of a short-lived Imperial State named Merania from 1180 to...
probably around the mid-12th century, but was first mentioned in 1194 as Baierrute in a document by Bishop Otto II of Bamberg. The syllable -rute may mean Rodung or "clearing", whilst Baier- indicates immigrants from the Bavarian region.
Already documented earlier, were villages later merged into Bayreuth: Seulbitz (in 1035 as the royal Salian
Salian dynasty
The Salian dynasty was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages of four German Kings , also known as the Frankish dynasty after the family's origin and role as dukes of Franconia...
estate of Silewize in a document by Emperor Conrad II
Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor
Conrad II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1027 until his death.The son of a mid-level nobleman in Franconia, Count Henry of Speyer and Adelaide of Alsace, he inherited the titles of count of Speyer and of Worms as an infant when Henry died at age twenty...
) and St. Johannis (possibly 1149 as Altentrebgast). Even the district of Altstadt (formerly Altenstadt) west of the town centre must be older than the town of Bayreuth itself. Even older traces of human presence were found in the hamlets of Meyernberg: pieces of pottery and wooden crockery were dated to the 9th century based on their decoration.
While Bayreuth was previously (1199) referred to as a villa (village), the term civitas ("town") appeared for the first time in a document published in 1231. One can therefore assume that Bayreuth was awarded its town charter between 1200 and 1230. The town was ruled until 1248 by the counts of Andechs-Merania. After they died out in 1260 the burgraves of Nuremberg from the House of Hohenzollern
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
took over the inheritance. Initially, however, their residence and the centre of the territory was the castle of Plassenburg
Plassenburg
Plassenburg is a castle in the city of Kulmbach in Bavaria. It is one of the most impressive castles in Germany and a symbol of the city. It was first mentioned in 1135. The Plassenberg family were ministerial of the counts of Andechs and used as their seat the Plassenburg...
in Kulmbach
Kulmbach
Kulmbach is the capital of the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany. The town is famous for Plassenburg Castle, which houses the largest tin soldier museum in the world, and for its famous sausages, or Bratwürste.-Location:...
. The town of Bayreuth developed slowly and was affected time and again by disasters.
As early as 1361 Emperor Charles IV
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
had conferred on Burgrave Frederick V the right to mint coins for the towns of Bayreuth and Kulmbach.
Bayreuth was first published on a map in 1421.
In February 1430, the Hussites devastated Bayreuth and the town hall and churches were razed. Matthäus Merian
Matthäus Merian
Matthäus Merian der Ältere was a Swiss-born engraver who worked in Frankfurt for most of his career, where he also ran a publishing house.-Early life and marriage:...
described this event in 1642 as follows:"In 1430 the Hussites from Bohemia attacked / Culmbach and Barreut / and committed great acts of cruelty / like wild animals / against the common people / and certain individuals. / The priests / monks and nuns they either burnt at the stake / or took them onto the ice of lakes and rivers / (in Franconia and Bavaria) and doused them with cold water / and killed them in a deplorable way / as Boreck reported in the Bohemian Chronicle, page 450"((Source: Frühwald (Hg.): Fränkische Städte und Burgen um 1650 based on texts and engravings by Merian, Sennfeld 1991.)
By 1528, less than ten years after the start of the Reformation, the lords of the Frankish margrave territories switched to the Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
faith.
In 1605 a great fire, caused by negligence, destroyed 137 of the town's 251 houses. In 1620 plague broke out and, in 1621, there was another big fire in the town. The town also suffered during the Thirty Years War.
A turning point in the town's history came in 1603 when Margrave Christian, the son of the elector, John George of Brandenburg, moved the aristocratic residence from the castle of Plassenburg above Kulmbach to Bayreuth. The first Hohenzollern palace was built in 1440-1457 under Margrave John the Alchemist. It was the forerunner of today's Old Palace (Altes Schloss) and was expanded and renovated many times. The development of the new capital stagnated due to the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, but afterwards many famous baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
buildings were added to the town. After Christian's death in 1655 his grandson, Christian Ernest, followed him, ruling from 1661 until 1712. He was an educated and well-travelled man, whose tutor had been the statesman Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal
Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal
Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal was a German nobleman of the von Blumenthal family. He was a diplomat and the founder of the Brandenburg-Prussian Army.-Biography:He was born in 1609 and educated at the Viadrina...
. He founded the Christian-Ernestinum Grammar School and, in 1683, participated in the liberation of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
which had been besieged by the Turks. To commemorate this feat, he had the Margrave Fountain built as a monument on which he is depicted as the victor of the Turks; it now stands outside the New Palace (Neues Schloss). During this time, the outer ring of the town wall and the castle chapel (Schlosskirche) were built.
18th century
Ordre de la Sincérité
The Ordre de la Sincérité , was an order of knighthood of the German Margrave of Bayreuth. The order's name came from 18th-century courtiers who spoke French. The order had fifty knights...
), which was renamed in 1734 to the Order of the Red Eagle
Order of the Red Eagle
The Order of the Red Eagle was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, or other achievements...
and had the monastery church built, which was completed in 1711. In 1716 a princely porcelain
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
factory was established in St. Georgen.
The first 'castle' in the park of the Hermitage
Hermitage Museum (Bayreuth)
The State Hermitage Museum in Bayreuth was created from a 1715 historical park with fountains and remains one of the major town attractions. Notible buildings include the Old Palace, a New Castle with sun temple and other smaller buildings. The Hermitage is within the district of the independent...
was built at this time by Margrave George William (1715–1719).
In 1721 the town council acquired the palace of Baroness Sponheim (today's Old Town Hall or Altes Rathaus) as a replacement for the town hall built in 1440 in the middle of the market place and destroyed by fire.
In 1735 a nursing home, the so-called Gravenreuth
Gravenreuth
Gravenreuth was a German local noble family.The familys origin seat was located in Grafenreuth, now part of Thiersheim in the District of Wunsiedel in Upper Franconia, first mentioned in 1180. Up to the 18th century, the family, supplied with the title Freiherren, was the owner of nearby land and...
Stift, was founded by a private foundation in St. Georgen. The cost of the building exceeded the funds of the foundation, but Margrave Frederick came to their aid.
Bayreuth experienced its Golden Age during the reign (1735–1763) of Margrave Frederick and Margravine Wilhelmina of Bayreuth, the favourite sister of Frederick the Great
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
. During this time, under the direction of court architects, Joseph Saint-Pierre and Carl von Gontard
Carl von Gontard
Carl von Gontard was a German architect; he worked primarily in Berlin, Potsdam, and Bayreuth....
, numerous courtly buildings and attractions were created: the Margravial Opera House with its richly furnished baroque theatre (1744–1748), the New 'Castle' and Sun Temple (1749–1753) at the Hermitage, the New Palace with its courtyard garden (1754 ff) to replace the Old Palace which had burned down through the carelessness of the margrave, and the magnificent row of buildings in today's Friedrichstraße. There was even a unique version of the rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
architectural style, the so-called Bayreuth Rococo which characterised the aforementioned buildings, especially their interior design.
The old, sombre gatehouses were demolished because they impeded transport and were an outmoded form of defence. The walls were built over in places. Margrave Frederick successfully kept his principality out of the wars being waged by his brother-in-law, Frederick the Great, at this time, and, as a result, brought a time of peace to the Frankish kingdom.
1742 saw the founding of the Frederick Academy, which was became a university in 1743, but was moved that same year to Erlangen
Erlangen
Erlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large tributary, the Untere Schwabach.Erlangen has more than 100,000 inhabitants....
after serious riots because of the adverse reaction of the population. The university has remained there to the present today. From 1756 to 1763 there was also an Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Roman Catholics were given the right to set up a prayer room and Jewish families settled here again. In 1760 the synagogue was opened and in 1787 the Jewish cemetery was dedicated.
Countess Wilhelmina died in 1758 and, although, Margrave Frederick married again, the marriage was only short-lived and without issue. After his death in 1763, many artists and craftsmen migrated to Berlin and Potsdam, to work for King Frederick the Great, because Frederick's successor, Margrave Frederick Christian had little understanding of art. He also lacked the means due to the elaborate lifestyle of his predecessor, because the buildings and the salaries of the mainly foreign artists had swallowed up a lot of money. For example the court - which under George Frederick Charles had comprised around 140 people - had grown to about 600 employees by the end of the reign of Margrave Frederick. By 1769 the principality was close to bankruptcy.
In 1769 Margrave Charles Alexander, from the Ansbach line of Frankish Hohenzollerns, followed the childless Frederick Christian and Bayreuth was reduced to a secondary residence. Charles Alexander continued to live in Ansbach and rarely came to Bayreuth.
In 1775 the Brandenburg Pond (Brandenburger Weiher) in St.Georgen was drained.
Following the abdication of the last Margrave, Charles Alexander, from the principalities of Ansbach
Ansbach
Ansbach, originally Onolzbach, is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is situated southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the Fränkische Rezat, a tributary of the Main river. As of 2004, its population was 40,723.Ansbach...
and Bayreuth on 2 December 1791 its territories became part of a Prussian province. The Prussian Minister Karl August von Hardenberg
Karl August von Hardenberg
Karl August Fürst von Hardenberg was a Prussian statesman and Prime Minister of Prussia. While during his late career he acquiesced to reactionary policies, earlier in his career he implemented a variety of Liberal reforms...
took over its administration at the beginning of 1792.
The town centre still possesses the typical structure of a Bavarian street market: the settlement is grouped around a road widening into a square; the Town Hall was located in the middle. The church stood apart from it and on a small hill stood the castle. Some sixty years later the town (at that time a tiny village) became subordinate to the Hohenzollern state, and when this state was divided, Bayreuth ended up in the county of Kulmbach
Principality of Bayreuth
The Principality of Bayreuth or Brandenburg-Bayreuth was a reichsfrei principality in the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Bavarian city of Bayreuth. Until 1604 its capital city was Kulmbach; then the margraves used their palaces in Bayreuth as their residence...
.
19th century
In 1804, the author Jean Paul RichterJean Paul
Jean Paul , born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, was a German Romantic writer, best known for his humorous novels and stories.-Life and work:...
moved from Coburg
Coburg
Coburg is a town located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany. Its 2005 population was 42,015. Long one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined with Bavaria by popular vote in 1920...
to Bayreuth, where he lived until his death in 1825.
The rule of the Hohenzollerns over the Principality of Kulmbach-Bayreuth ended in 1806 after the defeat of Prussia by Napoleonic France. During the French occupation from 1806 to 1810 Bayreuth was treated as a province of the French Empire and had to pay high war contributions. It was placed under the administration of Comte Camille de Tournon, who wrote a detailed inventory of the former Principality of Bayreuth. On 30 June 1810 the French army handed over the former principality to the what was now the Kingdom of Bavaria
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Bavarian Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1806 as Maximilian I Joseph. The monarchy would remain held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom's dissolution in 1918...
, which it had bought from Napoleon for 15 million francs.
Bayreuth became the capital of the Bavarian district of Mainkreis, which later transferred into Obermainkreis and was finally renamed as the province of Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia , all now part of the German Federal State of Bayern .With more than 200 independent breweries which brew...
.
As Bavaria was opened up by the railways, the main line from Nuremberg to Hof went past Bayreuth, running via Lichtenfels, Kulmbach and Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg to Hof. Bayreuth was first given a railway connexion in 1853, when the Bayreuth–Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg railway was built at the town's expense. It was followed in 1863 by the line to Weiden, in 1877 by the railway to Schnabelwaid, in 1896 by the branch line to Warmensteinach
Bayreuth–Warmensteinach railway
The Bayreuth–Warmensteinach railway is a branch line in the Bavarian province of Upper Franconia in southern Germany. It is the last still partially intact of the seven branch lines, that formerly served the Fichtelgebirge.- History :...
, in 1904 by the branch to Hollfeld
Bayreuth–Hollfeld railway
The Bayreuth–Hollfeld railway was a branch line in the Bavarian province of Upper Franconia. It ran from Bayreuth to Hollfeld in the northern part of Franconian Switzerland.- Construction :Plans for the construction of this line went back to the 1860s...
and in 1909 by the branch via Thurnau to Kulmbach
Bayreuth Altstadt–Kulmbach railway
The Bayreuth Altstadt–Kulmbach railway was a branch line in the Bavarian provinces of Upper Franconia in southern Germany. It was also known colloquially as the Thurnauer Bockela ....
, known as the Thurnauer Bockala (which means something like "Thurnau Goat").
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
visited Bayreuth, because he had read about the Margrave Opera House, whose great stage seemed fitting for his works. However, the orchestra pit could not accommodate the large number of musicians required, for example, for the Ring of the Nibelung and the ambience of the auditorium seemed inappropriate for his piece, The Artwork of the Future
The Artwork of the Future
"The Artwork of the Future" is a long essay written by Richard Wagner, first published in 1849 in Leipzig, in which he sets out some of his ideals on the topics of art in general and music drama in particular....
(Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft). So, he toyed with the idea of building his own festival hall (the Festspielhaus) in Bayreuth. The town supported him in this project and made a piece of land available to him, an undeveloped area outside the town between the railway station and Hohe Warte, the Grüner Hügel ("Green Hill"). At the same time Wagner acquired a property at Hofgarten to build his own house, Wahnfried
Wahnfried
Wahnfried may refer to:*Wahnfried, Richard Wagner's villa in Bayreuth*Richard Wahnfried , the long-time alias for German composer and musician Klaus Schulze...
. On 22 May 1872 the cornerstone for the Festival Hall was laid and, on 13 August 1876, it was officially opened (see Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
). Planning and construction were in the hands of the Leipzig architect, Otto Brückwald, who had already made a name for himself in the building of theatres in Leipzig and Altenburg.
In 1886, the composer Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
died in Bayreuth while visiting his daughter Cosima Liszt, Wagner's widow. Both Liszt and Wagner are buried in Bayreuth; however Wagner did not die there. Rather he died in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
in 1883, but his family had his body brought to Bayreuth for burial.
To the end of the Weimar Republic (1900–1933)
The new century also brought several innovations of modern technology: in 1892 the first electric street lights; in 1908 a municipal electricity station, and, in the same year, the first cinema.In 1914-15, one section of the northern arm of the Red Main was straightened and widened after areas along the river had been flooded during a period of high water in 1909.
After the First World War had ended in 1918, the Workers' and Soldiers' Council
Workers' council
A workers' council, or revolutionary councils, is the phenomenon where a single place of work or enterprise, such as a factory, school, or farm, is controlled collectively by the workers of that workplace, through the core principle of temporary and instantly revocable delegates.In a system with...
took power briefly in Bayreuth. On 17 February 1919 there was a three-day coup, the so-called Speckputsch, a brief interlude of excitement in the otherwise rather staid town.
In a series of völkisch
Völkisch movement
The volkisch movement is the German interpretation of the populist movement, with a romantic focus on folklore and the "organic"...
and nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
"Deutscher Tag" (German Days), the NSDAP organised the event in Bayreuth on September 30, 1923. More than 5.000 military and civilian people gathered (equivalent to 15% of the inhabitants), although Minister of Defence Otto Gessler
Otto Gessler
Otto Karl Gessler was a German politician during the Weimar Republic. From 1910 until 1914, he was mayor of Regensburg and from 1913 to 1919 mayor of Nuremberg. He served in Weimar cabinets from 1919 until 1928, usually as Minister of Defence.-Biography:Gessler was born in Ludwigsburg in the...
had forbidden the participation of Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
units. Among the guests were mayor Albert Preu as well as Siegfried
Siegfried Wagner
Siegfried Wagner was a German composer and conductor, the son of Richard Wagner. He was an opera composer and the artistic director of the Bayreuth Festival from 1908 to 1930.-Life:...
and Winifred Wagner
Winifred Wagner
Winifred Wagner was an English woman married to Siegfried Wagner, Richard Wagner's son. She was the effective head of the Wagner family from 1930 to 1945, and a close friend of German dictator Adolf Hitler....
, who invitated keynote speaker Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
to Wahnfried
Wahnfried
Wahnfried may refer to:*Wahnfried, Richard Wagner's villa in Bayreuth*Richard Wahnfried , the long-time alias for German composer and musician Klaus Schulze...
house. There he met writer Houston Stewart Chamberlain
Houston Stewart Chamberlain
Houston Stewart Chamberlain was a British-born German author of books on political philosophy, natural science and the German composer Richard Wagner. He later became a German citizen. Chamberlain married Wagner's daughter, Eva, some years after Wagner's death...
, son-in-law of Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
and anti-semitic race theorist
Racialism
Racialism is an emphasis on race or racial considerations. Currently, racialism entails a belief in the existence and significance of racial categories, but not necessarily that any absolute hierarchy between the races has been demonstrated by a rigorous and comprehensive scientific process...
. Also on that day, Hans Schemm
Hans Schemm
Hans Schemm was a Gauleiter in Nazi Germany.-Life:Schemm, whose parents ran a shoemaker's shop, first went to a Volksschule for five years and then as of 1905 a teaching seminary. In 1915 he got married; in 1917 a son was born...
met Hitler for the first time.
In 1932 the provinces of Upper and Middle Franconia were merged and Ansbach chosen as the seat of government. As a small compensation, Bayreuth was given the merged state insurance agency for Upper and Middle Franconia. Unlike the provincial merger, the merger of those institutions was never reversed.
The Nazi era (1933–1945)
Being a stronghold of right-wing parties since the 1920s, Bayreuth became a center of NaziNazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
ideology. In 1933, it was made capital of the Nazi Gau of Bavarian Ostmark (Bayerische Ostmark, in 1943 Gau Bayreuth). Nazi leaders often visited the Wagner festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
and tried to turn Bayreuth into a Nazi model town. It was one of several places in which town planning was administered directly from Berlin, due to Hitler's special interest in the town and in the festival. Hitler loved the music of Richard Wagner, and he became a close friend of Winifred Wagner
Winifred Wagner
Winifred Wagner was an English woman married to Siegfried Wagner, Richard Wagner's son. She was the effective head of the Wagner family from 1930 to 1945, and a close friend of German dictator Adolf Hitler....
after she took over the festival. Hitler frequently attended Wagner performances in the Bayreuth Festival Hall.
Bayreuth was to have received a so-called Gauforum, a combined government building and marching square built to symbolise the centre of power in the town. Bayreuth's first Gauleiter
Gauleiter
A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Creation and Early Usage:...
was Hans Schemm
Hans Schemm
Hans Schemm was a Gauleiter in Nazi Germany.-Life:Schemm, whose parents ran a shoemaker's shop, first went to a Volksschule for five years and then as of 1905 a teaching seminary. In 1915 he got married; in 1917 a son was born...
, who was also the head (Reichswalter) of the National Socialist Teachers League
National Socialist Teachers League
The National Socialist Teachers League, Nationalsozialistische Lehrerbund , was established as a wing of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei in 1927. This organization lasted until 1943. Its seat was in Bayreuth. The founder and first "Reichswalter" of the organization was Hans Schemm...
, NSLB, which was located in Bayreuth. In 1937 the town was connected to the new Reichsautobahn.
Under Nazi dictatorship the synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
of the Jewish Community in Münzgasse was desecrated and looted on Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
but, due to its proximity to the Opera House it was not razed. Inside the building, which is once again used by a Jewish community as a synagogue, a plaque next to the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
Shrine recalls the persecution and murder of Jews in the Shoa
Shoa
Shoa may refer to:* The Holocaust, named Ha-Shoah in Hebrew* Shoah .* Shoa, Ethiopia, the Shewa region, sometimes spelled Shoa* Shuwa Arabic or the Baggara Arabs* Shoa Magazine, a monthly magazine published from Pakistan...
, which at cost the lives of at least 145 Jews in Bayreuth.
During the Second World War a subcamp of the Flossenbürg concentration camp
Flossenbürg concentration camp
Konzentrationslager Flossenbürg was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the Schutzstaffel Economic-Administrative Main Office at Flossenbürg, in the Oberpfalz region of Bavaria, Germany, near the border with Czechoslovakia. Until its liberation in April 1945, more than 96,000 prisoners...
was based in the town, in which prisoners had to participate in physical experiments for the V2. Wieland Wagner
Wieland Wagner
Wieland Wagner was a German opera director.- Life :Wieland was the elder of two sons of Siegfried and Winifred Wagner and grandson of composer Richard Wagner....
, the grandson of the composer, Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
, was the deputy civilian director there from September 1944 to April 1945. Shortly before the war's end branches of the People's Court (Volksgerichtshof) were to have been set up in Bayreuth.
On 5, 8 and 11 April 1945 about one third of the town, including many public buildings and industrial installations were destroyed by heavy air strikes, along with 4,500 houses. 741 people were also killed. On 14 April, the U.S. Army occupied the town.
Post-war era and Reconstruction (1945–2000)
After the war Bayreuth tried to part with its ill-fated past. It became part of the American Zone. The American military government set up a DP camp to accommodate so-called displaced personDisplaced person
A displaced person is a person who has been forced to leave his or her native place, a phenomenon known as forced migration.- Origin of term :...
s (DP). Most of them came from the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. The camp was supervised by the UNRRA
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in 1943, it became part of the United Nations in 1945, was especially active in 1945 and 1946, and largely shut down...
.
The housing situation was very difficult at first: there were about 55,000 inhabitants in the town, many more than before the war began. This increase was primarily due to the high number of refugees and expellees. Even in 1948 more than 11,000 refugees were counted. In addition, because many homes had been destroyed due to the war, thousands of people were living in temporary shelters, even the festival restaurant next to the Festival Hall housed some 500 people.
In 1945, 1,400 men were conscripted by the town council for "essential work" (clean-up work on damaged buildings and the clearing of roads).
But cultural life was also soon back on track: in 1947 Mozart festival weeks were held in the Opera House, from which the Franconian Festival Weeks developed. In 1949 the Festival Hall was used for the first time again and there was a gala concert with the Vienna Philharmonic led by Hans Knappertsbusch
Hans Knappertsbusch
Hans Knappertsbusch was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Richard Wagner, Anton Bruckner and Richard Strauss....
. In 1951, the first post-war Richard Wagner Festival took place under the leadership of Wieland
Wieland Wagner
Wieland Wagner was a German opera director.- Life :Wieland was the elder of two sons of Siegfried and Winifred Wagner and grandson of composer Richard Wagner....
and Wolfgang Wagner
Wolfgang Wagner
Wolfgang Wagner was a German opera director. He is best known as the director of the Bayreuth Festival, a position he initially assumed alongside his brother Wieland in 1951 until the latter's death in 1966...
.
In 1949 Bayreuth became the seat of the government of Upper Franconia again.
After the war a significant number of historic buildings were demolished.
In 1971 the Bavarian State Parliament decided to establish the University of Bayreuth
University of Bayreuth
The University of Bayreuth is a public research university situated in Bayreuth, Germany. It was founded in 1975 as a campus university focusing on international collaboration and interdisciplinarity...
and, on 3 November 1975, it opened for lectures and research. There are now about 10,000 students in the town.
In May 1972, a serious accident occurred at the folk festival in the town, when an overcrowded carriage derailed and several people were thrown out. Four died and five were injured, some seriously. At that time, it was the worst disaster on a roller coaster since the Second World War.
In 1999 the world gliding championship took place at Bayreuth municipal airport.
21st century
In 2006, Bayreuth chose its first CSU member and mayor, the lawyer, Michael Hohl, and, in 2007, a Youth Parliament, consisting of 12 young people, aged 14–17 years, was elected for the first time. The end of October saw the opening of the long-planned bus station and its associated office building on the newly created Hohenzollernplatz.Richard Wagner and Bayreuth
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
, who lived in Bayreuth from 1872 until his death in 1883. Wagner's villa, "Wahnfried
Wahnfried
Wahnfried may refer to:*Wahnfried, Richard Wagner's villa in Bayreuth*Richard Wahnfried , the long-time alias for German composer and musician Klaus Schulze...
", was constructed in Bayreuth under the sponsorship of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, and was converted after World War II into a Wagner Museum. To the north of Bayreuth is the Festival Hall
Bayreuth Festspielhaus
The or Bayreuth Festival Theatre is an opera house north of Bayreuth, Germany, dedicated solely to the performance of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner...
, an opera house
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
specially constructed for and exclusively devoted to the performance of Wagner's opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s. The premieres of the final two works of Wagner's Ring Cycle
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Der Ring des Nibelungen is a cycle of four epic operas by the German composer Richard Wagner . The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied...
("Siegfried
Siegfried (opera)
Siegfried is the third of the four operas that constitute Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner. It received its premiere at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 16 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of The Ring...
" and "Götterdämmerung
Götterdämmerung
is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four operas titled Der Ring des Nibelungen...
"); the cycle as a whole; and of Parsifal
Parsifal
Parsifal is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. It is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, the 13th century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail, and on Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, the Story of the Grail.Wagner first conceived the work...
took place here.
Every summer, Wagner's operas are performed at the Festspielhaus during the month-long Richard Wagner Festival, commonly known as the Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
. The Festival draws thousands each year, and has persistently been sold out since its inauguration in 1876. Currently, waiting lists for tickets can stretch for 10 years or more.
Owing to Wagner's relationship with the then unknown philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
, the first Bayreuth festival is cited as a key turning point in Nietzsche's philosophical development. Though at first an enthusiastic champion of Wagner's music, Nietzsche ultimately became hostile, viewing the festival and its revellers as symptom of cultural decay and bourgeois decadence —an event which led him to turn his eye upon the moral values esteemed by society as a whole.
Location
Bayreuth lies on the Red Main river, the southern of the two headstreams of the River Main, between the Fichtelgebirge Mountains and Franconian SwitzerlandFranconian Switzerland
The Little Switzerland is an upland in Upper Franconia, northern Bavaria and a popular tourist retreat. Located between the Pegnitz River in the east and the south, the Regnitz River in the west and the Main River in the north, its relief reaches 600 metres in height.The Franconian Switzerland is...
.
Town divisions
The borough of Bayreuth is divided into 39 districts:- 1: Westliche Innenstadt (Western town centre)
- 2: Östliche Innenstadt/Obere Röth (Eastern town centre)
- 3: Cosima-Wagner-Straße/ Nürnberger Straße/Universitätsstraße
- 4: Südöstliche Innenstadt (Southeastern town centre)
- 5: Südwestliche Innenstadt (Southwestern town centre)
- 6: Birken
- 7: Justus-Liebig-Straße/Quellhöfe/Rückertweg
- 8: Leuschnerstraße/Ludwig-Thoma-Straße
- 9: Saas, originated from the parish village Saas, which was mentioned as early as 1528 in connecxion with the Baptists
- 10: Bismarckstraße/Friedrichstraße/Moritzhöfen
- 11: Freiheitsplatz/Malerviertel
- 12. Erlanger Straße/Wolfsgasse
- 13: Jakobshof
- 14: Hetzennest/Braunhof/Fantaisiestraße
- 15: Meyernberg
- 16: Nördlicher Roter Hügel
- 17: Grüner Hügel/Wendelhöfen
- 18: Kreuz
- 19: Herzoghöhe/Am Bauhof
- 20: Nördliche Innenstadt
- 21: Carl-Schüller-Straße/Bürgerreuther Straße/Gutenbergstraße
- 22: Gartenstadt
- 23: Bürgerreuth/Gravenreutherstraße
- 24: St. Georgen/Grüner Baum/Burg
- 25: Östliche Hammerstatt
- 26: Westliche Hammerstatt
- 27: Bernecker Straße/Insel/Riedelsberg
- 28: Industriegebiete St. Georgen
- 29: St. Johannis
- 30: Neue Heimat
- 31: Oberkonnersreuth
- 32: Laineck
- 33: Westlicher Roter Hügel
- 34: Eubener Straße/Furtwänglerstraße/Schupfenschlag/Hohe Warte
- 35: Seulbitz
- 36: Aichig/Grunau
- 37: Thiergarten/Destuben
- 38: Oberpreuschwitz
- 39: Wolfsbach
Town council
The results of the 2008 local elections in Bavaria were as follows (in brackets the change from the 2002 elections):- CSUChristian Social Union of BavariaThe Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union , operates in the other 15 states of Germany...
: 28.2 % (-3.1), 13 seats (-1) - SPDSocial Democratic Party of GermanyThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
: 22.5 % (-5.4), 10 seats (-3) - BG - FW: 21,6 % (+2.0), 10 seats (+1)
- Greens/indep.: 10.0 % (+2.8), 4 seats (+1)
- Young Bayreuth: 5.8 % (-0,9), 2 seats (-1)
- FDP: 4.4 % (+0.5), 2 seats (+1)
- BT go!: 4.2 % (+4,2), 2 seats (+2)
- BBL: 3.2 % (+3,2), 1 seat (+1)
- Others: 0.0 % (-3,4), 0 seats (-1)
(Lord) Mayors of Bayreuth since 1818
- 1818–1848: Erhard Christian Hagen von Hagenfels (First legally trained mayor)
- 1851–1863: Friedrich Karl Dilchert (civic mayor)
- 1863–1900: Theodor von Muncker (legally trained mayor)
- 1900–1918: Dr. Leopold von Casselmann (legally trained mayor, lord mayor from 1907)
- 1919–30 April 1933: Albert Preu (lord mayor)
- 1 May 1933–June 1937: Dr. Karl Schlumprecht (lord mayor; NSDAP)
- 21 July 1937–April 1938: Dr. Otto Schmidt (lord mayor; NSDAP)
- 3 May 1938–30 June 1938: Fritz Wächtler (Gauleiter, self-proclaimed commissarial lord mayor; NSDAP)
- 1 July 1938–April 1945: Dr. Fritz Kempfler (lord mayor; NSDAP)
- 24 April 1945–November 1945: Dr. Joseph Kauper (lord mayor)
- November 1945–30 June 1948: Dr. Oscar Meyer (lord mayor)
- 1 July 1948–30 April 1958: Hans Rollwagen (lord mayor; SPD)
- 1 May 1958–30 April 1988: Hans Walter Wild (lord mayor; SPD)
- 1 May 1988–30 April 2006: Dr. Dieter Mronz (lord mayor; SPD)
- since 1 May 2006: Dr. Michael Hohl (lord mayor; CSU)
Twin towns
The town of Bayreuth has twinning partnerships with the following towns: AnnecyAnnecy
Annecy is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy , 35 kilometres south of Geneva.-Administration:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, since 1966 Rudolstadt
Rudolstadt
Rudolstadt is a town in the German Bundesland of Thuringia, close to the Thuringian Forest to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north....
, Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
, since 1990 La Spezia
La Spezia
La Spezia , at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the Liguria region of northern Italy, is the capital city of the province of La Spezia. Located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and hosts one of Italy's biggest military...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, since 1999 District 6, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, since 2008
Further twinnings with other European towns are planned. Under discussion are Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
, United Kingdom, and Tekirdağ
Tekirdag
Tekirdağ , the ancient Bisanthi , is a city in Eastern Thrace, in the European part of Turkey. Tekirdağ is the capital of Tekirdağ Province, felt by the local people to be a quieter and more pleasant town than the industrial centre of Çorlu, which it administers. The city population as of 2009 was...
in western Turkey.
There is also a cultural partnership with the state of Burgenland
Burgenland
Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, and a university partnership between the University of Bayreuth and the Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
in Lexington, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Sponsorship
In 1955 Bayreuth took on sponsorship for displaced Sudeten GermansSudeten Germans
- Importance of Sudeten Germans :Czechoslovakia was inhabited by over 3 million ethnic Germans, comprising about 23 percent of the population of the republic and about 29.5% of Bohemia and Moravia....
from the town of Franzensbad in Okres Cheb.
Coat of arms
Margrave Albert Achilles, who was also Elector of Brandenburg, presented the town Bayreuth in December 1457 which the coat of arms that it still bears today. Two fields show the black and white coat of arms of the Hohenzollerns. The black lion on gold with a red and white border was the municipal coat of arms of the burgraves of Nuremberg. Along the two diagonals are two Reuten, small triangular shovels with a slightly bent shaft. They represent the ending -reuth in the town's name.“Theatre
The Margravial Opera House was opened in 1748 and is one of the finest Baroque theatres in Europe. It is both a museum and the oldest working tableau in Bayreuth.The Festival Hall
Bayreuth Festspielhaus
The or Bayreuth Festival Theatre is an opera house north of Bayreuth, Germany, dedicated solely to the performance of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner...
dates to the 19th century and is now used solely for the Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
. Only works by Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
are put on.
The Bayreuth Town House (Stadthaus), likewise, does not have its own ensemble. It is regularly used by the Theater Hof as well as the Tourneetheater.
The only two theatres with their own ensemble are the Studiobühne Bayreuth and amateur dramatic society, Brandenburg Kulturstadl. The venues of the studio theatre in Bayreuth are the domicile of the theatre in the Röntgenstraße, the ruins of the Bayreuth Hermitage and the courtyard of Bayreuth piano manufacturer, Steingraeber & Söhne
Steingraeber & Söhne
Steingraeber & Söhne was founded in 1820 in Thuringia and since 1852 it has made Bayreuth its home becoming in just three decades one of the best known manufacturers of grand and upright pianos....
.
Museums
- The Richard Wagner Museum at WahnfriedWahnfriedWahnfried may refer to:*Wahnfried, Richard Wagner's villa in Bayreuth*Richard Wahnfried , the long-time alias for German composer and musician Klaus Schulze...
House was the residence of Richard Wagner and his family's home until 1966. Since 1976 it has been a museum with attached national archives and a research centre for the Richard Wagner Foundation in Bayreuth - The Jean Paul Museum in the former residence of Richard Wagner's daughter, Eva Chamberlain, with autographAutographAn autograph is a document transcribed entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.Autograph also refers to a person's artistic signature...
s, first editions of works, portraits and other pictorial material - The Franz Liszt Museum in the house where Franz LisztFranz LisztFranz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
died, with about 300 photographs, scripts and printed papers from the collection of the Munich pianist, Ernst Burger, which were bought by the town of Bayreuth. In addition there is a Stummklavier, the Ibach wingIbachIbach is a town in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
of Haus Wahnfried, letters and first editions of Franz Liszt. Biographic information boards, a mould of the font from Liszt's birthplace Raiding, Austria and Liszt busts by Antonio Galli enhance the collection. Visits are accompanied by the music of Franz Liszt
- The Historical Museum in the Old Latin School on Kirchplatz. On the ground floor it portrays the history and development of Bayreuth from the late Middle Ages to the 20th century with a model of the town in the year 1763. On the first floor are divisions covering the art and cultural history of Bayreuth's margravial period (17th and 18th centuries). Another division portrays arts and crafts in Bayreuth and the surrounding area with examples of faience pottery, glass products from the Fichtelgebirge and stone pottery from CreußenCreußenCreußen is a town in the district of Bayreuth in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the Red Main river, 13 km southeast of Bayreuth.Creußen is famous for its jugs....
. Painting, crafts, and early industrial artefacts from the Biedermeier period and the late 19th century round off a visit to the museum - The Museum of Art in the Old Town Hall which contains the Helmut and Constanze Meyer Art Foundation, the Georg Tappert collection and the archives and collection of Caspar Walter Rauh. The collections contain key works from the 20th century
- The British American Tobacco's Historical Collection in the old Lord Mayor's rooms of the Old Town Hall
- The German Typewriter Museum with a collection of over 400 historic typewriters from the Research and Training Centre for Shorthand and Word Processing in Bayreuth
- A branch of the Bavarian State Painting Collection was opened in the New Palace in August 2007. 80 works from Dutch and German painters of the late 17th century and 18th century are displayed.
- The Archaeological Museum in the Italian Building of the New Palace was founded in 1827 by the Historic Society. Its eight exhibition rooms include artefacts such as New Stone Age stone axes, 80 pottery jars from the Hallstatt era and Celtic bronze jewellery. The discoveries on display, which all come from eastern Upper Franconia, especially Franconian SwitzerlandFranconian SwitzerlandThe Little Switzerland is an upland in Upper Franconia, northern Bavaria and a popular tourist retreat. Located between the Pegnitz River in the east and the south, the Regnitz River in the west and the Main River in the north, its relief reaches 600 metres in height.The Franconian Switzerland is...
and the region around Bayreuth, date from the Old Stone Age to the Middle AgesMiddle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. In the experimental field there is a reconstructed loom, a rock drill and an original Schiebemühle. - Maisel's Brewery and Cooper's Museum, which teaches everything about the production of Weizen beer on a 2400 m² (2,870 sq yd) layout, making it the largest brewery in the world, not least due to its collection of over 5,500 beer glasses and mugs).
- The Upper Franconia Prehistory Museum portrays the history of life in Upper Franconia since the beginning of the world. Exhibitions are constantly changing; currently the life-size dinosaurs attract especial interest.
- Bayreuth Football Museum (Altstadt-Kult-Museum of SpVgg BayreuthSpVgg BayreuthSpVgg Bayreuth is a German football club based in Bayreuth, Bavaria. Apart from coming within two games of earning promotion to the Fußball-Bundesliga in 1979, the club also reached the quarter finals of the DFB-Pokal twice, in 1977 and 1980.- 1921 to 1945 :...
) - The Bayreuth of Wilhelmina Museum in the New Castle
- Fire Brigade Museum
- Iwalewa House, the Africa Centre of the University of Bayreuth
- Johann Baptist Graser School Museum
- Catacombs of the Bayreuth Aktien Brewery
- Little Poster Museum
- Margravial state rooms and collection of Bayreuth faiences in the New Castle
- Museum of Agricultural Tools and Equipment
- Lindenhof Natural History Museum
- Richard Wagner Gymnasium School Museum
- Wedlich Transport Museum
- Walküre Porcelain Museum
- Wilhelm Leuschner Memorial
- Wo Sarazen Art
Buildings
- The Hermitage (Eremitage)
- Thiergarten Hunting Lodge (Jagdschloss Thiergarten)
- New Palace (Neues Schloss) and court garden, seat of the margraves from 1753
- St. Georgen Castle (Ordensschloss St. Georgen)
- St. Georgen Church (Ordenskirche St. Georgen)
- St. John's Parish Church (St. Johannis)
- Colmdorf Castle
- Rollwenzelei with Jean Paul's study (Dichterstube)
- Old Palace and castle chapel of Our Dear Lady (Altes Schloss)
- Victory Tower (Siegesturm)
- Spital Church (Spitalkirche)
- Church of the Holy Spirit (Stadtkirche Heilig Dreifaltigkeit)
- Stift church (Stiftskirche)
- Birken Castle
- The Goldener Anker hotel
- Baroque parks:
- Hermitage Park, former seat of the margraves, outside the inner town
- Castle and park of Fantaisie, in EckersdorfEckersdorfEckersdorf is a municipality in the district of Bayreuth in Bavaria in Germany.- Geography :The municipality of Eckersdorf is located on the northern edge of an area called "Little Switzerland" , close to the world-famous festival town of Bayreuth...
(vicinity of Bayreuth. 7 km (4 mi) west) - Sanspareil Park, about 30 km west of Bayreuth
- University Botanical Gardens
Public parks and cemeteries
In the town centre is the Court Garden (Hofgarten) of the New Palace. Near the Festival Hall is the Festival Park. On the southern edge of the town lie the Botanical Gardens of the University of BayreuthUniversity of Bayreuth
The University of Bayreuth is a public research university situated in Bayreuth, Germany. It was founded in 1975 as a campus university focusing on international collaboration and interdisciplinarity...
. On the Königsallee, east of the town centre, is the relatively small Miedel Garden.
The best known park in Bayreuth is that of the 'Eremitage' (Hermitage) in the district of St. Johannis. With a total area of almost 50 hectares it is the largest park in Bayreuth.
Bayreuth has been chosen to host the Bavarian Country Garden Show in 2016. For this reason another park is planned on the Main water meadows between the Volksfestplatz and A 9 motorway.
The oldest surviving cemetery is the Town Cemetery (Stadtfriedhof) with a large number of gravestones of famous people. On the southern edge of the town is the Southern Cemetery (Südfriedhof) and crematorium. The districts of St. Johannis and St. Georgen have their own cemeteries. On Nürnberger Straße, in the east of the town, is an Israeli cemetery.
Sport
Over 60 clubs offer just under one hundreds sports. The most successful club in the town is the street hockey team, Hurricans Bayreuth, who have been German runners-up three times (1998/2004/2006) and champions five times (1996/1997/2001/2005/2007). The only other first division team is the Bayreuth Gliding Club which won the league in 2002 and were runners-up in 2005 and 2008. They were also fourth in the World League in 2008. The basketball team of BBC BayreuthBBC Bayreuth
BBC Bayreuth is a German basketball club based in Bayreuth, Bavaria..The club won the 2009-10 Pro A Championship and will play Basketball Bundesliga in the 2010-11 season.- Season by season :...
plays in the Basketball Bundesliga
Basketball Bundesliga
The Basketball Bundesliga — commonly abbreviated BBL — is the highest level league of club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season is split into a league stage and a playoff stage...
(division 1), the HaSpo Bayreuth handball team, the footballers of SpVgg Bayreuth
SpVgg Bayreuth
SpVgg Bayreuth is a German football club based in Bayreuth, Bavaria. Apart from coming within two games of earning promotion to the Fußball-Bundesliga in 1979, the club also reached the quarter finals of the DFB-Pokal twice, in 1977 and 1980.- 1921 to 1945 :...
and the volleyball players of BSV Bayreuth each play in their respective Bavarian League. The ice hockey team, EHC Bayreuth, has also just entered the Bavarian League.
Bayreuth had its sporting heyday in the late 1980s and early 90s. The basketball team, Steiner Bayreuth, were twice German Cup winners (1987/1988 and 1988/1989) and in the 1988/1989 season they also won the German championship. The hockey team of Bayreuth's swimming club (SCC) was twice champions of Second Division South and also played for a year in the Hockey League. At the time that the table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
team of Steiner Bayreuth was also first class (since 1983 2nd Division, in 1984/85, 1986/87 and 1987/88 1st Division, 1988 relegated and the team has played for many years in the 2nd Football Division. The table tennis players of the 1. Bayreuth FC played in the 1st Division from 1994 to 1997.
In 1999 the World Glider
Glider (sailplane)
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...
Championships took place in Bayreuth.
Regular events
- In January, May, June, July, November and December: Young master pianists (concert series for young pianists from various music academies in the rooms of piano makers, Steingraeber & Söhne)
- April: Bayreuth Easter Festival (charity concerts for children with cancer)
- May: Musica Bayreuth
- June: Uniopenair
- June: Time for New Music
- June: Bayreuth Folk Festival
- July: Bayreuth Town Festival (on the first weekend in July)
- July: Bayreuth Piano Festival
- July–August: Bayreuth FestivalBayreuth FestivalThe Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
, Midsummer Night Festival - September: Rock in Bayreuth
- September: Bayreuth Baroque (opera performances in the Margravial Opera House)
- October: Bayreuth Kneipen Festival
- October: Bayreuth Museum Night (the day before the clocks go back)
- October: Since 2008 the town had awarded annually the Margravine Wilhelmina Prize of the Town of Bayreuth as part of the Bayreuth Future Forum symposium of the University of Bayreuth
Long-distance roads
Motorways (Autobahnen):- A 9: BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
–LeipzigLeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
–Bayreuth–Nuremberg–IngolstadtIngolstadtIngolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As at 31 March 2011, Ingolstadt had 125.407 residents...
–MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat... - A 70: SchweinfurtSchweinfurtSchweinfurt is a city in the Lower Franconia region of Bavaria in Germany on the right bank of the canalized Main, which is here spanned by several bridges, 27 km northeast of Würzburg.- History :...
–BambergBambergBamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
–Bayreuth
Federal roads (Bundesstraßen):
- B 2: RosowMescherinMescherin is a municipality in the Uckermark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is located on the western shore of the Oder river which is the international border to Poland since 1945.-Overview:...
–Berlin–Lutherstadt Wittenberg–Leipzig–GeraGeraGera, the third-largest city in the German state of Thuringia , lies in east Thuringia on the river Weiße Elster, approximately 60 kilometres to the south of the city of Leipzig and 80 kilometres to the east of Erfurt...
–Hof–Bayreuth–Nuremnberg–DonauwörthDonauwörthDonauwörth is a city in the German State of Bavaria , in the region of Swabia . It is said to have been founded by two fisherman where the Danube and Wörnitz rivers meet...
–AugsburgAugsburgAugsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
–Munich–MittenwaldMittenwaldMittenwald is a German municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria.-Geography:Mittenwald is located approx. 16 kilometers to the south-east of Garmisch-Partenkirchen... - B 22Bundesstraße 22Bundesstraße 22 is a German federal highway that runs from Würzburg in Lower Franconia, through the Upper Franconian cities of Bamberg and Bayreuth and the Upper Palatine town of Weiden, to Cham...
: WürzburgWürzburgWürzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
–Bamberg–HollfeldHollfeldHollfeld is a town in the district of Bayreuth, in Bavaria, Germany.It is situated 20 km west of Bayreuth, and 30 km east of Bamberg.-Villages:...
–Bayreuth–WeidenWeiden in der OberpfalzWeiden in der Oberpfalz is a district-free city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located 100 km east of Nuremberg and 35 km west of the Czech border. A branch of the German Army's NCO Academy is located here...
–Cham - B 85Bundesstraße 85The Bundesstraße 85 runs southeast through Thuringia and Bavaria, from Kyffhäuser to Passau, near the Austrian border. B85 is approximately long.Cities and towns along B85:...
: Berga–WeimarWeimarWeimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
–LudwigsstadtLudwigsstadtLudwigsstadt is a municipality in the district of Kronach, in the Upper Franconian region of Bavaria, Germany. It is situated at the state's northern border in the Franconian Forest mountain range, north of Kronach, and south of Saalfeld in Thuringia, the only Bavarian municipality north of the...
–Kulmbach–Bayreuth–AmbergAmbergAmberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. Population: 44,756 .- History :...
–SchwandorfSchwandorfThe town of Schwandorf is the seat of the district of Schwandorf in Bavaria in Germany. It is situated on the river Naab.-International relations:Schwandorf is twinned with:*Libourne *Sokolov...
–Cham–Neukirchen vorm WaldNeukirchen vorm WaldNeukirchen vorm Wald is a municipality in the district of Passau in Bavaria in Germany....
–PassauPassauPassau is a town in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the Dreiflüssestadt or "City of Three Rivers," because the Danube is joined at Passau by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north....
Railways
From Bayreuth Central StationBayreuth Hauptbahnhof
is the central railway station in the German city of Bayreuth.Railway lines run north to Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg, and from there to Bamberg and over the Schiefe Ebene to Hof, east to Weidenberg, southeast to Weiden and south to Schnabelwaid with connexions to Nuremberg on the Pegnitz Valley Railway...
(Hauptbahnhof) railway lines run north to Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg, and from there to Bamberg and over the Schiefe Ebene
Schiefe Ebene
The Schiefe Ebene is a steep railway incline on the course of the Ludwig South-North Railway from Bamberg to Hof in the region of Upper Franconia, in Bavaria, Germany....
to Hof, east to Weidenberg
Bayreuth–Warmensteinach railway
The Bayreuth–Warmensteinach railway is a branch line in the Bavarian province of Upper Franconia in southern Germany. It is the last still partially intact of the seven branch lines, that formerly served the Fichtelgebirge.- History :...
, southeast to Weiden and south to Schnabelwaid with connexions to Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
on the Pegnitz Valley Railway. The lines around Bayreuth are all single-tracked and non-electrified.
Since 23 May 1992 tilting
Tilting
Tilting may refer to:* Tilt , a cinematographic technique* Tilting train, a train with a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular railroad tracks* Tilting, Newfoundland and Labrador, a town on Fogo Island* Tilting, a type of jousting...
diesel multiple units of Class 610
DB Class 610
The DB Class 610 is a Diesel Multiple Unit train type operated by the Deutsche Bahn in Germany. They were built from 1991 to 1992 by MAN and DUEWAG. The class has a tilting system and was inspired by Italian Pendolino trains.-General Information:...
have worked the last-named route. These were bought by the former Deutsche Bundesbahn
Deutsche Bundesbahn
The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany on September 7, 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft '...
specifically for the winding track. Since the 2006/2007 timetable change, Bayreuth has no longer been connected to the DB's long-distance network.
The Franken-Sachsen-Express still provides a direct connexion to Dresden, however, and since December 2007 even every two hours. The technology used for this is the Class 612
DBAG Class 612
The DBAG Class 612 is a two car, diesel multiple unit operated by the Deutsche Bahn for fast regional rail services on unelectrified lines.-General Information:...
diesel multiple set. There are also Regional Express links via Lichtenfels
Lichtenfels
Lichtenfels is German placename and surname:Germany:There are two towns named Lichtenfels in Germany* Lichtenfels, Hesse* Lichtenfels, Bavaria ** Lichtenfels station** 1...
to Bamberg
Bamberg
Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
and Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
, and via Lichtenfels and Kronach
Kronach
Kronach is a town in Oberfranken, Bavaria, Germany, located in the Frankenwald area. It is the capital of the district Kronach.Kronach is the birthtown of Lucas Cranach the Elder and Maximilian von Welsch, as well as Johann Kaspar Zeuss and Josef Stangl....
to Saalfeld.
Local public transport
The town bus routes are operated by Bayreuth Transport and Public Baths (BVB) (Bayreuther Verkehrs- und Bäder GmbH). Sometimes private bus operators run services on behalf of the transport companies. The 14 routes (lines 301-314) operate from Monday to Friday at 20 or 30 minute intervals; on Saturday afternoon and Sunday the interval is extended to 40 minutes. Late evening services (from about 10-11 pm during the week and from 1 am at weekends) and on Sunday mornings a simplified network of four lines (lines 321-324) runs buses at 45-minute intervals. Some lines then operate like an on-call taxi service. The network is star-shaped. Originally, the central station was at the market square in Maximilianstrasse. Since 27 October 2007 the Central Bus Station (ZOH) has been at Hohenzollernplatz at the junction of Kanalstraße on the Hohenzollernring. At this stop there are also bus stops for local buses to facilitate transfers.Regional rail is operated by the Omnibusverkehr Franken. From 1 January 2010 public transport from the town and district of Bayreuth was integrated into the Nuremberg Regional Transport Network (Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg).
Cycling
In most places there is a signed cycle pathSegregated cycle facilities
Segregated cycle facilities are marked lanes, tracks, shoulders and paths designated for use by cyclists from which motorised traffic is generally excluded...
network. In the centre of Bayreuth itself, cycling is fairly straightforward due to the relatively flat topography
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
, something which encourages the use bicycles as an everyday means of transport. Because of the proximity of the 600 kilometre long Main Cycle Path, Bayreuth is also a destination for many tourist cycle routes.
Because of the long service intervals of the Bayreuth town bus system and its long overnight pause, students use bicycles as their everyday mode of transport.
Bicycles may be carried for a fee on DB Regio
DB Regio
DB Regio AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates short and medium distance passenger train services in Germany, and operates light and heavy rail infrastructure in the United Kingdom.-Germany:...
trains leaving Bayreuth and in the VGN's buses.
Air transport
The local airport supports Bayreuth's commercial aviation traffic, individual business travel, general aviation and air sports. By 2002 even the airline from Frankfurt to Hof stopped in Bayreuth three times a day.The airfield at Bindlacher Berg is also one of the most important bases for gliding in Germany. For example, the World Championships took place here in 1999. For the air sports community in Bayreuth, the airport is a departure point for glider flights taking part in the national Bundesliga competition league. The local gliding club also provides instruction in flying gliders and light aircraft.
See also: Bayreuth Airport.
Important firms
- Basell Bayreuth Chemie (Producer of polyolefins)
- Brauerei Gebrüder Maisel (wheat beer specialist)
- British American TobaccoBritish American TobaccoBritish American Tobacco p.l.c. is a global tobacco company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s second largest quoted tobacco company by global market share , with a leading position in more than 50 countries and a presence in more than 180 countries...
(Germany) GmbH (cigarette production) - CherryCherry (keyboards)ZF Electronics GmbH is a German computer peripheral-device maker. The company has its roots in the USA. They also manufacture a large range of products including sensors, input devices and automotive modules...
(Data entry devices, switches and sensors, car motifs) - Grundig Business SystemsGrundig Business SystemsGrundig Business Systems is a German company located in Bayreuth and Nuremberg in Germany and employs 170 people. Since 2001, it has been an independent corporation, manufacturing analogue and digital dictation devices featuring the "Made in Germany" quality label.- Background :The company has...
(world market leader for professional dictaphone systems) - W. Markgraf (construction)
- medi (medical aids)
- StäubliStäubliStäubli is an international mechatronics company, primarily known for its textile machinery, connectors and robotics products.-History:...
(textile machines, technical couplings and robot arms) - Steingraeber & SöhneSteingraeber & SöhneSteingraeber & Söhne was founded in 1820 in Thuringia and since 1852 it has made Bayreuth its home becoming in just three decades one of the best known manufacturers of grand and upright pianos....
piano manufacturers - ZapfZapfZapf can signify:* Zapf , a family name** Franz Zapf, German museum director** Helmut Zapf, German composer** Hermann Zapf, German typeface designer, professor, calligrapher, typographer and husband of Gudrun Zapf-von Hesse...
(manufacturer of ready-made garages and houses)
Former important firms
- F. C. Bayerlein 1809-1979 (textile company: weaving, spinning, cotton-spinning and dying)
Media
- Nordbayerischer Kurier (dail paper)
- Fränkische Zeitung (FZ) ; formerly the Bayreuther Anzeiger, renamed in October 2008 (advertising paper)
- Bayreuther Sonntag (advertising paper)
- Bayreuth4U (town magazine)
- Bayerischer RundfunkBayerischer RundfunkBayerischer Rundfunk [Bavarian Broadcasting] is the public broadcasting authority for the German Freistaat of Bavaria, with its main offices located in Munich. BR is a member of ARD.- Legal foundation :...
(North Upper Franconia correspondent office). In the 1950s/1960s Bayerische Rundfunk operated einen radio station in Bayreuth on medium wave with a frequencyFrequencyFrequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
of 520 kHz and a transmitter power of 200 watts using a 60 metre high transmission mast. - Campus TV (University of Bayreuth media project in media science)
- Der Tip (University of Bayreuth student paper)
- Oberfränkische Wirtschaft, (trade magazine for Upper Franconia)
- Radio Galaxy (local radio station for the Bavaria-wide youth radio)
- Radio Mainwelle (local radio)
- Schalltwerk (University of Bayreuth internet radio)