Hof, Germany
Encyclopedia
Hof is a city located on the banks of the Saale
in the northeastern corner of the German
state of Bavaria
, in the Franconia
region, at the Czech
border and the forested Fichtelgebirge
and Frankenwald
upland regions.
The city of Hof is enclosed by, but does not belong to the Bavarian district of Hof
; it is nonetheless the district's administrative seat.
The city's most important work of art, the Hofer altar, dates from about 1465 and is exhibited in the Alte Pinakothek
in Munich
today. The Heidenreich organ in the parish church of St. Michaelis, completed in 1834, is considered one of Bavaria's finest.
Hof is known for two local "delicacies", namely Schnitz, a kind of hotpot, and sausages boiled in a portable, coal-fired brass cauldron, which are sold in the streets by the sausage man (Wärschtlamo in the local dialect). There is also a particularly strong beer (Schlappenbier), which is available only on the first Monday after Trinity Sunday
(Schlappentag). This tradition dates back to the establishment of the town militia which forced all shooters to take part in a special shooting training each year. To avoid penalties, a lot of shooters rushed out to the training area in the morning of the very last possible day, without even enough time to get dressed and thus still wearing their clogs (Schlappen) .
(Franconian Forest), the Fichtelgebirge
and the Vogtland
.
between East Germany and West Germany
. In 1989 thousands of East German citizens, who had demanded the right to travel or emigrate to West Germany and had been allowed to do so, first arrived on western soil at Hof's railroad station, having been placed on a special train and officially "expelled" by the East German government. Hof is located near the old Berlin-Munich autobahn, which was thought to be a possible invasion route by Warsaw Pact forces had the Cold War ever turned into armed combat.
lass="wikitable">
Year
Population
1939:
44,878
1945:
55,405
1950:
61,033
1955:
58,005
1960:
57,414
lass="wikitable">
Year
Population
1965:
55,810
1970:
54,424
1975:
54,644
1980:
53,180
1985:
51,275
lass="wikitable">
Year
Population
1990:
53,095
1995:
52,531
2003:
49,804
2004:
49,424
2006:
50,150
Wim Wenders once said HOF was short for Home of Films. In 1967, student Heinz Badewitz, together with his back then band members, organized a 2 and a half hours movie theater night in Hof showing a few motion pictures. They called this event the 1st Hof Short Film Festival. They had the idea after disappointing results at the Obberhausener Short Film Festival. Also, Munich (the city where they studied at the time) had too difficult terms and conditions and the rents had been too high to start a project of that kind there. This gave way for the Hof International Film Festival. Heinz Badewith led the Festival from there on and the project grew up over the years. Now, after 4 decades, the Festival is one of the most renowned in all of Germany. Newcomer directors and producers get to premier their debut motion pictures here. The Hof International Film Festival became a trend-setting event for the German movie industry.
(see above in the general description)
The term Volksfest means fair or folk festival. The Hofer Volksfest is the biggest of its kind in the area. It takes place at the end of July and beginning of August every year. It always begins on the last Friday of July with a big parade which passes through the downtown heading in the direction of the festival area where it finishes up. The festival occupies a big amusement park with a wide variety of attractions and all kinds of local food and beer specialties, and partly occupies a big beer tent area. Most of the latter takes place in a big concert hall but the atmosüphere is similar to that of a beer tent. Every night, different local bands play mostly traditional Bavarian music to entertain the mostly regional crowd. In the late 60s Andy Seltzer originally found Luise Miehling at this event.
Wargamers might know Hof from the game Hof Gap published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1980. The game, which simulates the early stages of WWIII in Germany, was not well received in Hof itself. SPI confused Hof Gap with the Fulda
Gap, further north. Operationally Hof was in the US Army's 2nd Squadron/2nd Armored Cavalry's sector, maintaining border operations in this region, and it was referred to as the Hof Corridor. A letter to SPI in early 1981 did not persuade them to change the name of the game, however. Despite that, the game was popular among 2/2 ACR troopers who enjoyed conflict simulations.
Actually, the Hof Gap was also a planned Warsaw Pact approach into West Germany. There are many published post-Cold War articles supporting this. The anticipated actions in defense of West Germany included the cavalry covering force action which was to delay, allowing the arrival of US and Bundeswehr heavy units. SPI made no error or confusion in this case and actually covered a less well known, but just as critical, possible Soviet approach route. The layman who was interested in the 70's and 80's knew about Fulda, only those assigned to relieve the cavalry at Hof were aware of its importance. Review of the unit designations in both the Fulda and Hof Gap games SPI released and their coverage becomes readily apparent.
An interesting note about the city coat-of-arms of Hof is that it is a red shield with two white towers against which leans a black shield with a gold lion. 322 miles away the city of Heimbach where Hengebach castle is located (former seat of the dukes of Julich) the city coat-of-arms is almost the reverse: a black shield with a red roof on a white tower against which leans a gold shield with a black lion. Although Hof is 322 miles away from Heimbach, the two cities do have some interesting associations. The castle of Hengebach in Heimbach is actually located in the section that was the former village of Schmidt and there lived a branch of the baronial dynasty of von Schmidt auf Altenstadt until they emigrated in 1749 and the seat of the barons von Altenstadt was very near Hof, in a part of the municipality of Gattendorf known as Kirchgattendorf, where the ruins of the von Altenstadt castles can be seen today. But the coincidences do not stop there: the family arms of the von Schmidts auf Altenstadt were a swan and the city arms of Gattendorf are a swan.
The barons von Schmidt auf Altenstadt, as barons of the village Gattendorf
in the environs of Hof were a significant part of social and aristocratic life in Hof. In the nineteenth century, Christoph August von Schmidt, after having served as a Provost at the University of Saint Petersburg, Russia where he was ennobled by the Tsar and awarded the orders of St Stanislaus and Sts Ann-and-Vladimir, erected a monument describing his adventure and bearing the simplified, swan version of his coat-of-arms which today has been adopted by the village of Gattendorf as its municipal arms.
Hof provided Anthony Hope (author of "The Prisoner of Zenda") with his inspiration for Strelsau, capital of his fictitious kingdom of Ruritania. Although the book locates Ruritania along the railway line between Dresden in Sachsen (Saxony) and Prague, capital of Bohemia (modern day Czech Republic), one can see Hof in the descriptions of Strelsau. Among the clues there is the name "Altstadt" for the "old city"--similar to "Altenstadt"--the older part of Strelsau where "Black Michael", the Duke of Strelsau, was popular. And one can see elements of Hof's medieval beauty in the atmosphere of Strelsau.
which has around 2300 students and the University of Applied Sciences for Administration and Legal Affairs in Bavaria which has around 500 students.
and the GDR. On Hohe Saas, there was a radar site. Between 1949 and 1993, Hof was also the site of an RIAS
transmitting station.
is on the Regensburg–Hof
, Bamberg–Hof
and Leipzig–Hof main lines and the Hof–Bad Steben
branch line.
Hof has an airport
, which offers daily connection to Frankfurt/Main.
Buses are run by HofBus, which currently runs 12 lines in the city.
Saale
The Saale, also known as the Saxon Saale and Thuringian Saale , is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the Main, or the Saale in Lower Saxony, a tributary of the Leine.-Course:The Saale...
in the northeastern corner of the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
state of 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...
, in the Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
region, at the Czech
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....
border and the forested Fichtelgebirge
Fichtelgebirge
The Fichtelgebirge is a mountain range in northeastern Bavaria, Germany. It extends from the valley of the Red Main River to the Czech border, a few foothills spilling over into the Czech Republic. It continues in a northeastern direction as the Ore Mountains, and in a southeastern direction as...
and Frankenwald
Frankenwald
thumb|View to DöbrabergThe Franconian Forest is a mid-altitude mountain range in Northern Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the district of Upper Franconia and forms the geological connection between the Fichtelgebirge and the Thuringian Forest...
upland regions.
The city of Hof is enclosed by, but does not belong to the Bavarian district of Hof
Hof (district)
Hof is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Wunsiedel, Bayreuth, Kulmbach and Kronach, the states of Thuringia and Saxony , and the Czech Republic...
; it is nonetheless the district's administrative seat.
The city's most important work of art, the Hofer altar, dates from about 1465 and is exhibited in the Alte Pinakothek
Alte Pinakothek
The Alte Pinakothek is an art museum situated in the Kunstareal in Munich, Germany. It is one of the oldest galleries in the world and houses one of the most famous collections of Old Master paintings...
in Munich
Munich
Munich 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...
today. The Heidenreich organ in the parish church of St. Michaelis, completed in 1834, is considered one of Bavaria's finest.
Hof is known for two local "delicacies", namely Schnitz, a kind of hotpot, and sausages boiled in a portable, coal-fired brass cauldron, which are sold in the streets by the sausage man (Wärschtlamo in the local dialect). There is also a particularly strong beer (Schlappenbier), which is available only on the first Monday after Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity...
(Schlappentag). This tradition dates back to the establishment of the town militia which forced all shooters to take part in a special shooting training each year. To avoid penalties, a lot of shooters rushed out to the training area in the morning of the very last possible day, without even enough time to get dressed and thus still wearing their clogs (Schlappen) .
The city's structure
The city of Hof consists of the following districts in particular:
|
|
Surroundings
Hof is located in between the areas of the FrankenwaldFrankenwald
thumb|View to DöbrabergThe Franconian Forest is a mid-altitude mountain range in Northern Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the district of Upper Franconia and forms the geological connection between the Fichtelgebirge and the Thuringian Forest...
(Franconian Forest), the Fichtelgebirge
Fichtelgebirge
The Fichtelgebirge is a mountain range in northeastern Bavaria, Germany. It extends from the valley of the Red Main River to the Czech border, a few foothills spilling over into the Czech Republic. It continues in a northeastern direction as the Ore Mountains, and in a southeastern direction as...
and the Vogtland
Vogtland
The term Vogtland refers to a region reaching across the German free states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia and into the Czech Republic . The name of the region contains a reference to the former leadership by the Vögte of Weida, Gera and Plauen, which translates approximately to advocates or lord...
.
History
Hof was originally called Rekkenze and established around the year 1080. The settlement was first mentioned 1214 and became a town in 1319. After a rather uneventful history, the town became Prussian in 1792, French in 1806 and finally Bavarian in 1810. In 1823, the town was virtually destroyed by a fire. In 1945, it suffered minor destruction due to aerial attacks. From 1945 to 1990 Hof lay very close to the borderIron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
between East Germany and West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. In 1989 thousands of East German citizens, who had demanded the right to travel or emigrate to West Germany and had been allowed to do so, first arrived on western soil at Hof's railroad station, having been placed on a special train and officially "expelled" by the East German government. Hof is located near the old Berlin-Munich autobahn, which was thought to be a possible invasion route by Warsaw Pact forces had the Cold War ever turned into armed combat.
Population development
| class="wikitable"> | Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1818: | 4,667 |
| 1840: | 7,985 |
| 1880: | 21,000 |
| 1900: | 32,781 |
| 1920: | 40,785 |
Mayors (First Mayors and Lord Mayors)
(since the introduction of the Bavarian Municipal Code in 1818)| 1818–1846: | Georg Friedrich Samuel von Oerthel |
| 1847: | Johann Adam Laubmann |
| 1848–1849: | Christoph Theodor Schroen |
| 1849–1857: | Moritz Ernst Freiherr von Waldenfels |
| 1857–1882: | Hermann von Münch |
| 1883–1903: | Carl von Mann |
| 1904–1916: | Paul Bräuninger |
| 1916–1919: | Heinrich Neupert |
| 1919–1933: | Dr. Karl Buhl |
| 1933–1941: | Dr. Richard Wendler |
| 1945–1946: | Dr. Oskar Weinauer |
| 1946–1948: | Hans Bechert |
| 1948–1949: | Dr. Kurt Schröter |
| 1950–1970: | Hans Högn (SPD) |
| 1970–1988: | Dr. Hans Heun (CSU) |
| 1988–2006: | Dieter Döhla (SPD) |
| 2006 to present date: | Dr. Harald Fichtner (CSU) |
Sister Cities
Hof has established connections to its following sister cities around the world
|
Periodic events
- Hof International Film Festival
Wim Wenders once said HOF was short for Home of Films. In 1967, student Heinz Badewitz, together with his back then band members, organized a 2 and a half hours movie theater night in Hof showing a few motion pictures. They called this event the 1st Hof Short Film Festival. They had the idea after disappointing results at the Obberhausener Short Film Festival. Also, Munich (the city where they studied at the time) had too difficult terms and conditions and the rents had been too high to start a project of that kind there. This gave way for the Hof International Film Festival. Heinz Badewith led the Festival from there on and the project grew up over the years. Now, after 4 decades, the Festival is one of the most renowned in all of Germany. Newcomer directors and producers get to premier their debut motion pictures here. The Hof International Film Festival became a trend-setting event for the German movie industry.
- Schlappentag
(see above in the general description)
- Hofer Volksfest
The term Volksfest means fair or folk festival. The Hofer Volksfest is the biggest of its kind in the area. It takes place at the end of July and beginning of August every year. It always begins on the last Friday of July with a big parade which passes through the downtown heading in the direction of the festival area where it finishes up. The festival occupies a big amusement park with a wide variety of attractions and all kinds of local food and beer specialties, and partly occupies a big beer tent area. Most of the latter takes place in a big concert hall but the atmosüphere is similar to that of a beer tent. Every night, different local bands play mostly traditional Bavarian music to entertain the mostly regional crowd. In the late 60s Andy Seltzer originally found Luise Miehling at this event.
Weather and Geography
Hof is also known as Bavarian Siberia because temperatures are usually several degrees lower than in most other parts of Bavaria, particularly in winter, and because civil servants were often transferred to Hof as a punishment.Wargamers might know Hof from the game Hof Gap published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1980. The game, which simulates the early stages of WWIII in Germany, was not well received in Hof itself. SPI confused Hof Gap with the Fulda
Fulda
Fulda is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district .- Early Middle Ages :...
Gap, further north. Operationally Hof was in the US Army's 2nd Squadron/2nd Armored Cavalry's sector, maintaining border operations in this region, and it was referred to as the Hof Corridor. A letter to SPI in early 1981 did not persuade them to change the name of the game, however. Despite that, the game was popular among 2/2 ACR troopers who enjoyed conflict simulations.
Actually, the Hof Gap was also a planned Warsaw Pact approach into West Germany. There are many published post-Cold War articles supporting this. The anticipated actions in defense of West Germany included the cavalry covering force action which was to delay, allowing the arrival of US and Bundeswehr heavy units. SPI made no error or confusion in this case and actually covered a less well known, but just as critical, possible Soviet approach route. The layman who was interested in the 70's and 80's knew about Fulda, only those assigned to relieve the cavalry at Hof were aware of its importance. Review of the unit designations in both the Fulda and Hof Gap games SPI released and their coverage becomes readily apparent.
An interesting note about the city coat-of-arms of Hof is that it is a red shield with two white towers against which leans a black shield with a gold lion. 322 miles away the city of Heimbach where Hengebach castle is located (former seat of the dukes of Julich) the city coat-of-arms is almost the reverse: a black shield with a red roof on a white tower against which leans a gold shield with a black lion. Although Hof is 322 miles away from Heimbach, the two cities do have some interesting associations. The castle of Hengebach in Heimbach is actually located in the section that was the former village of Schmidt and there lived a branch of the baronial dynasty of von Schmidt auf Altenstadt until they emigrated in 1749 and the seat of the barons von Altenstadt was very near Hof, in a part of the municipality of Gattendorf known as Kirchgattendorf, where the ruins of the von Altenstadt castles can be seen today. But the coincidences do not stop there: the family arms of the von Schmidts auf Altenstadt were a swan and the city arms of Gattendorf are a swan.
The barons von Schmidt auf Altenstadt, as barons of the village Gattendorf
Gattendorf
Gattendorf is a municipality in Upper Franconia in the district of Hof in Bavaria in Germany.The distinctive swan coat-of-arms of the municipality of Gattendorf was adopted as municipal coat-of-arms in 1974 after the extinction, in 1944, of the local noble family von Schmidt auf Altenstadt....
in the environs of Hof were a significant part of social and aristocratic life in Hof. In the nineteenth century, Christoph August von Schmidt, after having served as a Provost at the University of Saint Petersburg, Russia where he was ennobled by the Tsar and awarded the orders of St Stanislaus and Sts Ann-and-Vladimir, erected a monument describing his adventure and bearing the simplified, swan version of his coat-of-arms which today has been adopted by the village of Gattendorf as its municipal arms.
Hof provided Anthony Hope (author of "The Prisoner of Zenda") with his inspiration for Strelsau, capital of his fictitious kingdom of Ruritania. Although the book locates Ruritania along the railway line between Dresden in Sachsen (Saxony) and Prague, capital of Bohemia (modern day Czech Republic), one can see Hof in the descriptions of Strelsau. Among the clues there is the name "Altstadt" for the "old city"--similar to "Altenstadt"--the older part of Strelsau where "Black Michael", the Duke of Strelsau, was popular. And one can see elements of Hof's medieval beauty in the atmosphere of Strelsau.
Education
Hof is also home to the University of Applied Sciences HofUniversity of Applied Sciences Hof
The University of Applied Sciences Hof , founded in 1994, is a business, media and technics vocational university in upper Franconia , Germany. In 2000, the fabric design and fabric technology studies joined the University . Founding president was Georg Nagler...
which has around 2300 students and the University of Applied Sciences for Administration and Legal Affairs in Bavaria which has around 500 students.
Military
Hof was in cold war times of special interest as it was near the frontier to CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
and the GDR. On Hohe Saas, there was a radar site. Between 1949 and 1993, Hof was also the site of an RIAS
Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor
RIAS was a radio and television station in the American Sector of Berlin during the Cold War. It was founded by the US occupational authorities after World War II in 1946 to provide the German population in and around Berlin with news and political reporting and was initially only broadcast on...
transmitting station.
Transport
Hof central stationHof Hauptbahnhof
Hof Hauptbahnhof is the main railway station in Hof in southern Germany and is situated at the intersection of the Saxon-Franconian trunk line and the Munich–Regensburg–Leipzig–Berlin line...
is on the Regensburg–Hof
Regensburg–Hof railway
The Regensburg–Hof railway is a main line railway about 180 km long which links the Upper Palatine regional capital of Regensburg via Schwandorf and Weiden in der Oberpfalz to Marktredwitz and Hof in Upper Franconia. Because the section from Regensburg to Wiesau runs parallel to the River...
, Bamberg–Hof
Bamberg–Hof railway
The Bamberg–Hof railway is a 127 kilometre-long main line that runs through Bavaria in southern Germany. The line runs from Bamberg via Lichetenfels, Kulmbach, Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg and Münchberg to Hof. The section from Hof to Neuenmarkt now forms part of the Saxon-Franconian trunk line.-History:The...
and Leipzig–Hof main lines and the Hof–Bad Steben
Hof–Bad Steben railway
The Hof–Bad Steben railway runs from Hof through the Franconian Forest to the Bavarian state spa town Bad Steben in southern Germany. The line was opened in two stages between 1887 and 1898.- Opening and history :...
branch line.
Hof has an airport
Hof-Plauen Airport
Hof-Plauen Airport is an airport serving Hof, a city in the German state of Bavaria. The airport is located southwest of Hof.- Facilities :...
, which offers daily connection to Frankfurt/Main.
Buses are run by HofBus, which currently runs 12 lines in the city.