The interesting and lively city of Bayreuth stands in a wide valley on the upper basin of the Red Main (Roter Main) River of north-eastern Bavaria just over 60 kilometres east of Bamberg. It is the capital and largest city of Upper Franconia and has a population of approximately 73,000 residents. The city is best known as the final home and resting place of Richard Wagner, a famous German composer and conductor, and for his Bayreuth Festspielhaus, in which the annual Richard Wagner Festival is performed. It is for this reason that Bayreuth is such a popular visitor’s destination although it is also well known as a university town, a conference centre and home to a few Baroque and Rococo treasures and several cultural events.
Wagner moved to Bayreuth in 1872 and lived here until his death in 1883. He constructed a villa known as ‘Wahnfried’, which today houses the Wagner Museum, and the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, which stands on Green Hill on the northern edge of town and was specially constructed for its unique acoustics to optimise his own operas!! During the summer, the annual Richard Wagner Festival, otherwise known as the Bayreuth Festival, is performed in the Festspielhaus and attracts approximately 60,000 visitors who experience the landmark interpretations by the stars of the Festival.
The history of Bayreuth dates back to at least the 12th century according to known written evidence, and was established on traditional Bavarian lines. This means a main street which widens into a market square around which the settlement grew. Within the Martkplatz stood the Rathaus, standing apart from this stood the Church and on the hill stood the castle. Today Bayreuth is home to the many of these old buildings and more, the most impressive being the Margrave’s Opera House, considered to be the most ornate and beautiful Baroque theatre in Europe. Then, to the east of the city centre there is the large historic gardens of the Eremitage and the Old Palace with its Inner Grotto, beautiful fountains and the Orangarie and its Sun Temple. Located adjacent to the Old Palace is the Palace Church and its octagonal Bell Tower, built in the mid 18th century this court chapel holds the bodies of Margrave Friedrich and Margravine Wilhelmine who were responsible for much of the development of Bayreuth during the 18th century. This includes the Baroque 18th century Neues Schloss or New Castle which stands in the centre of town and houses two museum and an art gallery which is a branch of the Bavarian State Galleries, the Friedrichstrass and the Castle Park or Hofgarten.
Bayreuth is a major cultural centre, and although Richard Wagner is the main focus, the city also supports many other interesting facets of its cultural life. These include an astonishing 25 museums, several traditional festivals such as the Easter Festival, the Summernight’s Festival and the Christmas Festival, plus the Franconian Festival Week of opera and ballet, the International Youth Festival and the Piano Festival. For something a little lighthearted there is the Maisel’s Wheat Beer Festival, Six Crazy Carnival Days and the City Street Festival. Of the museums there is, as already mentioned the Richard Wagner Museum which is located in his Villa Wahnfried, the Jean-Paul Museum who was a 19th century German writer and poet, and the Franz Liszt Museum, famous composer and father-in-law of Richard Wagner. If curiosity calls for more, the city maintains museums of art, history, archaeological and natural history, typewriters, tobacco, Freemasons, agricultural tools and equipment just to name a few, but one which should not be missed is the Maisel’s Brewery and Cooper’s Museum!! Located in a fully restored historic brick building, the museum displays an extensive collection of brewery equipment, so much that it is listed in the Guinness Book of Records!!
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