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BAYREUTH
- GERMANY
Bayreuth is a town in northern Bavaria,
Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Frankish Alb and the
Fichtelgebirge. It is the capital of Upper Franconia. Population: 74,000
(2001).
History
Bayreuth was first mentioned in 1194 and may have been founded by the counts
of Andechs. 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 belonged to the county of Kulmbach.
The turning point of the town's history was
in 1603, when the margrave of Kulmbach (in the meantime also called
Brandenburg-Kulmbach) decided to move his residence to Bayreuth. The
develepmont of the new capital firstly stagnated due to the Thirty Years'
War, but afterwards many famous baroque buildings were added to the town.
Especially during the reign of margravine Wilhelmine several parks and
castles were built which constitute much of Bayreuth's present appearance.
In 1769 the last margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (or Brandenburg-Bayreuth)
died without an heir, and the state was annexed by the neighbouring Ansbach.
Bayreuth was no longer a state capital. Soon after it became Prussian
(1792), French (1806) and finally Bavarian (1810).
In 1872 the composer Richard Wagner moved to Bayreuth. For the connection
between Wagner and the town, see below.
Later Bayreuth became a scene of the Nazi ideology. Nazi leaders often
visited the Wagner festival and tried to turn Bayreuth into a Nazi model
town. Therefore Bayreuth was heavily bombed at the end of World War II.
After the war Bayreuth tried to part with its ill-fated past. The Wagner
festival started again in 1951. In 1975 the Bayreuth University was founded
and largely contributed to the further growth of the town.
Richard Wagner and Bayreuth
The city 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 has been converted into a Wagner Museum. To the north of
Bayreuth is the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, an opera house specially constructed
for the performance of Wagner's operas. The premieres of Wagner's Ring cycle
and 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 of attendees each year, and has consistently
been sold-out since its inauguration in 1876. Currently, waiting lists for
tickets can stretch for up to 10 years.
Sights
New Castle, seat of the margraves from 1753 on
Bayreuth Festspielhaus, see above
Opera House, one of the finest Baroque theatres of Europe, built in the 18th
century
The German Masonic Museum
baroque parks
park of Eremitage and Old Castle, former seat of the margraves, outside the
inner town
castle and park of Fantaisie, in the vicinity of Bayreuth
park Sanspareil, about 30 km west of Bayreuth
Famous Citizens
Friederike Sophie Wilhelmine, Princess of Prussia 1709-1758
Jean Paul, writer 1763-1825
Franz Lizst, composer 1811-1886
Richard Wagner, composer 1813-1883
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