Franconia is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect. Franconia is made up of the three Regierungsbezirke of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia in Bavaria, the adjacent, Franconian-speaking South Thuringia, south of the Thuringian Forest—which constitutes the language boundary between Franconian and Thuringian—and the eastern parts of Heilbronn-Franconia in Baden-Württemberg.
Bayreuth is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital of Upper Franconia and has a population of 72,148 (2015). It hosts the annual Bayreuth Festival, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented.
The Franconian Jura is an upland in Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. Located between two rivers, the Danube in the south and the Main in the north, its peaks reach elevations of up to 600 metres (2,000 ft) and it has an area of some 7053.8 km2. It is part of the Table Jura.
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of stage works by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived and promoted the idea of a special festival to showcase his own works, in particular his monumental cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen and Parsifal.
East Franconian, usually referred to as Franconian in German, is a dialect spoken in Franconia, the northern part of the federal state of Bavaria and other areas in Germany around Nuremberg, Bamberg, Coburg, Würzburg, Hof, Bayreuth, Meiningen, Bad Mergentheim, and Crailsheim. The major subgroups are Unterostfränkisch, Oberostfränkisch and Südostfränkisch.
Franconian Switzerland is an upland in Upper Franconia, Bavaria, Germany and a popular tourist retreat. Located between the River Pegnitz in the east and the south, the River Regnitz in the west and the River Main in the north, its relief, which reaches 600 metres in height, forms the northern part of the Franconian Jura (Frankenjura). Like several other mountainous landscapes in the German-speaking lands, e.g. Holstein Switzerland, Märkische Schweiz, or Pommersche Schweiz, Franconian Switzerland was given its name by Romantic artists and poets in the 19th century who compared the landscape to Switzerland. Franconian Switzerland is famous for its high density of traditional breweries.
The University of Bayreuth is a public research university located in Bayreuth, Germany. It is one of the youngest German universities. It is broadly organized into seven undergraduate and graduate faculties, with each faculty defining its own admission standards and academic programs in near autonomy.
The Bayreuther Osterfestival is an Easter Festival held at Bayreuth in Germany. It has the three aims of raising money for cancer charities, providing experience and opportunities for young musicians, and the promotion of international understanding. It is connected with the work of the International Youth Orchestra Academy, and was founded in 1994.
Christian Ernst of Brandenburg-Bayreuth was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth.
Eva Wagner-Pasquier is a German opera manager. She is the daughter of Wolfgang Wagner and Ellen Drexel. She was born by candlelight in her grandmother Winifred's cottage in the Fichtel Mountains.
Axel Kober is a German conductor. Since 2009 he has been the music director of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein.
The Swabian-Franconian Forest is a mainly forested, deeply incised upland region, 1,187 km² in area and up to 586.4 m above sea level (NHN), in the northeast of Baden-Württemberg. It forms natural region major unit number 108 within the Swabian Keuper-Lias Land. Its name is derived from the fact that, in medieval times, the border between the duchies of Franconia and Swabia ran through this forested region. In addition, the Swabian dialect in the south transitions to the East Franconian dialect in the north here.
Wichsenstein Castle was a hill castle, once owned by noblemen, on a steep and prominent rock reef (Felsriff) outcrop above the church village of Wichsenstein in the Upper Franconian county of Forchheim in Bavaria, Germany. The castle has been completely demolished and there are no visible remains. The castle rock is now just used as a viewing point.
Tüchersfeld is a church village in the Püttlach valley in Franconian Switzerland and belongs to the town of Pottenstein.
Leienfels Castle was a late medieval aristocratic castle, immediately northwest of the eponymous village of Leienfels in the region of Franconian Switzerland in Germany. The village belongs to the borough of Pottenstein in the Upper Franconian county of Bayreuth in Bavaria.
Manfred Jung was a German operatic tenor, who performed Wagner's heldentenor roles internationally, including the Metropolitan Opera and the Bayreuth Festival where he was Siegfried in the Jahrhundertring, but he also sang all other tenor roles in Der Ring des Nibelungen.
Isolde Josefa Ludovika Beidler was the first child of the composer Richard Wagner and his wife, who is generally known as Cosima Wagner.
Sankt Georgen is an 18th-century planned new town, today a district of the city of Bayreuth in Bavaria.
Rosenberg Fortress is a fortress situated on a hill overlooking Kronach, a town in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. It is one of the largest, best-preserved, and most complete fortresses in Bavaria. Tracing its origins back to the 13th century, the fortress was never captured by violent means. Originating as a medieval hill castle, it was transformed into a massive baroque fortress complex during the early modern period, being one of the two fortresses of the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg. With countless construction stages representing centuries of architectural development visible, Rosenberg Fortress serves as an outstanding example of the evolution of defensive architecture in Germany. Including its moats and ravelins, the fortress covers an area of circa 8.5 hectares.
The Erste Bayreuther Porzellanfabrik "Walküre" Siegmund Paul Meyer, commonly known as Porzellanfabrik Walküre and historically as Porzellanfabrik Siegmund Paul Meyer, was a porcelain factory in Bayreuth, Germany, that existed for 120 years from 1899 to 2019. In 2020, Friesland Porzellan GmbH secured the rights to the "Walküre" brand.
