Kulmbach | |
---|---|
Country | Germany |
State | Bavaria |
Adm. region | Upper Franconia |
Capital | Kulmbach |
Area | |
• Total | 656 km2 (253 sq mi) |
Population (31 December 2022) [1] | |
• Total | 71,653 |
• Density | 110/km2 (280/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Vehicle registration | KU, SAN |
Website | landkreis-kulmbach.de |
Kulmbach is a Landkreis (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Kronach, Hof, Bayreuth and Lichtenfels.
The historical centre of the region was the castle of Plassenburg in the city of Kulmbach. In 1135 this castle was first mentioned. The rulers of the castle and the surrounding lands were the counts of Andechs (1135–1248, from 1135 to 1180 Dießen-Andechs, from 1180 to 1248 Andechs-Meranien) and the Thuringian counts of Orlamünde (1260–1340). After the death of the last count of Orlamünde the region fell to the Hohenzollern state.
In 1398 the Hohenzollern state was divided, and in the Franconian area the two states of Ansbach and Kulmbach were founded. When the Hohenzollern family was awarded the margravate of Brandenburg, these states were called Brandenburg-Ansbach and Brandenburg-Kulmbach, but not united with Brandenburg proper. In 1603 the castle of Plassenburg was abandoned, and the capital was moved to the city of Bayreuth. The importance of the city of Kulmbach declined hereafter, although the margraves (and sometimes the population of Kulmbach) often used to take shelter on the castle during the years of the Thirty Years' War.
The last margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (as Brandenburg-Kulmbach was called now) abdicated in 1792 in order to cede his property to his cousin, the king of Prussia. However, this was a short episode. In 1806 Kulmbach surrendered to Napoleon, who ordered the razing of Plassenburg castle. In 1810 the region fell to Bavaria and remained so to date.
The district of Kulmbach was founded soon after. The city of Kulmbach did not belong to the district until 1972, when city and district were merged.
According to a tour guide in Kulmbach, the castle Plassenburg was used by Adolf Hitler as the headquarters for his Highway Department. The highway "A9" was built under Nazi rule, connecting Berlin and Munich, and running past Kulmbach.
After the Second World War, the castle was used as a camp for German prisoners of war under the US military control. One of those stayed employed later as a keeper of natural and biological resources of the castle.
The city is also known for a brewery, producing the strongest beer (11.8% alcohol) available in Germany[ citation needed ].
Kulmbach features a series of established periodics:
The district, surrounding the ancient city of Kulmbach, is located on the southern edge of Franconian Forest and Fichtel Mountains. The two headstreams of the river Main, White Main and Red Main, meet in the centre of the district.
The coat of arms displays:
Towns | Municipalities | |
---|---|---|
Frederick I of Ansbach and Bayreuth was born at Ansbach as the eldest son of Albert III, Margrave of Brandenburg by his second wife Anna, daughter of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony. His elder half-brother was the Elector John Cicero of Brandenburg. Friedrich succeeded his father as Margrave of Ansbach in 1486 and his younger brother Siegmund as Margrave of Bayreuth in 1495.
George Frederick of Brandenburg-Ansbach was Margrave of Ansbach and Bayreuth, as well as Regent of Prussia. He was the son of George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach and a member of the House of Hohenzollern. He married firstly, in 1559, Elisabeth of Brandenburg-Küstrin. He married secondly, in 1579, Sophie of Brunswick-Lüneburg, daughter of William of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Dorothea of Denmark.
The House of Hohenzollern is a formerly royal German dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. The family came from the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the late 11th century and took their name from Hohenzollern Castle. The first ancestors of the Hohenzollerns were mentioned in 1061.
Albrecht III was Elector of Brandenburg from 1471 until his death, the third from the House of Hohenzollern. A member of the Order of the Swan, he received the cognomen Achilles because of his knightly qualities and virtues. He also ruled in the Franconian principalities of Ansbach from 1440 and Kulmbach from 1464.
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.
Lichtenfels is a Landkreis (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Coburg, Kronach, Kulmbach, Bayreuth and Bamberg.
Hof is a town on the banks of the Saale in the northeastern corner of the German state of Bavaria, in the Franconian region, at the Czech border and the forested Fichtel Mountains and Franconian Forest upland regions. The town has 47,296 inhabitants, the surrounding district an additional 95,000.
Kulmbach is the capital of the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany. The town, once a stronghold of the Principality of Bayreuth, is renowned for its massive Plassenburg Castle, which houses the largest tin soldier museum in the world, and for its sausages, or Bratwürste.
The Principality or Margraviate of (Brandenburg-) Ansbach was a free imperial principality in the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Franconian city of Ansbach. The ruling Hohenzollern princes of the land were known as margraves, as their ancestors were margraves.
The Principality of Bayreuth or Margraviate of Brandenburg-Bayreuth was an immediate territory of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a Franconian branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty. Since Burgrave Frederick VI of Nuremberg was enfeoffed with the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1415/17, the Hohenzollern princes transferred the margravial title to their Franconian possessions, though the principality never had been a march. Until 1604 they used Plassenburg Castle in Kulmbach as their residence, hence their territory was officially called the Principality of Kulmbach or Margraviate of Brandenburg-Kulmbach until the Empire's dissolution in 1806.
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. The House of Guttenberg, a prominent Franconian noble family, traces its origins back to 1149 with a Gundeloh v. Blassenberg (Plassenberg). The name Guttenberg is derived from Guttenberg and was adopted by a Heinrich von Blassenberg around 1310. From 1340, the Hohenzollerns governed from Plassenburg castle their territories in Franconia till 1604. The Plassenburg was fortress and residence for the Hohenzollerns.
Casimirof Brandenburg-Bayreuth was Margrave of Bayreuth or Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach from 1515 to 1527.
Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.
John, nicknamed the Alchemist was a Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and served as the peace-loving Margrave of Brandenburg after the abdication of his father, Frederick I, the first member of the House of Hohenzollern to rule Brandenburg.
Bad Berneck im Fichtelgebirge is a spa town in the district of Bayreuth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the White Main river, in the Fichtel Mountains, 13 km northeast of Bayreuth. It lies in the northern part of the Bavarian province of Upper Franconia. Since 1857 it has been a spa, initially based on its climate and whey products. In 1930 it became a Kneipp spa and, in 1950, a Kneipp health spa.
Ludwigsstadt is a town in the district of Kronach, in the Upper Franconian region of Bavaria, Germany.
The Second Margrave War was a conflict in the Holy Roman Empire between 1552 and 1555. Instigated by Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and Brandenburg-Bayreuth, who was attempting to form a Duchy of Franconia under his rule, the war resulted in widespread devastation in Franconia, while also affecting the Rhineland and Lower Saxony.
The House of Andechs was a feudal line of German princes in the 12th and 13th centuries. The counts of Dießen-Andechs obtained territories 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 1248. They were also self-styled lords of Carniola.
Joachim Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach was a German nobleman. He ruled as margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach from 1603 to 1625, succeeding his cousin George Frederick and succeeded by his son Frederick III.
Berthold II of Andechs, a member of the House of Andechs, was a German nobleman. He was a ruling count of Dießen and Andechs in the Duchy of Bavaria, of Plassenburg and Kulmbach in Franconia, as well as bailiff of Benediktbeuern Abbey.