230km (143 miles) N of Munich, 64km (40 miles) E of Bamberg, 92km (57 miles) NE of Nürnberg
Bayreuth lies in a wide valley on the upper basin of the Roter Main River. In the town's early years, the counts of Andechs-Meranien gave it the protection of a fortified castle. In the Middle Ages, Bayreuth became the property of the Hohenzollerns and grew into one of the leading centers of this part of Germany. It's now the capital of the district of upper Franconia.
Bayreuth is forever associated with Richard Wagner (1813-83). The town is worth a visit for its baroque and rococo architectural treasures, even if you're not interested in its favorite son, but most people come here because it's the home of the annual Wagner opera festival, and the premier location for Wagnerian performance in the world.
Wagner's "endless melody" is still said to pervade Bayreuth. The composer's early success caught the eye of Ludwig II, king of Bavaria. With the king's support, Wagner opened his first Festspielhaus in 1876, in an old residence in Bayreuth; later he built and designed a new Festspielhaus, suited especially for his own operas. Wagner not only composed the music for his music dramas but also wrote the librettos and designed the sets. Tristan and Isolde remains perhaps his most daring opera; his best known is the four-opera Ring of the Nibelungs.
