Bayreuth

Bayreuth (bīroit`), city (1994 pop. 73,390), capital of Upper Franconia, Bavaria, S Germany, on the Red Main River. It is an industrial center; its manufactures include machinery, textiles, chemicals, and pianos. Founded in the mid-12th cent., Bayreuth belonged to a branch of the Hohenzollern family from 1248 to 1791, when it was annexed by Prussia. It was taken by France in 1807 and passed to Bavaria in 1810. Richard Wagner lived in Bayreuth from 1872 to 1883, and the annual Bayreuth Festival is held in the Festspielhaus, an opera house designed by Wagner and built in 1872–76. Wagner and Franz Liszt are buried in Bayreuth.

---

Bayreuth

City (pop., 2001 est.: 74,500), east-central Germany. It is situated northeast of Nürnberg. Founded in 1194 under Bishop Otto II of Bamberg, it came under the burgrave of Nürnberg in 1248–1398 and the margraves of Brandenburg-Kulmbach in 1603–1769. The margraves patronized the arts and commissioned many Baroque buildings that still exist. It was ceded to Prussia in 1791, captured by Napoleon in 1806, and passed to Bavaria in 1810. Composer Richard Wagner settled there in 1872 and designed the Festspielhaus, where Wagner festivals have been held since its opening in 1876. Manufactures include machinery, textiles, chemicals, pianos, porcelain, and glassware.

---

Bayreuth

since 1876, international center for Wagner’s operas. [Opera Hist.: Thompson, 165]

See : Festival, Music