Bayreuth, Upper Franconia, Bavaria, Germany

🇩🇪 Bayreuth is a medium-sized town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital of Upper Franconia. It is world-famous for its annual Bayreuth Festival, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented.

Economy • Basell Bayreuth Chemie (Producer of polyolefins) • Brauerei Gebrüder Maisel (wheat beer specialist) • British American Tobacco (Germany) GmbH (cigarette production) • Cherry (Data entry devices, switches and sensors, car motifs) • Cybex • Grundig Business Systems (world market leader for professional dictaphone systems) • W. Markgraf (construction) • medi (medical aids) • Stäubli (textile machines, technical couplings and robot arms) • Steingraeber & Söhne piano manufacturers • TenneT TSO system operator • Zapf (manufacturer of ready-made garages and houses) • Trans Space Travels (Private space plane development firm).

Media • Nordbayerischer Kurier (daily paper) • Fränkische Zeitung (FZ); formerly the Bayreuther Anzeiger, renamed in October 2008 (advertising paper) • Bayreuther Sonntag (advertising paper) • Bayreuth4U (town magazine) • Bayerischer Rundfunk (North Upper Franconia correspondent office). In the 1950s/1960s Bayerische Rundfunk operated a radio station in Bayreuth on medium wave with a frequency of 520 kHz and a transmitter power of 200 watts using a 60-metre high transmission mast. • Campus TV (University of Bayreuth media project in media science) • Der Tip (University of Bayreuth student paper) • Oberfränkische Wirtschaft, (trade magazine for Upper Franconia) • Radio Galaxy (local radio station for the Bavaria-wide youth radio) • Radio Mainwelle (local radio) • Schalltwerk (University of Bayreuth internet radio).

Transport Motorways (Autobahnen): • A 9: Berlin–Leipzig–Bayreuth–Nuremberg–Ingolstadt–Munich • A 70: Schweinfurt–Bamberg–Bayreuth Federal roads (Bundesstraßen): • B 2: Rosow–Berlin–Lutherstadt Wittenberg–Leipzig–Gera–Hof–Bayreuth–Nuremberg–Donauwörth–Augsburg–Munich–Mittenwald • B 22: Würzburg–Bamberg–Hollfeld–Bayreuth–Weiden–Cham • B 85: Berga–Weimar–Ludwigsstadt–Kulmbach–Bayreuth–Amberg–Schwandorf–Cham–Neukirchen vorm Wald–Passau

Railways From Bayreuth Central Station (Hauptbahnhof) railway lines run north to Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg, and from there to Bamberg and over the Schiefe Ebene to Hof, east to Weidenberg, south-east to Weiden and south to Schnabelwaid with connections to Nuremberg on the Pegnitz Valley Railway. The lines around Bayreuth are all single-tracked and non-electrified. Since 23 May 1992 tilting Class 610 diesel multiple units have worked the Pegnitz Valley route. These were bought by the former Deutsche Bundesbahn specifically for the winding track. Since a 2006/2007 timetable change, Bayreuth has no longer been connected to the DB's long-distance network. However, the Franken-Sachsen-Express still provides a direct connection to Dresden (since December 2007, every two hours). This service is worked by Class 612 diesel multiple units. There are also Regional-Express links via Lichtenfels to Bamberg and Würzburg, and via Lichtenfels and Kronach to Saalfeld.

Local public transport The town bus routes are operated by Bayreuth Transport and Public Baths (BVB) (Bayreuther Verkehrs- und Bäder GmbH). Sometimes private bus operators run services on behalf of the transport companies. The 15 routes (lines 301–315) operate from Monday to Friday at 20 or 30-minute intervals; on Saturday and Sunday the interval is extended to 30 minutes. Late evening services (from about 20 to 12 pm during the week and to 1 am at weekends), on Sunday mornings a simplified network of six lines (lines 321–326) runs buses at 30-minute intervals. Some lines then operate like an on-call taxi service. The network is star-shaped. Originally, the central station was at the market square in Maximilianstrasse. Since 27 October 2007 the Central Bus Station (ZOH) has been at Hohenzollernplatz at the junction of Kanalstraße on the Hohenzollernring. At this stop there are also bus stops for local buses to facilitate transfers. Regional rail is operated by the Omnibusverkehr Franken. From 1 January 2010 public transport from the town and district of Bayreuth was integrated into the Nuremberg Regional Transport Network (Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg).

Cycling In most places there is a signed cycle path network. In the centre of Bayreuth itself, cycling is fairly straightforward due to the relatively flat topography, something which encourages the use bicycles as an everyday means of transport. Because of the proximity of the 600 kilometre long Main Cycleway, Bayreuth is also a destination for many tourist cycle routes. Because of the long service intervals of the Bayreuth town bus system and its long overnight pause, students use bicycles as their everyday mode of transport. Bicycles may be carried for a fee on DB Regio trains leaving Bayreuth and in the VGN's buses.

Air transport The local airport supports Bayreuth's commercial aviation traffic, individual business travel, general aviation and air sports. There is no commercial service any more: In 2001, the service which used to operate three times a day from Frankfurt via Bayreuth to Hof, stopped service. The airfield at Bindlacher Berg is also one of the most important bases for gliding in Germany. For example, the World Championships took place here in 1999. For the air sports community in Bayreuth, the airport is a departure point for glider flights taking part in the national Bundesliga competition league. The local gliding club also provides instruction in flying gliders and light aircraft.