History
| 1194 | First documentary evidence of Baierrute by Bishop Otto II of Bamberg. |
| 1231 | Status as town (civitas) conferred. |
| 1260 | Bayreuth is inherited by the Franconian Hohenzollern, i. e. the Burgraves of Nuremberg. |
| 1430 | The town is conquered and destroyed by the Hussites. |
| 1533 | Margrave Georg establishes the Reformation by a new church order. |
| 1602 | Epidemic of the Plague causes the death of more than 1,000 inhabitants. |
| 1603 | Margrave Christian transfers the margravial residence from Kulmbach to the Old Palace in Bayreuth. |
|
1632 to 1634 |
During the Thirty Years' War the town is captured and looted by imperial troops in three consecutive years. |
| 1735 | Margrave Friedrich and Margravine Wilhelmina begin their reign. |
| 1748 | Opening ceremony of the Margravial Opera House to celebrate the wedding of princess Elisabeth Friederike. |
| 1792 | After the resignation of Margrave Alexander, Bayreuth becomes a Prussian province. |
| 1810 | Due to Napoleon, Bayreuth becomes part of the Kingdom of Bavaria. |
| 1876 | At the first Bayreuth Festival Richard Wagner performs "The Ring of the Nibelungs" three times. |
| 1945 | About a third of the town is destroyed by air raids. |
| 1975 | Lecturing and research work are taken up at the newly founded Bayreuth University. |
| 1993 | Bayreuth is appointed Oberzentrum (administrative and economic centre). |
| 1998 | Bayreuth University celebrates the topping-out ceremony of the 6th Faculty for Applied Natural Sciences |
| 1999 | Official opening of the new thermal spa "Lohengrin Therme" in Seulbitz. |
| 2003 | Official opening of the Competence Center for New Materials of Northern Bavaria. |
| 2008 | Wolfgang Wagner resigns as the director of the Bayreuth Festival after 58 years. The council of the foundation appoints his two daughters, Katharina Wagner and Eva Wagner-Pasquier to his successors. |
| 2012 | The Margravial Opera House is declared a UNESCO world heritage site. |
| 2014 |
The city of Bayreuth is awarded the Badge of Honour of the Council of Europe. |
Municipal area
Altitude 345 m
Area 6,692 ha
of which: Length of town limits: 62.50 km
Built-up areas: 26.50 %
Area used for traffic: 9.89 %
Forests, public parks, play and sports grounds: 22.80 %
Agricultural area: 39.41 %
Other areas: 1.40 %
Development of the population:
1871: 17 841
1910: 34 547
1939: 45 028
1946: 55 612
1970: 64 536
1990: 72 345
2019: 76 548
Denominations:
Protestant: 51.0 %
Catholic: 27.1 %
Others: 21.9 %
Households: 35.145
Connections by road, rail and air
- Motorway A 9 Munich-Berlin
- Motorway A 70 Schweinfurt-Bayreuth
- Railway connection hourly express train service from Nuremberg to Bayreuth and back; (Railway junction ICE, IC and IRE)
- Regional Airport Bayreuth
Culture, sport and entertainment facilities
Theatres
- Richard-Wagner-Festival Theatre 1.974 seats
- Margravial Opera House 487 seats
- Stadthalle (Civic Hall)
Großes Haus (Main Hall) 930 seats
Kleines Haus (Little Theatre) 277 seats
Balkonsaal (Balcony Hall) 365 seats - Studiobühne bayreuth 214 seats
- Brandenburger Kulturstadl 99 seats
Museums
- Richard-Wagner-Museum, Haus Wahnfried
Richard-Wagner-Straße 48 - Jean-Paul-Museum
Wahnfriedstraße 1 - Franz-Liszt-Museum
Wahnfriedstraße 9 - Historical Museum
Kirchplatz 6 - Museum of Modern Fine Arts
Maximilianstraße 33 - German Freemason Museum
Im Hofgarten 1 - German Typewriter Museum
Bernecker Straße 11 - Environmental Museum (Upper Franconia)
Kanzleistraße 1 - Maisel’ s Brewery Museum
Kulmbacher Straße 40 - Museum of Agricultural Tools and Equipment
Adolf-Wächter-Straße 17
- Fire Brigade Museum
An der Feuerwache 4 - IWALEWA-Haus, Africa Centre of Bayreuth University
Wölfelstraße 2 - Little Poster Museum
at the Museum of Modern Fine Art - Wo Sarazen Art
Brandenburger Straße 36 - Archaeological Museum (Historischer Verein Oberfranken)
Ludwigstraße 25 b - Natural Science Museum
Karolinenreuther Straße 58 - School Museum
Richard-Wagner-Gymnasium
Graserschule
Wittelsbacherring 9
Schulstraße 4 - Bayreuth Fayences (New Palace)
Ludwigstraße 21
Sports centre
- Oberfrankenhalle (multi-purpose sports hall) with 3,970 seats
- Hans-Walter-Wild-Stadium for 20,000 spectators
- SVB-Indoor Pool 50-m-pool with 8 lanes
- Ice rink for 4,705 people
- Triple gym (with facilities for different sports)
Swimming pools
- Lohengrin Therme Bayreuth (thermal spa; officially recognized as water with healing properties)
Kurpromenade 5 - Kreuzsteinbad (outdoor swimming pool)
Universitätsstraße 20 - Stadtbad (indoor pool)
Kolpingstraße - SVB-indoor pool
Am Sportpark 5 - Altstadtbad (outdoor swimming pool)
Fantaisiestraße - Freiluftbad (recreational sunbathing areas)
An der Bürgerreuth
Golf course Rodersberg
- 18-hole-course
Am Rodersberg
Schools, Colleges
- 1 University of Bayreuth with approx. 11,000 students
- Academy of Protestant Church Music
- 5 grammar schools
- 2 secondary schools
- 12 primary schools
- 6 special schools
- 26 vocational schools
- 1 music school
- 1 international school
Tourism
- Beds: 2,050
- Hotels: 14
- Guesthouses: 10
- Sanatories: 2
- Youth hostel: 1
- Guests per year approx. 146,000
overnight stays per year approx. 330,000
of which were foreigners approx. 16 %
Parks
- Court Garden (Hofgarten)
- Park Festival Theater
- Hermitage (Eremitage)
- Röhrensee (little animal park)
- Miedelspark
- Wilhelminenaue
- Park Fantaisie
Economy
Number of employees liable to contribute to social security: 42.778 (2012)
Thereof:
- Agriculture and Forestry, fishing industry < 1 %
- Manufacturing industry 17 %
- Mining industry, building trade, energy and water supply 5 %
- Business, catering and hotel industry, and transport industry 19 %
- Other manufacturing industry 3 %
- industry-related services 19 %
- Public and private services 37 %
Social institutions
- 5 hospitals 1,851 beds
- 11 nursing homes 1,114 beds
- 1 Hospices 10 places
- 1 Short-term nursing care 26 places
- 1 Day care 12 places
- 2 Sheltered housing for the elderly with 17 Two-room-flats and 20 One-room-flats
- 68 Barrier-free flats equipped with emergency call
- 3 Housing areas: assisted living
- 175 Flats of different sizes with service provisions
- 45 nursery schools and day nurseries with 2,480 places
- 1 Remedial Centre
- Workshop for disabled teenagers and adults with 312 places
- Homes for children and apprentices with 147 places
- 87 children’ s playgrounds and playing fields
