administrative region of Franconia in Bavaria, Germany
Europe > Central Europe > Germany > Bavaria > Franconia > Upper Franconia

Upper Franconia (Oberfranken) is a region in the state of Bavaria in Germany.

Cities

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Map
Map of Upper Franconia

Richard Wagner's Festival Theater (Festspielhaus) in Bayreuth
Kronach
Theresienstein at Hof
Kulmbach Market place
Bamberg: Altes Rathaus (old townhall) over the river
  • 1 Bayreuth - is famous as the host of the Richard Wagner Festival, furthermore the Markgräfliches Opernhaus is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List
  • 2 Aufseß — tiny town which the Guinness Book of World Records recognises as the town with the most breweries per capita! There's even a beer trail that you can hike with stops at all the local Biergartens
  • 3 Bamberg - the whole old town of Bamberg is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List
  • 4 Bad Staffelstein - with ten breweries
  • 5 Coburg - it has been the household name for some royal dynasties in Europe
  • 6 Forchheim
  • 7 Hof
  • 8 Kulmbach - known for the Kulmbach Beer Festival
  • 9 Mödlareuth is a tiny border hamlet divided between Bavaria and Thuringia, placing it directly on Cold War Europe's East German border. A wall divided the village in two; the site is now an open-air museum.
  • 10 Pottenstein - in the heart of Franconian Switzerland with Cave Teufelshöhle and a Sommerrodelbahn (a kind of summer-only dry toboggan)

Other destinations

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  • 1 Fichtelgebirge — is arranged like a horseshoe around an inner hill-landscape; the highest mountain is the "Schneeberg (Snow Mountain)" with 1053 m above sealevel
  • 2 Franconian Switzerland (Fränkische Schweiz) — breweries, castle ruins, hiking, canoeing

Understand

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There are three holy hills that are important for Upper Franconia. Those were already populated in prehistoric times. The Walberla near Kirchehrenbach, the Staffelberg near Bad Staffelstein and the Kreuzberg near Hallerndorf with a pilgrimage church built in 1463 and beer cellars of three breweries.

Tradition An old tradition in Upper Franconia is the Stärk’ antrinken (drink force) on the evening before 6th January or on 6th January itself. The force in this context stands for health and strength for the new year to be aware of upcoming contrarieties.

Talk

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You can find a great variety of franconian dialects. There are differences in every village. The “breite Brett” (broad board) is named e.g. in the Bayreuth area as “braades Breed” and in the Coburg area as “breedes Braad”. Half a liter beer is commonly known as “Seidla”.

Get in

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Get around

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  • Deutsch-Deutsches Museum (Mödlareuth)
  • Dom (Bamberg)
  • Festung Rosenberg (Kronach)
  • Internationale Hofer Filmtage (Hof)
  • Wagner Museum (Bayreuth)
  • Wagner Festival Theater (Bayreuth)
  • Botanical Garden (Hof)
  • 1 Flossfahrt (Kronach).
See also: Franconian cuisine

Drink

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Breweries in Franconia lists breweries, beer cellars, brewery museums.

  • Schlenkerla Brewery (Bamberg)

Stay safe

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In regular statistics of the police Upper Franconia is named the area in Bavaria with the least felonies per habitant. Bavaria is one of the most secure areas in Germany.

Go next

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This region travel guide to Upper Franconia is an outline and may need more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. If there are Cities and Other destinations listed, they may not all be at usable status or there may not be a valid regional structure and a "Get in" section describing all of the typical ways to get here. Please plunge forward and help it grow!