THE TOWN OF BAYREUTH

The Town

Bayreuth is a sizeable 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 and it is nowadays the capital of Upper Franconia with a population of 72,576 (2009).  It is world-famous for its annual Bayreuth Festival, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented.

The town is best known for its association with the composer Richard Wagner, who lived in Bayreuth from 1872 until his death in 1883. Wagner's villa, "Wahnfried", was constructed in Bayreuth under the sponsorship of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, and was converted after World War II into a Wagner Museum. In the northern part of Bayreuth is the Festival Hall, an opera house specially constructed for and exclusively devoted to the performance of Wagner's operas. The premieres of the final two works of Wagner's Ring Cycle ("Siegfried" and "Götterdämmerung"); the cycle as a whole; and of Parsifal took place here.

Every summer, Wagner's operas are performed at the Festspielhaus during the month-long Richard Wagner Festival, commonly known as the Bayreuth Festival. The Festival draws thousands each year, and has persistently been sold out since its inauguration in 1876. Currently, waiting lists for tickets can stretch for 10 years or more.

Owing to Wagner's relationship with the then unknown philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, the first Bayreuth festival is cited as a key turning point in Nietzsche's philosophical development. Though at first an enthusiastic champion of Wagner's music, Nietzsche ultimately became hostile, viewing the festival and its revellers as symptom of cultural decay and bourgeois decadence - an event which led him to turn his eye upon the moral values esteemed by society as a whole - "Nietzsche clearly preferred to see Bayreuth fail than succeed by mirroring a society gone wrong."

Getting There

By Train

Frequent train services connect Bayreuth to other regions of Franconia and Northern Bavaria. Regular services exist seven days a week to and from:

• Nuremberg

  • Regional-Express (RE) trains once an hour (66 minutes travel time). Many times these trains separate en route, so make certain to board the correct train segment.

  • As a stop on the Interregio-Express (IRE) service between Nuremberg and Dresden (49 minutes from Nuremberg, 3.5 hours from Dresden).

• Würzburg

  • Direct RE trains every two hours (2.5 hours).

  • Otherwise a change in Nuremberg or Lichtenfels is necessary.

• Dresden - With the IRE in 3.5 hours.

• Bamberg - 1.5 hours by RE, sometimes a change in Lichtenfels is necessary.

The Hauptbahnhof (main train station) is located approximately 1 km north of the city centre, easily accessed by foot. Several buses also run from the train station to the central bus station in the town centre (Lines 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, and 13).

By Car

Bayreuth is easily accessible on the autobahn A9, approximately 70 km north of Nuremberg and 40 km south of Hof.

By Plane

The nearest airport with regular commercial service is in Nuremberg. Many international flights arrive in Germany via Frankfurt or Munich, however. The nearby Airport Bayreuth is available for private planes or to charter planes.

Getting Around

The bus network around Bayreuth provides extensive coverage of the city and surrounding areas, with most buses running in 20-minute intervals. The central bus station (Zentrale Omnibus Haltestelle, ZOH) is located one block north of Maximilianstrasse near the city hall (Rathaus). The bus plan and schedule can be found at the website for BVB-Bayreuth (in German only). Day passes (Tageskarte) are available.

Compared to larger cities, Bayreuth is relatively easy to tackle by car. The pedestrian-only area in the centre of town is confined to a few streets, and parking garages are easy to find.

Biking is easy and convenient in Bayreuth. Many scenic bike paths radiate from Bayreuth into the surrounding areas.

Most sights of interest are easily reached by foot within the city. Exceptions to this are the Festspielhaus and the Eremitage, both of which are easily accessed by bus or bike.

Taxis do not cruise but can be ordered from hotels or the nearest commercial establishment. Taxi stands are at the Bahnhof and at Citibank (Marktplatz), and they do line up at the Festspielhaus following the performance.

Things to Do in Bayreuth

One can easily keep occupied right in Bayreuth for the length of the Festival, taking advantage of the many concerts, lectures, and local attractions. What one does is predicated upon just how deeply one wants to become immersed in the Festival Experience. Wagner was not the only famous person who lived in Bayreuth. The Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth got here first and left his mark.

Bayreuth Card

The Bayreuth Card is a three-day pass which covers public transportation, a city tour, and free entry into nine museums (Historisches Museum, Richard-Wagner-Museum at Haus Wahnfried, Jean-Paul-Museum, Franz-Liszt-Museum, Masonic Museum, Fayence Museum, Maisel Beer Museum, Urwelt Museum in Oberfranken, and Art Museum). You can purchase a Bayreuth Card at the Tourist Information office (which is located at Luitpoldplatz 9, between the city centre and the train station), at many attractions, and at some hotels.

Margravine Wilhelmine Palaces Combination Ticket

The Margravine Wilhelmine Palaces Combination Ticket covers these attractions: Bayreuth New Palace, Margravial Opera House, Hermitage Old Palace, Garden Museum Fantaisie Palace, Oriental Buildung at Sanspareil Rock Garden, and Zwernitz Castle.

City Map

A city map for Bayrueth is available for you to view, download, or print.  It is 2 pages long.  The page size is larger than A4.  It is 59.41 cm x 42.01 cm (23.39 inches x 16.54 inches) but you can scale it for printing double-sided on A4 paper if you wish: Bayreuth City Map

Nature, Culture, and Enjoyment

A brochure about cultural pursuits in Bayrueth is available for you to view, download, or print.  It is 2 pages long.  The page size is A4.  It can be printed double-sided on A4 paper if you wish: Bayreuth Culture Brochure

THE BAYREUTH FESTIVAL THEATRE

The Theatre

The Bayreuth Festspielhaus or Bayreuth Festival Theatre (German: Bayreuther Festspielhaus), is an opera house north of Bayreuth, Germany, dedicated solely to the performance of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner. It is the venue for the annual Bayreuth Festival, for which it was specifically conceived and built. Its official name is Richard-Wagner-Festspielhaus.

Wagner adapted the design of the Festspielhaus from an unrealised project by Gottfried Semper for an opera house in Munich, without the architect's permission, and supervised its construction. Ludwig II of Bavaria provided the primary funding for the construction. The foundation stone was laid on 22 May 1872, Wagner's 59th birthday. The building was first opened for the premiere of the complete four-opera cycle of Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), from 13 to 17 August 1876.

Only the entry façade exhibits the typical late-19th-century ornamentation, while the remainder of the exterior is modest and shows mostly undecorated bricks. The interior is mainly wood and has a reverberation time of 1.55 seconds. The Festspielhaus is a carpenter's building; in fact, it is the largest free standing timber structure ever erected. Unlike the traditional opera house design with several tiers of seating in a horse-shoe shaped auditorium, the Festspielhaus's seats are arranged in a single steeply-shaped wedge, with no galleries or boxes. This is also known as continental seating. Many contemporary movie Theatres have adopted this style of seating, which gives every seat an equal and uninterrupted view of the stage. The capacity of the Festspielhaus is 1,925 and has a volume of 10,000 cubic metres.

The Auditorium

The Festspielhaus features a double proscenium, which gives the audience the illusion that the stage is further away than it actually is. The double proscenium and the recessed orchestra pit create – in Wagner's term – a "mystic gulf" between the audience and the stage. This gives a dreamlike character to performances, and provides a physical reinforcement of the mythic content of most of Wagner's operas. The architecture of Festpielhaus accomplished many of Wagner's goals and ideals for the performances of his operas including an improvement on the sound, feel, and overall look of the production.

The Festpielhaus was originally planned to open in 1873, but by that time Wagner had barely raised enough money to put up the walls of his theatre. He began to raise money by traveling and putting on concerts in various cities and countries throughout Europe. Even after Ludwig began funding the project, Wagner had to continue putting on concerts to keep the building project financially afloat. The tours were very taxing on Wagner's health and would eventually be a key element to his death later on in 1883.

The Orchestra Pit

A significant feature of the Festspielhaus is its unusual orchestra pit. It is recessed under the stage and covered by a hood, so that the orchestra is completely invisible to the audience. This feature was a central preoccupation for Wagner, since it made the audience concentrate on the drama onstage, rather than the distracting motion of the conductor and musicians. The design also corrected the balance of volume between singers and orchestra, creating ideal acoustics for Wagner's operas, which are the only operas performed at the Festspielhaus. However, this arrangement has also made it the most challenging to conduct in, even for the world's best conductors. Not only is the crowded pit enveloped in darkness, but the acoustic reverberation makes it difficult to synchronise the orchestra with the singers. Conductors must therefore retrain themselves to ignore cues from singers.

The orchestra layout deployed at Bayreuth is unusual in three ways:

1. The first violins are positioned on the right-hand side of the conductor instead of their usual place on the left side. This is in all likelihood because of the way the sound is intended to be directed towards the stage rather than directly on the audience. This way the sound has a more direct line from the first violins to the back of the stage where it can be then reflected to the audience.

2. Double basses, cellos and harps (when more than one used, e.g. Ring) are split into groups and placed on either side of the pit.

3. The rest of the orchestra is located directly under the stage. This makes communication with the conductor vital as most of the players are unable to see or hear the singers, but creates the huge, rich sounds Wagner sought to compose.

Festival Theatre - Location Map

Festival Theatre - Seating Plan

You can download a printer-friendly version of the seating plan here: Seating Plan

THE FESTSPIELE EXPERIENCE

Getting to the Theatre

People arrive at the Festspielhaus (Festival Theatre) well before the curtain – usually an hour or so before.

The park around the Festspielhaus is quite lovely and makes for pleasant strolls and picnics.

The #5 bus (Hohe Warte) provides the closest public transportation alternative. Some hotels offer bus transport for free or for a small charge.

Parking at the Theatre

Parking at the Festspielhaus is ample and free, but you will certainly want to arrive about an hour before the curtain. Parking lots can be found behind the Festspielhaus.

Comfort Factors

Since this is a summer festival, most people dress for the occasion. At least half wear evening clothes with the occasional white tie and tails; others wear suits with ties or sport coats with ties and pretty dresses or pants suits. No matter what one wears, the key is comfort.

The Festspielhaus is not air conditioned, and the theatre doors are closed during the intervals. There is a chilled air blower which comes on during interval. However, the theatre can become warmer as the night progresses. The weather can be hot or cool and/or rainy, so you need to plan accordingly and check the weather prior to leaving home.

Theatre Seating

There are 4 main seating areas in the Festspielhaus:

1. Parkett – Stalls.

2. Loge – Boxes.

3. Balkon – Balcony.

4. Galerie – Gallery.

The seats in the Parkett have no arms and are not particularly well padded, nor are the seat backs. Most people, therefore, bring thin cushions - not thick ones, please, that obstruct the view of those behind you. Some hotels supply comfortable cushions, so you may want to ask if they provide this service when you make your hotel reservations.

There are a limited number of cushions available for hire at the Festspielhaus cloak room.

The seats in the Balkon and the Loge are padded and quite comfortable.

Theatre Etiquette

Fifteen minutes prior to the curtain, a brass ensemble arrives on the balcony and signals the time with a fanfare taken from the act to follow. Five minutes later, the brass repeats the fanfare twice; and at five minutes prior to the curtain, the ensemble plays the theme three times. For Das Rheingold, there is only the single set of fanfares, as there is no intermission.

After the doors are locked, no one will be admitted. If you're late, you're out of luck.

The audience is among the best behaved in the world - no applause during the performance or until the house is completely dark and the last note has drifted into the stratosphere. There are no surtitles, so come prepared.

Bookshop with Festival Artists Signing

During the Festival the centrally located Markgrafen bookshop displays a timetable of the artists who attend for photos and signing. Early arrival on the set "Signierstunde" days is advised as there is always a queue.

Markgrafen Buchhandlung
Book Shop Address:
Opernstraße 1-3, 95444
Bayreuth, Germany
Phone: +49 921 63009

MEMBERS’ EXPERIENCE

This page provides reports from members about their experiences in attending the Bayreuth Festival.

These articles were originally published in the Society’s newsletter, Wagner News.  Copies of Wagner News are available for you to view, download, or print here: Wagner News

The extracts listed below are members’ impressions of the Bayreuth Festival.  You can view, download, or print any of these by simply clicking on the title of the article.

• Bayreuth 2008 – A Personal Reflection by Dr David McCarthy

• Bayreuth 2008 – A Personal View of the Productions by Shirley Breese

• Bayreuth 2009 – A Member’s Impression by Garry Joslin

• Bayreuth 2010 – Meistersinger by Gamet Edwards

• Bayreuth 2013 – The Bayreuth Ring by Colin Pyman

WHERE TO STAY

Hotels in the City

• Gasthof zum Brandenburger, St. Georgen 9, +49 (0) 9 21 / 78906-0. Another small guesthouse in the city part of the attached restaurant.

• Gasthof Kolb, Wendelhöfen 8, +49 (0) 9 21 / 24216. Small family-run guest house in Bayreuth with restaurant and an attached Biergarten.

• Goldener Löwe, Kulmbacher Str. 30, +49 (0) 9 21 / 746060.

• Hotel Goldener Hirsch, Bahnhofstr. 13, +49 (0) 9 21 / 23046 (Goldener.Hirsch@bayreuth-online.de). Highly reviewed hotel near the train station. Staff can speak English, French, and Italian.

• Hotel Lohmühle, Badstr. 37, +49 (0) 9 21 / 5306-0. This self-proclaimed "Franconian" hotel sits a short walk from the city center.

• add on Kolping Hotel Bayreuth, Kolpingstr. 5, +49 (0) 9 21 / 151238-0.

• Arvena Kongress Hotel, Eduard-Bayerlein-Str. 5a, +49 (0)921 727 -0.

• Hotel Goldener Anker, Opernstr. 6, +49 (0) 9 21 / 65051. Highly reviewed hotel very near the Margravial Operahouse, featuring wireless internet and on-site parking

• Hotel Bayerische Hof, Bahnhofstr. 14, +49 (0) 9 21 / 7860-0.

Hotels Outside the City

• Hotel-Gasthof Opel, Bayreuther Str. 1, 95500 Heinersreuth, +49 (0) 9 21 / 41884 (service@gasthof-opel.de). This hotel occupies a 19th century building around 3 km from the center of Bayreuth and run by the Opel family. Free wireless internet and free parking is available.

• Best Western Transmar-Travel-Hotel, Bühlstraße 12 95463 Bindlach, +49 (0) 9 20 / 8686-0 (info@transmar-travel.bestwestern.de). checkin: 3PM; checkout: Noon. Chain hotel near the autobahn. Offers normal amenities such as breakfast, free parking, and wireless internet.

• Grunau Hotel, Kemnather Straße 27, +49 (0) 9 21 / 7980-0. Larger hotel located 3.5 km east of the city center. Features wireless internet and bicycle rental.

• Hotel Bürgerreuth, An der Bürgerreuth 20, +49 (0) 9 21 / 7840-0.

• Hotel Eremitage, Eremitage 6, +49 (0) 9 21 / 79997-0. Upscale hotel located at the Hermitage (Eremitage).