Bad Berneck () is a spa town in the district of Bayreuth, in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It is situated on the White Main river, in the

Fichtelgebirge The Fichtel MountainsRandlesome, C. et al. (2011). ''Business Cultures in Europe'', 2nd ed., Routledge, Abingdon and New York, p. 52. . (german: Fichtelgebirge, cs, Smrčiny), form a small horseshoe-shaped mountain range in northeastern Bavaria ...

mountains, 13 km northeast of Bayreuth. Its official title is ''Bad Berneck im Fichtelgebirge''. It lies in the northern part of the Bavarian province of

Upper Franconia Upper Franconia (german: Oberfranken) is a ''Regierungsbezirk'' (administrative 'Regierungs''region 'bezirk'' of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia, the others being Middle F ...

. Since 1857 it has been a spa, initially based on its climate and

whey Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of har ...

products. In 1930 it became a Kneipp spa and, in 1950, a Kneipp

health spa A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise. In recent years, the number of fitness and health se ...

Geography

The town of Bad Berneck lies on the western edge of the

in the Ölschnitz valley, which enters the White Main below the old town or ''Altstadt''. The ''Mainberg'' (624 m above NN) and ''Wolfenberg'' (598 m above NN) are the highest peaks in the parish.

Neighbouring communities

Bad Berneck's neighbouring parishes (in clockwise order) are: Gefrees, Goldkronach, Bindlach, Harsdorf,

Himmelkron Himmelkron is a municipality in the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, an ...

and Marktschorgast. The town of Bayreuth is about from Bad Berneck.

Sub-divisions

History

The exact date of Bad Berneck's foundation is not known, but up to 1057 the place was under the control of the lords of Babenberg and later the

counts of Andechs The House of Andechs was a feudal line of German princes in the 12th and 13th centuries. The counts of Dießen-Andechs (1100 to 1180) obtained territories in northern Dalmatia on the Adriatic seacoast, where they became Margraves of Istria and ul ...

. In 1167 Berneck was first mentioned as a castle, built by Ulrich II Walpote of Berneck, without obtaining the approval of the

Bishop of Bamberg This is a list of bishops and archbishops of the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bamberg in Germany. __TOC__ Bishops, 1007–1245 * Eberhard I 1007-1040 * Suidger von Morsleben 1040-1046 (Later Pope Clement II) * Hartw ...

. Until 1202 Berneck was under Bamberg rule. From 1203 to 1248 it belonged again to the counts of Andechs-Merania. In 1248, following the extinction of

House of Merania A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...

, it fell to the counts of Orlamünde and in 1341 to the

burgraves of Nuremberg The Burgraviate of Nuremberg (german: Burggrafschaft Nürnberg) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire from the early 12th to the late 15th centuries. As a burgraviate, it was a county seated in the town of Nuremberg; almost two centuries pas ...

(and, later, the margraves of Brandenburg-Bayreuth). It is first recorded as a town on 18 November 1357. In 1375 Berneck was almost completely burned down and it was destroyed by fire again in 1431 and 1462 during the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the Cat ...

. Plague and

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompani ...

also struck the town. In 1478 the Marquis gave Berneck to Veit von Wallenroth with the stipulation that the fortifications were to be rebuilt. The castle of Hohenberneck was built. In 1495 the town had 204 residents in 76 households. After the death of Veit von Wallenroth the place went to Albert of Wirsberg, the ''

Amtmann __NOTOC__ The ''Amtmann'' or ''Ammann'' (in Switzerland) was an official in German-speaking countries of Europe and in some of the Nordic countries from the time of the Middle Ages whose office was akin to that of a bailiff. He was the most seni ...

'' of

Stein Stein is a German, Yiddish and Norwegian word meaning "stone" and "pip" or "kernel". It stems from the same Germanic root as the English word stone. It may refer to: Places In Austria * Stein, a neighbourhood of Krems an der Donau, Lower Aust ...

. He further fortified the now ruined stronghold and the family acted as robber barons against Nuremberg. The latter had the castle bombarded into ruins in 1533. In 1632, in the middle of the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...

the place was razed. This happened again on 13 May 1692 - only five houses and a mill were spared. In 1724, 15

gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

women were hanged and buried under the Gypsy Oak (''Zigeunereiche''). The men had fled. The survivors were driven across the border. In 1732 Margrave George Frederick Charles of Brandenburg-Bayreuth had pearl oysters introduced into the Ölschnitz, probably to supplement the state's finances In the wars of 1796-1815 the small town had to pay several contributions and provide billeting. In 1806 Blücher visited Berneck and the ''Blüchersruh'' was named after him. The former office (''

Amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

'') of the Prussian principality of Bayreuth, established since 1792, fell to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in 1807 as a result of the

Treaty of Tilsit The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland. The first was signed on 7 July, between Napoleon and Russian Emperor Alexander, when ...

and, in 1810, went to Bavaria. Around 1830 the first spa business was established (based on

products). Within Bavaria, Berneck was initially the seat of a regional court (''Landgericht''), later a district office (''Bezirksamt''). The territory of the district was affiliated to the neighbouring district offices of Bayreuth, Kulmbach and Münchberg. The majority of the ''Amt'' territory was controlled by the district office at Bayreuth. In 1896 it was connected to the railway network. On 1 October 1929 the district of Berneck was dissolved. In the 1930s,

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

spent the night in the then fashionable Bube Hotel on several occasions during the festival in Bayreuth. In 1930, Kneipp cures were introduced and its recognition as a spa came in 1950. However, since the 1970s, its role as a spa has tailed off considerably.

Politics

Town council

The town council has 16 members. The allocation of seats (as at May 2008) is: * CSU 5 *

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been t ...

5 * FWG 6 The mayor (''Bürgermeister'') is Jürgen Zinnert (SPD), and the deputy mayor is Alexander Popp from the FWG.

Culture and points of interest

* Ruins of the Walpote castle of Wallenrode, Hohenberneck Castle, the Old Castle and St. Mary's chapel, and the water castle of Alt-Berneck. * Dendrological Gardens in the Rother Park with trees from all over the world. * Market place with historic

timber-framed Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large woode ...

houses. * Spa park with colonnades. * The open air stage by the Castle Tower is used from June to September by the Free Theatre of Bayreuth. * Protestant church of the Holy Trinity (''Zur Heiligen Dreifaltigkeit'').

Economy and infrastructure

The largest employer in the town is the Frenzelit-Werke, with approximately 450 employees worldwide. The company is owned by the Wagner family and manufactures seals. The second largest employer was Reitz group, with about 200 employees in Bad Berneck (about 500 total). The Reitz Group with its brands Popp, düwi and Schwaiger manufactures electrical products. On 18 February 2009 the Reitz group filed for bankruptcy.

Transport

Bad Berneck lies at the intersection of B 2 ( Hof-Bayreuth) and B 303 ( Kronach -

Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, baroque bui ...

) federal highways. Bad Berneck is connected to the motorway network via the junction of Berneck/Himmelkron (5 km distant on the A 9 and A 70 motorways. The nearest railway stations are located in Marktschorgast, Neuenmarkt and Bayreuth.

Education

Bad Berneck has the Sebastian-Kneipp Volkschule (primary and secondary school) and two kindergartens.

People

Sons and daughters of the town

* Adolf Köberle (1898-1990), Protestant theologian * Carl Heidenreich (1901-1964), German-American painter *Carl Zimmerer (1926–2001), German state and social scientist, economist and entrepreneur * (1924-2015), German politician (CSU and Bayernpartei); was Bavarian State Minister for agriculture and forestry from 1987 to 1990.

People who lived and worked in Bad Berneck

Ulrike Meinhof Ulrike Marie Meinhof (7 October 1934 – 9 May 1976) was a German left-wing journalist and founding member of the Red Army Faction (RAF) in West Germany, commonly referred to in the press as the "Baader-Meinhof gang". She is the reputed author ...

(1934-1976) lived in Bad Berneck from 1945-1946 together with her mother, Ingeborg Meinhof, and Renate Riemeck

References

External links

Kur und Tourismus GmbH in Bad Berneck

{{Authority control Bayreuth (district) Fichtel Mountains Spa towns in Germany