Highlights 2024

A feast for the senses - Franconia celebrates the vacation year 2024

16 different vacation landscapes, one vacation region: That is Franconia! The north of Bavaria is full of surprises and spoils visitors with delicious cuisine, beer and wine specialties, half-timbered houses, magnificent baroque buildings, urban lifestyle, and a diverse nature for those seeking active experiences.

Stroll through history: 70 years of the "Castle Road”

Touring history castle by castle - the "Castle Road" celebrates its anniversary

The possibilities for discovering Franconia are as varied as the vacation region itself. The vacation routes offer good orientation - from the "Romantic Road" to the "German Limes Road" and the "German Toy Road". One of them celebrates its birthday in 2024: The "Castle Road" between Mannheim and Bayreuth will be 70 years old. The highlights it links along its way, however, date back to much further in the past. Around 70 castles, palaces and magnificent residences are just waiting to be "conquered" with all senses.

more information about the "Castle Road"

Free and independent: 750 years of the imperial city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Rothenburg celebrates its imperial privileges in 2024

The first stop on the "Castle Road" in Franconia is the once free imperial city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. 2024 marks the 750th anniversary of the confirmation of its imperial city privilege. The Whitsun Festival "Der Meistertrunk" (May 17 to 20, 2024), the special exhibition "The Weapons of an Imperial City" in the RothenburgMuseum (June 1, 2024 to December 31, 2025) and the Imperial City Festival (September 6 to 8, 2024) show what life was like back then. Rothenburg ob der Tauber will celebrate May 15, 2024, the anniversary of the privilege with a civic festival.  Thanks to this privilege, the town was subject only to the king or emperor and was economically independent. The anniversary is honored with music by an open-air event on the market square, which brings together history, pop and dance in harmony (August 2 to 4, 2024).

more about Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Christmas all year round: 60 years of "Käthe Wohlfahrt”

Christmas village in a romantic setting

Rothenburg's anniversary is sugar-coated with a large portion of Christmas romance. The "Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas Village" makes this possible all year round. Sixty years ago, Wilhelm and Käthe Wohlfahrt laid the foundation for their Christmas company, and since 1977 the headquarters has been in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. In Franconia, you can also do Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas shopping in Nuremberg or Bamberg, plus several other German cities as well as in France, Belgium, Spain, England and the USA. In 2000, the "German Christmas Museum" opened its doors in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. There, visitors can find out why it used to be customary to hang the tree from the ceiling with the top down.

more about Käthe Wohlfahrts wonderful "Christmas World"

Imperial Jubilee in Bamberg: 1,000 Years of Heinrich II

Traces in history: Emperor Heinrich II and his Bamberg heritage

If you follow the "Castle Road" further, it leads via Ansbach and Nuremberg to the UNESCO World Heritage city of Bamberg. One of its landmarks is the imperial cathedral, donated by Emperor Heinrich II, who also founded the bishopric and endowed the city with great art treasures. The anniversary of his death will be one millennium ago in 2024. Bamberg is taking this as an opportunity to trace his footsteps and influence. The State Library, for example, is home to precious medieval manuscripts, some of which were donated by Heinrich II and are the focus of a special exhibition (September 16 to December 14, 2024).

Next door, the Diocesan Museum is dedicating its jubilee exhibition (March 3 to July 2024) to the theme "Crosses. Sign, Image, Message." In the History Museum, the exhibition "1,000 Years Ago: Peoples’ lives at the Court of Kunigunde and Heinrich II" focuses on the empress and the everyday life of an imperial palace (October 28, 2024 to April 27, 2025). The "Heinrichsfest" (July 11-14, 2024) will focus on the anniversary including a large-scale installation by artist Elke Maier at the emperor's tomb in the cathedral (until September 2024) and a cathedral concert (July 13, 2024)

more about Bamberg

In the Light of the City's History: 20 Years of Bamberg Shadow Theater

Light shows in historical walls

In Bamberg, you’ll encounter Heinrich II on many paths - a particularly atmospheric one leads to the Katharinenkapelle in the Alte Hofhaltung. It is the venue of the "Theater der Schatten" (Theater of Shadows), which has been aesthetically staging the city's history for 20 years, using reflections, silhouettes, light refractions and sound recordings to bring Bamberg's most harrowing and most gratifying events to life.

visit the Theater of Shadows

Backstage in the Baroque: New UNESCO World Heritage Center in Bayreuth

Immerse yourself in the margravial world

The "Castle Road" ends - after stops in Coburg, Kronach and Kulmbach, among others - in Bayreuth. A grand finale, because the city delights with its magnificent castles and gardens from the time of the margraves. Margravine Wilhelmine is of particular importance here. In the Baroque period, she transformed Bayreuth into her "earthly Arcadia". Wilhelmine loved music and created a unique monument to it in the form of the Margravial Opera House, which today is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The new visitor center offers a glimpse behind the scenes. Visitors to the "Margravial Opera House: World Heritage & Museum" get to meet Wilhelmine "in person", celebrate at her daughter's wedding and learn more about Baroque special effects.

more about Bayreuth

Enter art and history: Reopening of Eichstätt's Cathedral and Castle

After a long period of renovation, Eichstätt's landmarks open their doors again

Eichstätt also offers a new approach to art and history. The cathedral, one of the most important medieval architectural monuments in Bavaria, was closed for several years for a large-scale renovation. On July 7, 2024, it will celebrate its reopening in new splendor. To cater for guests with disabilities: The entrance is barrier-free. The same applies when Eichstätt's second major construction site, Willibaldsburg Castle, is completed in 2024 and once again directly accessible. Eichstätt is also known for its modern buildings. Inseparably linked to this is diocesan master builder Karljosef Schattner. On the occasion of his 100th birthday, in 2024 guided tours and an exhibition are dedicated to Schattner's ingenious ability to combine the old with the new.

more about Eichstätt

Bubbling joy: anniversaries in Bad Bocklet and Bad Königshofen

With Bad Bocklet and Bad Königshofen, a double spa anniversary is on the calendar in 2024.

300 years ago, the Balthasar Neumann Spring was discovered in Bad Bocklet, marking the beginning of the healthy history of the Bavarian State Spa in the Rhön Mountains. Thanks to iron, calcium as well as valuable minerals, its water gives new strength, detoxifies the organism and strengthens the immune system. It is used primarily in drinking and Kneipp cures in baths as well and will naturally be the focus of attention in the anniversary year. Among other things, natural spring days (end of April 2024) and healing water tastings are planned.

In Bad Königshofen, it is the sulfate-containing Urbani healing spring to which the town in the Hassberge Mountains owes its designation as a spa in 1974. Bad Königshofen celebrates the anniversary of the spa's elevation every year with its civic festival (July 13 to 15, 2024). For the 50th birthday of the spa, the traditional program will be accompanied by other highlights - including a concert with the "Dorfrocker". The rock band will play in the spa park next to the new Trinkkur- und Wandelhalle (opening May 2024). Under one roof, it offers a modern concert hall, digital tourist information, and the modern and stylish Heilquellen Lounge.

more about the Health Park Franconia