The Principality of Bayreuth () or Margraviate of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (''Markgraftum Brandenburg-Bayreuth'') was an immediate territory of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, ruled by a Franconian branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty. Since Burgrave Frederick VI of Nuremberg was enfeoffed with the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg () was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that, having electoral status although being quite poor, grew rapidly in importance after inheriting the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 and then came ...

in 1415/17, the Hohenzollern princes transferred the margravial title to their Franconian possessions, though the principality never had been a

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

. Until 1604 they used Plassenburg Castle in Kulmbach as their residence, hence their territory was officially called the Principality of Kulmbach or Margraviate of Brandenburg-Kulmbach until the Empire's dissolution in 1806.

Geography

The Kulmbach-Bayreuth principality arose from the northern uplands (''Oberland'') of the former Burgraviate of Nuremberg, while the southern lowlands (''Unterland'') formed the Principality of Ansbach. The final border demarcation was settled by the 1541 House Treaty of Regensburg, adding some smaller ''Unterland'' territories to Bayreuth. However, it was not connected with the ''Oberland'' core territory stretching up to the Franconian Forest and the

Fichtel Mountains The Fichtel Mountains (, ; ) is a mountain range in Germany and the Czech Republic. They extend from the valley of the Red Main River in northeastern Bavaria to the Karlovy Vary Region in western Czech Republic. The Fichtel Mountains contain an ...

. Mountainous and densely wooded, most of the lands were of less agricultural use, nevertheless mineral resources, predominantly ore deposits led to the construction of numerous mines. Beside the residence

Bayreuth Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...

, the separate ''Oberland'' and ''Unterland'' territories were administered from Hof and Neustadt an der Aisch respectively.

History

The principality arose upon the death of the Hohenzollern burgrave Frederick V of Nuremberg on 21 January 1398, when his lands were partitioned between his two sons: the elder, Burgrave John III received Kulmbach-Bayreuth and the younger, Frederick VI, received the Principality of Ansbach. The two principalities were once again united under the younger son, Frederick, after John's death on 11 June 1420. At the

Council of Constance The Council of Constance (; ) was an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church that was held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance (Konstanz) in present-day Germany. This was the first time that an ecumenical council was convened in ...

in 1415, Emperor Sigismund vested Frederick with the hereditary title of an Elector of Brandenburg (as Frederick I). Frederick finally sold his burgravial title to the citizens of the Imperial City of Nuremberg. On his death in 1440, his territories were again divided between his sons: the eldest, John the Alchemist had waived his right of primogeniture and succeeded his father in Kulmbach-Bayreuth, while the second, Frederick Irontooth, received the Brandenburg electorate. Ansbach passed to the third son Albert Achilles. As John the Alchemist had no male heirs, he renounced his rights in 1457, whereupon Kulmbach-Bayreuth fell to his brother, Albert Achilles. When the eldest brother, the Brandenburg elector Frederick Irontooth abdicated in 1470, Albert united all Hohenzollern territories under his rule. After Albert's death in 1486 the Franconian principalities were finally partitioned according to his '' Dispositio Achillea'' disposition, passing to the younger sons of his second marriage with

Anna of Saxony Anna of Saxony (23 December 1544 – 18 December 1577) was the heiress of Maurice, Elector of Saxony, and Agnes, eldest daughter of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. Maurice's only son, Albert, died in infancy. Anna was the second wife of Willia ...

, Margrave Siegmund and his brother Frederick II.

Elder line

While the Brandenburg electorate became the power base for the rising Hohenzollern dynasty, the Principality of Kulmbach-Bayreuth was held by Frederick's descendants, temporarily in

personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...

with Ansbach. The rulers were commonly known as the Margraves of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (though Bayreuth is nowhere near Brandenburg). Kulmbach-Bayreuth became part of the Franconian Circle in 1500. After in 1541 the ambitious Margrave Albert Alcibiades assumed the rule over Kulmbach-Bayreuth, he barged onto the battlegrounds of the

Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (; July 1546May 1547) was fought within the territories of the Holy Roman Empire between the allied forces of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Maurice, Duke of Saxony against the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League, with the forc ...

, several times switching sides between Emperor Charles V and the Lutheran princes of the Schmalkaldic League. In 1552 he sparked the Second Margrave War against Nuremberg and the neighbouring

Prince-bishop A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the ...

rics of

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

and

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...

. His soaring plans to re-establish the medieval Duchy of Franconia under his rule ended with his utter defeat and an Imperial ban in 1554. Albert was succeeded by his cousin Margrave George Frederick in 1557, who from 1577 als ruled in the

Duchy of Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (, , ) or Ducal Prussia (; ) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until t ...

as regent for his incapable Hohenzollern relative Duke Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia. With George Frederick's death in 1603, the elder Bayreuth line became extinct. He left his successor, Margrave

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, younger son of the Brandenburg elector John George, an orderly and functioning state.

Younger line

Margrave Christian took his residence in Bayreuth; in 1655 he was succeeded by his grandson Christian Ernst, who gained power and influence on Imperial politics in the military rank of a

Field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

. In 1705 his son Prince George William founded the '' Ordre de la Sincerité'', predecessor to the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle. Margrave Frederick, ruling from 1735, and his wife Wilhelmine of Prussia, both patrons of arts and sciences, had the Bayreuth residence largely rebuilt in a distinct

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style (''Markgrafenstil''), including the erection of the

Margravial Opera House The Margravial Opera House () is a Baroque opera house in the town of Bayreuth, Germany. Built between 1745 and 1750, it is one of Europe's few surviving theatres of the period and has been extensively restored. On 30 June 2012, the opera house w ...

finished in 1748. A university was founded in 1742 and relocated to

Erlangen Erlangen (; , ) is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 119,810 inhabitants (as of 30 September 2024), it is the smalle ...

the next year. Preussen-FdG

The younger line of the Brandenburg-Bayreuth margraves died out in 1769 with the death of Frederick Christian, whereafter Bayreuth and Ansbach were once again ruled in personal union by Margrave Charles Alexander. On 2 December 1791, Charles Alexander signed a treaty with King Frederick William II of Prussia, whereby he ceded his principalities to the Prussian state against a lifelong annuity. He married socialite Elizabeth Craven and retired to private life in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, while Bayreuth and Ansbach were governed by the Prussian minister Karl August von Hardenberg. Occupied by French troops during the

War of the Fourth Coalition The War of the Fourth Coalition () was a war spanning 1806–1807 that saw a multinational coalition fight against Napoleon's First French Empire, French Empire, subsequently being defeated. The main coalition partners were Kingdom of Prussia, ...

, Prussia had to cede Bayreuth according to the 1807 Treaty of Tilsit. At the 1808 Congress of Erfurt, the French emperor

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

offered it for sale to the newly established

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

; it changed owners in 1810 against a payment of 15 million francs.

Margraves

* 1398: John III of Nuremberg * 1420: Frederick I of Brandenburg * 1440: John IV ''the Alchemist'' * 1457: Albert I ''Achilles'' (also Margrave of Brandenburg from 1470) * 1486: Siegmund * 1495: Frederick III (also Margrave of Ansbach as Friedrich I) * 1515:

Casimir Casimir is a Latin version of the Polish male name Kazimierz (). The original Polish feminine form is Kazimiera, in Latin and other languages rendered as Casimira. It has two possible meanings: "preacher of peace" or alternatively "destroyer of p ...

* 1527: Albert Alcibiades * 1553: George Frederick (also Margrave of Ansbach) * 1603:

* 1655: Christian Ernst * 1712: George William * 1726: George Frederick Charles (previously Margrave of Kulmbach from 1708) * 1735: Frederick * 1763: Frederick Christian * 1769: Charles Alexander (to 1791; also Margrave of Ansbach)

External links

The Ansbach-Bayreuth Army in America
at Exulanten.com

on WorldStatesmen.org * on Genealogy.eu *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayreuth 1398 establishments in Europe 1390s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1792 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire Bayreuth Former states and territories of Bavaria Franconian Circle Lists of nobility of the Holy Roman Empire Principalities of the Holy Roman Empire States and territories established in 1398