Being a student in Bayreuth
Bayreuth is the capital of Upper Franconia in the state of Bavaria in southern Germany. It is a city identified with the world-famous opera festival held every year.
The Richard Wagner Opera Festival (Festspiele) is held every year from July 25 to August 28 at the Bayreuth Opera Festival Theater, built in 1872. In addition to the singers, directors and set designers, the festival has made the city of Bayreuth internationally famous.
For the opening ceremonies of the Richard Wangner festival, audiences from all over the world flock to the city and the Festival Opera House on the green hill. The building fascinates its visitors every year with its unique acoustics (I haven’t had the chance to go there yet).
Richard Wagner’s life and work gave his former home town a sweeping new look in the 19th century. As the number of music lovers who wanted to experience all the works live increased, the chances of getting a ticket for the festival became less and less. The wait for tickets is now up to 8 years. If you are an opera lover and patient enough to wait that long, it is said to be worth it. The Opera Festival starts on July 25 and continues until August 28.
With changing schedules of different operas, the stage welcomes about 30 performances each season. Those who are one of the 2000 lucky spectators, mostly from foreign countries, are left to enjoy it.
The city of 71,000 inhabitants, with its many museums, castles and a large park with the former summer palace of the Margravine Wilhelmine, is more of a cozy beer town than a capital.
Justifiably so, the students preferred to spend Friday evening in one of the many cozy beer gardens or pubs. They particularly recommend the French pub “MiamMiam GlouGlou” in the nearby town of Annecy, the “Oskar” in the market square, popular with young and old, or the “Herzogkeller” of the Maisel brewery. There are incredibly cheap beer gardens on the outskirts of the city and the schnitzels there are said to be so big that they overflow the plate. At the weekend, many students go on excursions from Bayreuth to Franken, the Fichtel Mountains or the Czech Republic.
BAYREUTH BY THE NUMBERS
| City Population | 74.657 |
| Number of Students | 13.070 |
| Student/resident ratio | % 13,5 |
| Number of beds provided by Studierendenwerk | 2.647 |
| Rents for accommodation provided by Studierendenwerk | 135-343 € |
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