Discovering
Margrave churches.

Visit the margrave churches of Upper Franconia. There’s a lot to find out.

Imagefilm

You can see which churches Margravine Wilhelmine rides to in the image film…
This film is in German.

Imagefilm

You can see which churches Margravine Wilhelmine rides to in the image film…
This film is in German.

The aim of the entire project in the Bayreuth church group,  under the overall guidance of Regional Bishop Dr. Dorothea Greiner, is to open up these wonderful churches and make them better known.

A brief overview of all 59 churches ca be foun in this flyer.

You will find almost 60 churches (one of them in the Upper Palatinate) selected by the European sponsorship project (LEADER) on the map or in the list of churches. For every margrave church, or margrave style church , there is a selection of the best pictures, the most important information and a short description; and in addition nearby tourist attractions such as walking and cycling paths and pilgrim routes on which the churches lie are detailed. Though you will get the best impression on the spot when you visit a margrave church!

The wonderful margrave style church interiors become alive with a huge variety of events. We have chosen highlights for you which are displayed at the beginning of our events calendar, and then there is an overview of every function to do with margrave churches, margrave style and margrave culture.
Further background information on theology, history, architecture and art is available under knowledge. But the margrave churches are not just historical monuments; they are houses of God. With their architecture and their art they proclaim the Christian message. This also happens through sermons and lectures about the margrave churches. Educational material develops all of this for teaching purposes  in schools and parishes.

Rewarding goals for the tourist

Whether you walk, cycle or follow a pilgrim route on the selected tours in our enchanting Upper Franconian countryside, you will discover that nature, culture and spirituality come together. We feel connected to our lovely region of Upper Franconia, the region of culinary delights. You will find more suggestions at the Tourism Association of Bavaria and Franconia as well as at the Tourist Boards of (Bayreuth/Fichtel Mountains/Franconian Switzerland/Franconian Forest). We are also part of the church and tourism section of the Evangelical-Lutheran church in Bavaria.

Margrave church? Margrave style church? Protestant baroque?

Here opinions differ. We refer to the churches in the margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach/Bayreuth as pure margrave churches. Further churches in the same style – ie ‘margrave style‘ – are found in other areas of Upper Franconia. Most of these churches and quite a few more in Upper Franconia, indeed throughout Europe, belong to the ‘Protestant baroque‘.

For simplicity’s sake, on this website we will just use the term ‘margrave church’.

Church Tip

The town church of St. Veit, Wunsiedel

On several occasions the main church of the Wunsiedel deanery district, founded in 1568 along with the others looked after by superintendents of the margravian ‘uplands’, fell victim to fire. The Gothic church created from a castle chapel burnt down in 1476, but the citizens of the town invested everything they had to rebuild their…