Hof

Hof is a city of 45,000 people (2020) in Upper Franconia in Bavaria. Hof, meaning farm estate, is a very common German place name, but this one is specifically Hof an der Saale. It was destroyed by fire in 1823 and had to be re-built, leading to an attractive unity of Biedermeyer architectural style. In the 20th century it was jokingly referred to as "the Bavarian Siberia" because with an elevation of 500 m it's distinctly cool, and because it was close to the borders with communist East Germany and Czechoslovakia. However this meant it enjoyed special subsidies until the fall of the wall, and it slumped when those were withdrawn after 1990. Tourism is nowadays a major part of the local economy.

By bus
Intercity buses in Germany on the lines from Berlin to Passau and from Berlin to Zurich stop in Hof.

By car
The A 9, A 72 and A93 are forming a semi-circle in the west, east and north around the city.

Get around
The Stadtwerke Hof cover most of the city with a dozen bus routes. Other than that the city is not all that big and generally walkable.

Eat
As with the rest of is Franconia, Bratwurst are a notable speciality. Hof has a special feature in the Wärschtlamo (Franconian for Sausage-man, high German would be "Würstchen-Mann") who serves sausages from a mobile stand, street food style. The Hof Bratwurst is made from lean pork and some beef. It is cut very finely with the addition of ice cubes, and then a section of pig intestine is filled with about 50 grams of the meat. It is usually sold and eaten in pairs.



Go next

 * The border hamlet of Mödlareuth, 13 km (8 miles) north on the B2 highway, was divided by a wall in the days of Cold War Europe. An open-air museum now records the history.