Kulmbach

Kulmbach is a city in Franconia. Its main claim to fame is a high brewery density, which albeit much diminished with economic consolidation was historically quite remarkable.

Get in

By train
  • 🌍 Kulmbach station. The sole extant rail line through Kulmbach leads from Bamberg to Hof and is not electrified through Kulmbach. It thus sees regional service only. 

By plane

Nuremberg Airport (NUE IATA) is the closest airport with scheduled flights

By car

Kulmbach is easily accessible on the autobahn A70, approximately 90 km north of Nuremberg and 40 km south of Hof.

Get around

See

There are regular guided tours of Kulmbach from April through October every Saturday at 10.00 meeting at Tourist Information Kulmbach. There are also themed tours, historic cellar tours, night watchmen tours, or special tours for children.

Churches
  • 🌍 St. Peter's church (Petrikirche). The oldest church in town and perhaps the oldest in all of Upper Franconia (updated Jul 2018), with an exterior dating back to the 15th century. The interior was remodeled in a neo-Gothic style around 1878.

Castles
  • 🌍 Plassenburg. April - October: Monday-Friday 09.00 to 18.00, Saturday 10.00 to 13.00, November - March: Monday-Friday 10.00 to 17.00. The castle towering over the town. Its Pewter Figurine Museum (Zinnfigurenmuseum) holds over 300,000 pewter figures, most of which are displayed in over 220 dioramas. Special exhibitions are also frequently shown in the museums and open-air concerts are held regularly in the Schönen Hof. (updated Jul 2018)
  • Steinenhausen (Located directly above the meeting of the red and white main in the district of Melkendorf.). Today, it houses a branch of the Bavarian State Office for the Environment. There are display boards on various nature topics in the outdoor area. (updated Oct 2022)

Breweries

There are two main breweries in Kulmbach, the small Kommunbrau Brewery and the big Kulmbacher Brauerei.

Memorials
  • In front of the Altem Friedhof (Old cemetary) is the Ehrenmal f die Gefallenen (Memorial to the Fallen). In front of the town hall stands a statue of Hans von Kulmbach, actually Hans Suess, a painter, draftsman and graphic artist.

Do

Events
  • There is a spring market in March.
  • In April or May there is a public celebration (Volksfest) at Schwedensteg.
  • The annual Bierfest (Kulmbach Beer Festival) begins on the last Saturday in July and continues through until the first weekend in August. Getting accommodation might be a bit difficult at the time of the Bierfest, but not impossible, if you're early enough with for reservations.
  • The Alstadtfest (Old Town Festival) takes place on the first weekend in July and is organised by the restaurants, bars and pubs in the old part of the town.
  • Every other year odd-numbered years), Kulmbach hosts one of the world's largest model figure shows, Internationale Zinnfigurenbörse. Thousands of miniatures from exhibitors and retailers from around the world are on sale and display. Also visit the German Museum of Miniatures inside the Castle Plassenburg. Founded in 1929, the museum has more than 300,000 individual pieces.

Hiking

Kulmbach is located in between the hiking areas of Fichtelgebirge, the Frankenwald, Obermain and Franconian Switzerland. There are also wonderful walks and short hikes in and around Kulmbach at any time of the year, especially the Hans Edelmann Ringweg around the city with very beautiful views.

Kulmbach is located on the Burgenweg (Castle Trail). This 88-km long hiking trail runs from Bayreuth to Lauenstein, via Kulmbach, Kronach, Teuschnitz, and Ludwigsstadt. It leads to the Plassenburg, Rosenberg Fortress in Kronach, and Lauenstein Castle.

Buy

The farmers' market in front of the town hall takes place every Wednesday and Saturday 07:00-12:00, selling fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, sausages and flowers.

Eat

Best of Kulmbach are fried sausages (Bratwurst) and beer.

Budget
  • 🌍 Imbiss Metzgerei Kleinheinz, E.-C.-Baumann-Str. 17A, 95326 Kulmbach, ☏ +49 9221 87485. The snack bar is popular with craftsmen, it is still cooked by hand and nothing comes from the bag. If you come outside business hours, you will find a vending machine that offers everything from sausage to ready-made pastries in glasses to barbecue. Schnitzelburger €4.20. (updated Apr 2017)
  • 🌍 Zum Gründla, Am Gründlein 5, 95326 Kulmbach, ☏ +49 9221 823884. M 16:00-23:00, W-Su 11:00-23:00. Kulmbach's youngest brewery, with an inn with good and inexpensive Franconian food. Main courses €4 to €10. (updated Apr 2017)

Mid-range

Drink

Kulmbacher Eisbock, ice bock, is a dark, tasty beer speciality with 9% alcoholic content. Overall Kulmbach is famous for its beer and several breweries still operate in town, though diverse factors have lead to a consolidation and reduction of independent breweries, with many either bought up by bigger companies or driven into bankruptcy.

  • 🌍 Kulmbacher Kommunbräu, Grünwehr 17, ☏ +49 9221 84490. 10:00-24:00. The last brewpub in Kulmbach, founded in 1994 as brewing cooperative . A small group of townspeople decided to open small brewery where they could make traditional, unfiltered beer. They offering a light “Hell” and a dark beer “Bernstein” and every month a special beer. The first taste of the new brew is every first Wednesday in month. It’s in a nice location, the building is an old water mill, but it’s the in-house brewery that sets it apart. 
  • 🌍 Zunftstube, Obere Stadt 4, ☏ +49 9221 83377. M-Sa 10:00-24:00, Su 10:00-14:00. Oldest pub in town, interior furnishing from 1938. 

Sleep

Hotels

Bed & Breakfast

Go next

Visit Bamberg to see the medieval town and try the local smoked beer (Rauchbier) or to Bayreuth, is famous as the host of the Richard Wagner Festival, furthermore the Markgräfliches Opernhaus is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

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