Bayreuth Festival for Margrave Frederick and his wife, Friederike Sophie Wilhelmine (sister of Frederick the Great) in 1747. With its ample capacity and strong acoustics, the opera house was a good match for Wagner's vision. Second, the town of Bayreuth found itself outside of regions where Wagner no longer owned the rights to the performance of his own works, which he had sold off in 1864 in order to alleviate pressing financial concerns. Finally, the town had no cultural life that could offer competition to Wagner's own artistic dominance. The Festival, once launched, would be the dominant feature of Bayreuth's cultural landscape.
Bayreuth in the "Röntgenstraße", the ruins of the Bayreuth Hermitage and the courtyard of Bayreuth piano manufacturer, Steingraeber & Söhne. In the town centre is the Court Garden ("Hofgarten") of the New Palace. Near the Festival Hall is the Festival Park. On the southern edge of the town lie the Ecological-Botanical Garden of the University of Bayreuth. On the "Königsallee", east of the town centre, is the relatively small Miedel Garden. The best known park in Bayreuth is that of the 'Eremitage' (Hermitage) in the district of St. Johannis. With a total area of almost 50 hectares it is the largest