Bayreuth Festival works. The Festival has become a pilgrimage destination for Wagner enthusiasts. The origins of the Festival itself lie rooted in Richard Wagner's interest in establishing his financial independence. A souring of the relationship with his patron, Ludwig II of Bavaria, led to his expulsion from Munich, where he had originally intended to launch the festival. Wagner next considered Nuremberg, which would have reinforced the thematic significance of works such as "Die Meistersinger". On the advice of Hans Richter, however, the focus fell upon Bayreuth which enjoyed three distinct advantages. First, the town boasted a splendid venue: the Markgräfliches Opernhaus built
Gau Bayreuth Fritz Wächtler in 1935. After Wächtler's execution for defeatism by an "SS" squad in 1945, he became "Gauleiter" himself. Gau Bayreuth Gau Bayreuth (until 1942, "Gau Bayerische Ostmark" (English: Bavarian Eastern March)) was an administrative division of Nazi Germany in Lower Bavaria, Upper Palatinate and Upper Franconia, Bavaria, from 1933 to 1945. From 1926 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party for these areas. The Nazi Gau (plural Gaue) system was originally established in a party conference on 22 May 1926, in order to improve administration of the party structure. From 1933 onwards, after the Nazi