Bayreuth Festival named by Bavaria's culture minister, Thomas Goppel, to take over the Festival. They were to take up their duties immediately, since their father had announced his retirement at the conclusion of the 2008 Festival. They were chosen ahead of the pair of their cousin, Nike Wagner, and Gerard Mortier, who had placed a late bid for the directorship on 24 August. The conductor Christian Thielemann has agreed to act as chief adviser to the new directors, effectively taking the role of music director of the Festival. The festival draws thousands of Wagner fans to Bayreuth every summer. It is very
Bayreuth–Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg railway Bayreuth–Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg railway The Bayreuth–Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg line is a single-track main line railway in the German state of Bavaria. It is an important section of the so-called "Saxon-Franconian trunk line" from Dresden to Nuremberg. The line was opened in 1853 and is one of the oldest railways in Germany. It was the first Bavarian railway line to be built and leased to the state. That is, it was financed by the city of Bayreuth and the line was built and subsequently leased by the Bavarian government. The route from Neuenmarkt to Bayreuth was opened on 28 November 1853 by the Royal Bavarian