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 However this meant it enjoyed special subsidies until the fall of the wall, and it slumped when those were withdrawn after 1990.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.

Get in

By train

• 1 Hof Main Station. There is a regional express (RE) from both Nuremberg and Dresden with hourly departures. as this used to be a through service, trains from both directions wait for each other in Hof. The lines towards Dresden and Leipzig are electrified while the line towards Nuremberg is not. Other connections consist Munich, Leipzig, Bamberg and Cheb in the Czech Republic.  

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.

See

• 1 Fernweh Park, Graben 26. all day. A park where many people have left signs of places they visited or come from. If you donate a sign yourself, you get a free tour. free. (updated Aug 2015)
• 2 Streichholzmuseum Wirth, Georg-Könitzer-Straße 19, 95028 Hof, ☏ +49 9281 140534. F 15:00 to 18:00. Showing figures built from matches as well as matchboxes 

Do

• 1 Untreusee. An artificial lake (2 km by 700 m) just out of town. It can be used for swimming, fishing and all types of water activities, including cruising on small craft. A restaurant is close by as a re several other things to do (updated Aug 2015)
• Kletterpark Untreusee, Stelzenhofstr (at the Untreusee). 28 March to 8 November: holidays and weekends from 10:00, M-F from 13:00. Rope-climbing parcours with different difficulties. child €12, reduced €16, adult €20, multiple entry and family tickets available. (updated Aug 2015)

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.

• 
  Wärschtlamo
• 
  Bratwursts with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes

• 1 Meinels Bas, Vorstadt 13, ☏ +49 92 81 14 13 66, info@meinels-bas.eu. Also has a beer garden on site. mains from €5.50. (updated Jun 2015)
• 2 Gourmet Palast Hof, Ossecker Straße 175, 95030 Hof, ☏ +49 9281 5932445. Daily 11:30 - 15:00 and 17:30 - 23:30. Asian food and live-cooking buffet style soft drinks included in price. Buffet lunch €13, dinner €23. 
• 3 Kastaniengarten, Kulmbacher Str. 4, 95030 Hof, ☏ +49 9281 6050. Belonging to the Sorat Hotel; upscale regional food. Daily 12:00 - 14:00 and 18:00 - 22:00. 
• 4 Season's und Tante-Emma, Ludwigstraße 36, 95028 Hof, ☏ +49 9281 5915460. Tu-Sa from 17:00. Season's is a restaurant while Tante-Emma is a coffee bar. 
• 5 Bulut, Marienstr. 67, 95028 Hof, ☏ +49 9281 1447314. M-F 11:00-22:00, Su 11:00-22:00. Turkish food. (updated Jun 2016)

Sleep

• Jugendherberge Hof (Youth Hostel), Beethovenstraße 44, ☏ +49 92 81 932 77, post@jugenherberge-hof.de. from €18 per person. (updated Aug 2015)
• Hotel Strauss, Bismarckstraße 31, ☏ +49 92 81 97 20 630, rezeption@hotel-strauss-hof.de. single from €47 double from €76. (updated Jun 2015)

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.