Wunsiedel

Wunsiedel lies in the Fichtelgebirge of northeastern Franconia. Its castle guarded a ford over the Röslau and a crossing of old roads; the settlement is recorded in 1163. The burgraves of Nuremberg acquired lordship over the castle in 1285 and granted Wunsiedel town rights in 1326. Under their Hohenzollern successors it became part of the margraviate of Bayreuth. Tin mining made the town an important regional centre until around 1450, while local smiths produced tinplate. The Hussite wars disrupted this metalworking in the fifteenth century. Wunsiedel remained within the Bayreuth principality until 1791, its history shaped by the resources and routes of the wooded uplands.