The beautiful town of Ansbach on the Fränkische Rezat River is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia in Bavaria, Germany.

Ansbach is located in the beautiful Middle Franconian landscape about 25 miles (40 kilometres) southwest of Nuremberg and about 90 miles (140 kilometres) north of Munich.

Margrave Palace ©Julia Höfer-von Seelen

One of the first sights you see, when you come to Ansbach is the Palace of the Margraves of Brandenburg-Ansbach in the centre of the town. The palace is open to the public and you can go on a guided tour through 27 magnificent rooms. Special attractions are the two storeyed ballroom, the mirror hall and the tile hall with about 2.800 tiles made in the former faience factory of Ansbach.

Also pretty interesting is the Bavarian state collection “Ansbacher Fayence und Porzellan“  (Faience and China of Ansbach).

If you go on a guided tour of the town you can also visit the Ansbach Synagogue which wasn’t destroyed during WW2. But as there is no Jewish community in Ansbach it isn’t used for religious purposes any longer. It is unimpressive from the outside but a s a magnificent baroque interior.

Every day except Monday the Markgrafen Museum (Margrave Museum) is open to the public. Here you can learn about Kaspar Hauser’s life in Ansbach and a lot about the history of the town.

In Platenstraße you can see the two statues of Kaspar Hauser. The first shows what he looked like in 1828 when he first appeared in Nuremberg and the second shows what he looked like in 1833 before he was assassinated.

St. Gumbertus Church with its three steeples was built in the 15th century on the site of an old abbey church of which the crypt is still preserved underneath the church.

The Orangery in the palace gardens was built from 1726 to 1728 by Carl Friedrich von Zocha and today is home of concert and congress rooms.

Herrieder Tor © Julia Höfer-von Seelen

One of the town’s landmarks is the town gate “Herrider Tor” which was build under the rule of Margrave Carl Wilhelm Friedrich Brandenburg-Ansbach (1712-1757). The octagonal tower with a height of 47 metres was built in 1750/51. The carillon on the north side of the gate was founded by the Lions Club in 1987 and can be heard every day at 11 am and 5 pm.

If you want to go shopping in Ansbach you can either do this in the more than 270 shops of the magnificent historical town centre or in the Brücken-Center shopping centre which was opened in 1997.

Regular events in Ansbach are the Rococo Festivals and the Bachwoche with many concerts which takes place every two years.

Ansbach is a good starting point for hiking tours in the beautiful Franconian landscape and for day trips to Nuremberg, the Hesselberg region with romantic towns and the Hesselberg, the highest mountain of Middle Franconia with a height of 689 metres, or you visit the lakes Altmühlsee and Brombachsee.

Heilig-Geist-Spital/Holy Spirit Hospital © Julia Höfer-von Seelen

Nuremberg, Bavaria is located in the administrative region of Middle Franconia, about 170 km north of Munich.

It is situated on the River Pegnitz and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal. It is the largest city of Franconia with a population of more than 500,000 inhabitants.

The most famous building and on many post cards certainly is the Nuremberg Castle. The “Heilig-Geist-Spital” (Holy Spirit Hospital) founded in 1332 was one of the largest hospitals in the Middle-Ages. With all its sights Nuremberg is one of the largest tourist draws in Germany. Albrecht Dürer lived here and you can learn more about his works in the Albrecht Dürer House, which now is a museum. The Hauptmarkt is the main market square and here you can visit the Frauenkirche , Our Lady’s Church, which dominates the Hauptmarkt.

Nuremberg also is famous for the Nürnberger Bratwurst, small sausages, and for the Nünrnberger Lebkuchen, a special kind of gingerbread that is very popular in Germany during Christmas. The first German railway line from Nuremberg to Fürth was opened in 1835; you can see a reproduction of the first steam engine amongst others in the Verkehrsmuseum, the German National Railway Museum.

Something you shouldn’t miss is the Ehekarussell, the Mary-Go-Round of a Marriage, set up in 1984, and located in front of the White Tower in the city centre, and the magnificent Gänsemännchenbrunnen made in 1550, situated in front of the guildhall. And of course you get good food and find good shopping facilities in the city, as to be expected in a city of this size.

The city though is not as hectic as could be expected and is surrounded by the splendid Franconian landscape. You can go on day trips to Ansbach, Bamberg, and Bayreuth or to the Franconian lake district. When the weather happens to be not so good, you can visit one of the many museums or exhibitions in the city.

City and Castle © Julia Höfer-von Seelen

Ehekarussell © Julia Höfer-von Seelen

Gänsemännchenbrunnen © Julia Höfer-von Seelen