Editing Bayreuth (section)

===18th century===
[[File:Neues schloß bayreuth.JPG|thumb|The New Castle]]
[[File:Markgräfliches Opernhaus - Bayreuth - 2013.jpg|thumb|The [[Margravial Opera House]] (UNESCO World Heritage Site)]]
[[File:Opéra des margraves intérieur Bayreuth.JPG|thumb|Margravial Opera House, Interior]]

Christian Ernest's successor, the Crown Prince and later Margrave, [[George William, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth|George William]], began in 1701 to establish the then independent town of [[St Georgen (Bayreuth)|St Georgen am See]] (today, the district of St Georgen) with its castle, the so-called ''Ordensschloss'', a town hall, a prison and a small barracks. In 1705 he founded the Order of Sincerity ([[Ordre de la Sincérité]]), which was renamed in 1734 to the [[Order of the Red Eagle]] and had the monastery church built, which was completed in 1711. In 1716 a princely [[porcelain]] factory was established in St. Georgen.

The first 'castle' in the park of the [[Hermitage Museum (Bayreuth)|Hermitage]] was built at this time by Margrave George William (1715–1719).

In 1721, the town council acquired the palace of Baroness Sponheim (today's Old Town Hall or ''Altes Rathaus'') as a replacement for the town hall built in 1440 in the middle of the market place and destroyed by fire.

In 1735, a nursing home, the so-called [[Gravenreuth]] [[Georg Christoph von Gravenreuth|Stift]], was founded by a private foundation in St. Georgen. The cost of the building exceeded the funds of the foundation, but Margrave Frederick came to their aid.

Bayreuth experienced its Golden Age during the reign (1735–1763) of Margrave [[Frederick III of Brandenburg-Bayreuth|Frederick]] and Margravine [[Wilhelmine of Prussia, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth|Wilhelmina]] of [[Margravate of Bayreuth|Bayreuth]], the favourite sister of [[Frederick II of Prussia|Frederick the Great]]. During this time, under the direction of court architects, Joseph Saint-Pierre and [[Carl von Gontard]], numerous courtly buildings and attractions were created: the [[Margravial Opera House]] with its richly furnished baroque theatre (1744–1748), the New 'Castle' and Sun Temple (1749–1753) at the Hermitage, the New Palace with its courtyard garden (1754 ff) to replace the Old Palace which had burned down through the carelessness of the margrave, and the magnificent row of buildings in today's ''Friedrichstraße''. There was even a unique version of the [[rococo]] architectural style, the so-called Bayreuth Rococo which characterised the aforementioned buildings, especially their interior design.

The old, sombre gatehouses were demolished because they impeded transport and were an outmoded form of defence. The walls were built over in places. Margrave Frederick successfully kept his principality out of the wars being waged by his brother-in-law, Frederick the Great, at this time, and, as a result, brought a time of peace to the Frankish kingdom.

[[File:Friedrichstrasse-Bayreuth.jpg|thumb|Friedrichstraße]]

1742 saw the founding of the [[University of Erlangen-Nuremberg|Frederick Academy]], which became a university in 1743, but was moved that same year to [[Erlangen]] after serious riots because of the adverse reaction of the population. The university has remained there to the present today. From 1756 to 1763 there was also an Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Roman Catholics were given the right to set up a prayer room and Jewish families settled here again. In 1760 the synagogue was opened and in 1787 the Jewish cemetery was dedicated.

Countess Wilhelmina died in 1758, and although Margrave Frederick married again, the marriage was short-lived and without issue. After his death in 1763, many artists and craftsmen migrated to Berlin and Potsdam, to work for King Frederick the Great, because Frederick's successor, Margrave [[Frederick Christian of Brandenburg-Bayreuth|Frederick Christian]] had little understanding of art. He also lacked the means due to the elaborate lifestyle of his predecessor, because the buildings and the salaries of the mainly foreign artists had swallowed up a lot of money. For example, the court – which under George Frederick Charles had comprised around 140 people – had grown to about 600 employees by the end of the reign of Margrave Frederick.<ref>Hübschmann, E. et al. (1992). ''Bayreuth – umgeguckt und hinterfragt'', Bumerang Verlag, Bayreuth</ref> By 1769 the principality was close to bankruptcy.

In 1769, Margrave [[Charles Alexander of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Bayreuth|Charles Alexander]], from the Ansbach line of Frankish Hohenzollerns, followed the childless Frederick Christian, and Bayreuth was reduced to a secondary residence. Charles Alexander continued to live in Ansbach and rarely came to Bayreuth.

In 1775, the Brandenburg Pond (''Brandenburger Weiher'') in St.Georgen was drained.

Following the abdication of the last Margrave, Charles Alexander, from the principalities of [[Principality of Ansbach|Ansbach]] and [[Principality of Bayreuth|Bayreuth]] on 2 December 1791 its territories became part of a Prussian province. The Prussian Minister [[Karl August von Hardenberg]] took over its administration at the beginning of 1792.

The town centre still possesses the typical structure of a Bavarian street market: the settlement is grouped around a road widening into a square; the Town Hall was located in the middle. The church stood apart from it and on a small hill stood the castle. Some sixty years later the town (at that time a tiny village) became subordinate to the [[Hohenzollern]] state, and when this state was divided, Bayreuth ended up in the [[County of Kulmbach]].