Ansbach Travel Guide
A detailed destination guide for your next Germany vacation
Ansbach Overview
Ansbach or Anspach (originally Onolzbach) is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is located 25 miles southwest of Nuremberg (Nuremberg vacation rentals | Nuremberg travel guide) and 90 miles north of Munich (Munich vacation rentals | Munich travel guide), on the Fränkische Rezat, a tributary of the Main river. The population was 40,723 in 2004.
A Benedictine monastery at the place was founded around 748 by a Franconian noble, Gumbertus, who was later canonized. In the following centuries the monastery and the adjoining village (Onoldsbach) grew to become the town of Ansbach (called a town in 1221 for the first time).
The city has five schools and the Ansbach University of Applied Sciences. It is connected by the autobahn A6 and the highways B13 and B14.
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General Information
Since 1970, Ansbach has enlarged its municipal area by incorporating adjacent communities. The historical center of Ansbach was spared during World War II and it has kept its baroque character.
Ansbach hosts several units of the U.S. armed forces, associated with German units under NATO. There are five separate U.S. installations: Shipton Kaserne, home to 412th Aviation Support Battalion, Katterbach Kaserne, formally the home of the 1st Infantry Division's 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, which has been replaced by the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade as of 2006, as part of the 1st Infantry Division's return to Fort Riley, Kansas; Bismarck Kaserne, which functions as a satellite post to Katterbach, hosting their Post Exchange and other services, Barton Barracks, home to the USAG Ansbach, and Bleidorn Barracks, which has a library, a theater, and housing.
Things to see in Ansbach
- Castle of the Margraves of Brandenburg-Ansbach
- Margrave museum
- Kaspar Hauser Monument
- St. Gumbertus and St. Johannis churches (15th c.)
[ source: wikipedia ]
Maps and Driving Directions to Ansbach
Gumbertuskirche
[ source: Flickr]
Popular Points of Interest in and near Ansbach
Ansbach Residence
[ source: Wikipedia ]
The Residence evolved from a medieval complex. Its Gotische Halle (Gothic Hall), a feature of the original building, today houses an important collection of Ansbach faience and porcelain. The Residence was rebuilt in its present form by Gabriel di Gabrieli and Karl Friedrich von Zocha in the 18th century. The early Rococo interior was created by Leopold Retti. Further highlights are the fresco on the Banqueting Hall ceiling by Carlo Carlone, the Art Gallery with Rococo paintings and works from the former Margrave's Gallery (Branch of the Bavarian State Galleries) and the collection of Meißen porcelain in the Mirror Cabinet. Opposite the Residence in the Court Garden with its orangerie there is also a rose and medicinal herb garden.
Hours: April-September: 9am - 6pm. October-March: 10am - 4pm. Closed Mondays.
Admission: Adults 4 €, Concessions 3 €.
Margrave Museum
[ source: Wikipedia ]
The museum features the eras when Ansbach was ruled by the Hohenzollern dynasty and briefly came under Prussian control. It also covers the story of the mysterious foundling Kaspar Hauser who lived in the town before being murdered in the Court Garden. The state-of-the-art Kaspar Hauser section is designed as infotainment
and illustrates all aspects of his life.
Hours: May - Sep: daily, 10am- 5 pm. Oct - Apr: closed Mondays, other days 10am - 5pm.
Admission: Adults 2.50 €, Concessions 1 €.
Related Sites
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- Wikipedia: Ansbach
More about the History of Ansbach
A Benedictine monastery at the place was founded around 748 by a Franconian noble, Gumbertus, who was later canonized. In the following centuries the monastery and the adjoining village (Onoldsbach) grew to become the town of Ansbach (called a town in 1221 for the first time).
The counts of Oettingen ruled over Ansbach until the Hohenzollern burgraves of Nuremberg (Nuremberg vacation rentals | Nuremberg travel guide) took over in 1331. The Hohenzollerns made Ansbach the seat of their dynasty until their acquisition of the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1415. However, after the 1440 death of Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg, the Franconian cadet branch of the family was not politically united with the main Brandenburg line, remaining independent as Brandenburg-Ansbach.
Margrave George the Pious introduced the Protestant Reformation to Ansbach in 1528, leading to the secularization of St. Gumbertus Abbey in 1563. In 1792 Ansbach was annexed by the Hohenzollerns of Prussia. In 1796 the Duke of Zweibrücken (Zweibrücken vacation rentals | Zweibrücken travel guide), Maximilian Joseph, the future Bavarian king Max I. Joseph, was exiled to Ansbach after Zweibrücken had been taken by the French. In Ansbach Maximilian von Montgelas wrote an elaborate concept for the future political organization of Bavaria, which is known as the Ansbacher Mémoire
. In 1806 Prussia ceded Ansbach and the Principality of Ansbach to Bavaria in exchange for the Bavarian duchy of Berg. At the end of the 17th century, the margraves' palace at Ansbach was rebuilt in Baroque style.
During World War II, a subcamp of Flossenburg concentration camp was located here. Also during the Second World War the Luftwaffe and Wehrmacht had bases here. The nearby airbase was the home station for the Stab & I/KG53 (Staff & 1st Group of Kampfgeschwader 53) operating 38 Heinkel He 111 bombers. On 1 September 1939 this unit was one of the many that participated in the attack on Poland that started the war. During the Western Allied invasion of Germany in April 1945, the airfield was seized by the United States Third Army, and used by the USAAF 354th Fighter Group which flew P-47 Thunderbolts from the aerodrome (designated ALG R-82) from late April until the German capitulation on 7 May 1945.
Since 1970, Ansbach has enlarged its municipal area by incorporating adjacent communities. Ansbach was a small town largely by-passed by the Industrial Revolution, an administrative and cultural center. Although all bridges were destroyed, the historical center of Ansbach was spared during World War II and it has kept its baroque character.
[ source: wikipedia ]
What makes this Live Like a German Ansbach Travel Guide special...
This Ansbach travel guide provides you with an overview of Ansbach, Ansbach pictures, and a local travel guide that suggests many special trips, unique activities, and vacation ideas, that you can't find in a typical Germany travel guide.
Some of this information is compiled from popular and well-known sources (e.g., such as Wikipedia, Wikitravel, and great pictures from Flickr). However, what makes this Germany travel guide special is that most of the travel suggestions and insider tips are provided by local residents, property owners, and our readers, who share and submit their travel tips with us. All submissions are then editorially reviewed to ensure high quality. All this information is logically organized within this destination guide to make it easy for you to find things quickly.
In addition, the Ansbach destination guide features restaurant recommendations, restaurant reviews, where to go for grocery shopping, sports activities, getting around, cultural events and highlights, entertainment, and health related information - so you are informed for your travel to Germany, and you can learn about all the cool things you can do during your Germany vacation!
