Hof's Altstadt

First a word of warning: you will be disappointed if you expect to find evidence of the past when you hear the name “Altstadt” (old town). Visible traces of the past are to be found in the “Neustadt”, which was once the original walled town. Beyond the town walls was the Altstadt, which developed from the settlement called “Rekkenze” and the parish of St Lawrence.

But back to the present: even though the town hall is located in Hof’s Neustadt, the real hub of Hof is now the so-called Altstadt, which has certainly gained by being made traffic-free. With its imposing width, the Altstadt is really Hof’s high street, a shopping area with department stores, boutiques, cafés, smaller and larger shops, banks etc.

In the past repeated “cosmetic” changes have been made to the Altstadt, resulting in the ups and downs of the rows of buildings on both sides of the street which make it so lively and diversified.

With the transformation into a pedestrian zone, the Altstadt also became a second fairground  - right in the middle of town. The locals are in full agreement with this, and so during various festivities it regularly gets jam-packed with crowds of people.

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