Hof’s History
| um 1080 | settlement Rekkenze with first parish St Lorenz |
| 1214 | first documented mention of the town |
| um 1230 | creation of the fortified new town (Neustadt) |
| 1292 | Franciscan monastery |
| 1299 | fire destroys the old and the new town |
| 1319 | Hof receives its town charter |
| 1348 | convent of the Poor Clare Sisters |
| 1373 | the Vogt (bailiff) of Weida sells Hof and the neighbouring region Regnitzland to the burgraves of Nuremberg |
| 1430 | pillage by the Hussites |
| 1433 | first “Schlappentag” in Hof |
| 1465 | the Hof Altar |
| 1529 | the Reformation comes to Hof |
| 1546 | the Gymnasium, Hof’s grammar school, is founded |
| 1553 | seven-week siege of Hof in the Margravial War |
| 1557 | first printing press in Hof |
| 1563 - 66 |
town hall built by Nikolaus Hofmann from Halle |
| 1592 | Enoch Widmann’s chronicles appear |
| 1625, 1690 | major fires |
| 1632 - 43 | the worst years of the Thirty Years War |
| 1783 | Hof’s first newspaper |
| 1792 | Hof becomes part of Prussia |
| 1806 | Hof is administered by the French (as a result of the Napoleonic Wars) |
| 1810 | Hof now becomes part of the Kingdom of Bavaria |
| 1823 | 9/10 of the town is destroyed by fire |
| 1848 | opening of the railway lines Hof – Neuenmarkt and Hof – Plauen |
| 1853 | first textile factory opened (the Mechanische Baumwollspinnerei) |
| 1864 |
laying of the foundation stone of the Catholic Marienkirche (St Mary’s Church) |
| 1865 | opening of the railway line Hof - Eger |
| 1867 |
the Fichtelgebirgsbahn railway to Regensburg goes into service |
| 1880 | the new railway station is opened |
| 1884 | a further textile factory, the Vogtländische Baumwollspinnerei, commences production |
| 1906 | Hofeck and Moschendorf become part of the town of Hof |
| 1921 | Bismarckturm look-out tower is completed |
| 1931 | Hof’s new municipal hospital |
| 1945 | 14th February: air raid on Leimitzer Straße and
Poststraße; 8th April: air raid on the area around the station with many casualties; 15th April: American troops reach Hof; |
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towards the end of the year: camp for displaced persons opened in Moschendorf; large treks of refugees and DPs; altogether about 600,000 refugees are processed in Hof, with 23,292 of them staying in Bavaria; | |
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Hof’s symphony orchestra, the Hofer Symphoniker, is founded | |
| 1952 | inauguration of the indoor swimming baths |
| 1960 | the Berufsschule, a vocational school, is opened |
| 1961 | inauguration of the high-rise courts of justice building |
| 1962 | Gerhard Hetz, a son of the town, sets up a world record in swimming (400 metres individual medley) in Moscow |
| 1969 | Hof-Pirk Airport is opened |
| 1970 | the Fachoberschule, a college of higher education, is opened |
| 1971 |
the German army, Bundeswehr, establishes a garrison in Hof |
| the observatory is opened | |
| the Fachakademie für Sozialpädogik training college opens | |
| 1972 | Unterkotzau, Eppenreuth, Pirk and Osseck become part of the town of Hof |
| 1974 | the new Freiheitshalle is inaugurated |
| the main customs office gets a new building | |
| the municipal ice-rink is opened | |
| 1975 | the Johann-Christian-Reinhart-Gymnasium moves into a brand-new building |
| the Jahn-Sporthalle is completed | |
|
the Civil Service University (Bayerische Fachhochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung und Rechtspflege) opens its doors to the first 40 students on 1st October | |
| 1976 | the town council decides to build the Untreusee reservoir |
| the Therapeutisch-Pädagogisches Zentrum, a sheltered workshop, is opened | |
| 1977 | Leimitz and Jägersruh are incorporated |
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the town hall extension building in Klosterstraße and the new bus station are completed | |
| 1978 |
incorporation of Haidt and Wölbattendorf |
| the Hofer Symphoniker open their music school | |
| 1980 | “Q-Bogen” underpass and Michaelis Bridge are opened to traffic |
| Villeneuve-la-Garenne near Paris is twinned with Hof | |
| 1981 | opening ceremony for Lake Untreusee recreation area |
| the Lernhof school for the disabled begins teaching | |
| 1982 | topping-out ceremony for the new the Civil Service University buildings |
| 1983 | re-opening of the outdoor swimming-pool after its face-lift |
| the museum of local history Museum Bayerisches Vogtland, founded in 1908, moves into new premises | |
| 1984 | topping-out ceremony for hospital extension |
| 1986 | Hof gets a pedestrian precinct (Altstadt and Lorenzstraße) |
| 1987 | local radio stations “Radio Euroherz” and “Extraradio” go on air |
| Hof is twinned with Plauen | |
| 1989 | shortly before the fall of the wall, 14 special trains bring 13,600 refugees from East Germany via Prague and Dresden to Hof |
| in the three days after the opening-up of the East German border, 330,000 people in more than 90,000 cars come to visit Hof | |
| 1990 | opening of the new indoor swimming pool “HofBad” |
| 1991 | the foundation stone for the new theatre is laid |
| 1992 | extension of the Hof-Pirk Airport to meet international requirements |
| 1993 | Hof’s clinic is fitted out with state-of-the-art radiological equipment |
| 1994 | a new University of Applied Sciences opens with 96 students |
| the Bavarian national garden exhibition “Landesgartenschau” takes place in Hof | |
| “Don Giovanni“ is the first performance in Hof’s new theatre | |
| 1995 | the Bavarian theatre festival “Theatertage” takes place in Hof from 18th June to 2nd July |
| 1996 | the new youth wave radio station “HO*T FM” goes on the air |
| the Bavarian Radio’s yearly round Bavaria cycle tour ends in Hof | |
| 1997 | the historic “Bürgergesellschaft” opens its renovated rooms to the public |
| laying of the foundation stone for the University of Applied Sciences | |
| first local plebiscite in Hof fails to get a majority | |
| 1998 | in February the “Innovations- und Gründerzentrum” is opened to help people starting up businesses of their own |
| inauguration of the new synagogue of the Jewish community | |
| 28th May: President Roman Herzog visits Hof | |
| ceremonial opening of the new Applied Sciences University campus in Septembermber | |
| 1999 | 1st January: Hof’s Airport is changed to a public limited company under the name of “Flughafen Hof-Plauen”; |
| 19th March: traffic comes to a standstill as a result of a major demonstration for a motorway bypass of Hof | |
| Hof is on the route of the cycle tour “Friedensfahrt” | |
| 2000 | motorway A93 bypassing Hof to the east is officially opened at the end of the year |
| the new Bavarian Virtual Campus gets its headquarters in Hof | |
| 2001 | a new course of studies “Administration Informatics” is introduced at the university |
| the Bavarian Virtual Campus is started | |
| 2002 | opening of a container terminal at the freight station |
| 2003 | Hof’s park Theresienstein is voted the most beautiful park in Germany in a national competition |
| 1st September: work commences on a new industrial estate in Hof-Gattendorf, where components for the automobile industry are to be produced | |
| 2004 |
12th January: Hof cultural association “Hofer Kunstverein” opens its new gallery in the Theresienstein complex with an exhibition “KunstSaat 7” |
| 2005 | Lessing Bridge is demolished because of structural damage and replaced by a new bridge, which is finished by December |
| Hof’s main railway station, built in 1880 to replace the original railway station in the centre of town, celebrates its 125th anniversary in March and April | |
| the partnership with Hof’s French twin Villeneuve-la-Garenne is now 25 years old | |
| the Krötenbruck primary school parents’ association wins the Bavarian “Bürgerkulturpreis | |
| 2006 | Dr Harld Fichtner is elected Mayor with 61.38 per cent of the votes |
| the Bavarian Environmental Institute “Landesamt für Umweltschutz” is transferred to Hof | |
| major roadworks improve Lessingstraße and Schleizer Straße and Rekkenzeplatz (Rekkenze Square) is redesigned | |
| during the World Cup in football the “Hof-WM 06” takes place in the Altstadt |