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Helen (Kirmse) Hacker noted In a 1 Mar 2009 email that family lore had that “a famous brewery was in the area of where they [Barbara Kraus and her sisters] lived.”
As seen on the following map, Kulmbach is about 4.5 miles as the crow flies from Hutschdorf.
And, Kulmbach is well known for its resident brewery.
Kulmbach
Kulmbach (District) is the district of Kulmbach in Upper Franconia, Bavaria.
Kulmbach (City) is the capital of the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria. The city is famous for Plassenburg Castle, which houses the largest tin soldier museum in the world, and for its famous sausages, or Bratwürste. The city is also known for a brewery, producing the strongest beer (11.8% alcohol) available in Germany.
History
In the historical center of the city of Kulmbach is the castle of Plassenburg. This castle was first mentioned in 1135. The rulers of the castle and the surrounding lands were the counts of Andechs (1135-1248, from 1135 to 1180 Dießen-Andechs, from 1180 to 1248 Andechs-Meranien) and the Thuringian counts of Orlamünde (1260-1340). After the death of the last count of Orlamünde the region fell to the Hohenzollern state.
In 1398 the Hohenzollern state was divided, and in the Franconian area the two states of Ansbach and Kulmbach were founded. When the Hohenzollern family was awarded the margravate of Brandenburg , these states were called Brandenburg-Ansbach and Brandenburg-Kulmbach, but not united with Brandenburg proper. In 1603 the castle of Plassenburg was abandoned, and the capital was moved to the city of Bayreuth . The importance of the city of Kulmbach declined hereafter, although the margraves (and sometimes the population of Kulmbach) used the castle during the years of the Thirty Years’ War .
The last margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (as Brandenburg-Kulmbach was called) abdicated in 1792 in order to cede his property to his cousin, the king of Prussia . However, this is a short episode. In 1806 Kulmbach surrendered to Napoleon , who ordered the razing of Plassenburg castle. In 1810 the region fell to Bavaria and remained so to date.
The district of Kulmbach was founded soon after. The city of Kulmbach did not belong to the district until 1972, when city and district were merged.
According to a tour guide in Kulmbach, the castle Plassenburg was used by Adolf Hitler as the headquarters for his Highway Department. The highway “A9” was built under Nazi rule, connecting Berlin and Munich, and running past Kulmbach.
After the Second World War, the castle was used as a camp for German prisoners of the US military control. One of those stayed employed later as a keeper of natural and biological resources of the castle.
Geography
The district, surrounding the ancient city of Kulmbach, is located on the southern edge of the Franconian Forest and Fichtelgebirge . The two headstreams of the Main River , White Main and Red Main, meet in the center of the district.