HOF

city, Bavaria Land (state), east-central Germany. It lies along the Saale River, in the northeastern foothills of the Fichtelgebirge and the Frankenwald, near the border with the Czech Republic. Founded by the dukes of Andechs-Meran, the city was first mentioned in 1214 and was chartered by 1319. It passed to the Hohenzollern burgraves of Nrnberg in 1373, to Prussia in 1792, and to Bavaria in 1810. Most of the city's old buildings, including medieval churches, were rebuilt after a devastating fire in 1823. Hof is a cultural centre with a theatre, symphony orchestra, choirs, museum, and several colleges. Hof is the industrial and commercial centre of northern Upper Franconia. Its chief manufactures are textiles, machinery, and beer. Although the city's significance as a communications centre diminished when most traffic north and east across the Czech and East German borders declined after 1945, there is still heavy traffic to the south and west, and it is an important border checkpoint. Pop. (1991 est.) 52,913.