Hof

Hof is a city of 45,000 people (2020) in Upper Franconia in Bavaria. Hof, meaning farm estate, is a very common German place name, but this one is specifically Hof an der Saale. It was destroyed by fire in 1823 and had to be re-built, leading to an attractive unity of Biedermeyer architectural style. In the 20th century it was jokingly referred to as "the Bavarian Siberia" because with an elevation of 500 m it's distinctly cool, and because it was close to the borders with communist East Germany and Czechoslovakia. However this meant it enjoyed special subsidies until the fall of the wall, and it slumped when those were withdrawn after 1990. Tourism is nowadays a major part of the local economy.