The Vogtland is an easily overlooked region covering the borderlands between Franconia and Saxony. Here the Emperors asserted their authority by placing the region under direct control. Their representatives, the “Vogt” or Reeve, ruled in the Emperors’ name. It is a forested region known for its small towns and many castles.
The Vogtland is a borderland between three major cultural zones, the Franconian, Saxon, and Czech Peoples. Focused on the Upper Reaches of the Saale and on the Highland Border between Czechia and Germany, the region crosses numerous borders.
The forests of the Vogtland hide a mysterious past, largely wiped away by the political struggles of the more recent past. The city of Cheb, formerly Eger, was founded during the Staufen Dynasty as a palatial Residence for the Empire’s Eastward Expansion. It would be sold to the Czech Crown in the 14th century and remained ethnically Franconian until 1945. Ruins of this ancient palace are still visible.
The core of the Vogtland is centered around Plauen. With the collapse of central authority in the Empire after the 14th century, the ruling Vogt dynasty, the Reuss family retained control of the region. Though Plauen was destroyed in WW2, the other major cities of Gera and Greiz remain beautiful destinations.
The Franconian South around Hof fell out of the Vogtland cultural sphere when it was annexed by the Duchy of Bayreuth in the 17th century, and is why this part of the region today belongs to Bavaria.
