Bayreuth had been previously (1199) referred to…

Bayreuth had been previously (1199) referred to as a villa (village).

As the term civitas ("town") appears for the first time in a document published in 1231, it can therefore be assumed that Bayreuth had been awarded its town charter between 1200 and 1230.

The town is ruled until 1248 by the counts of Andechs-Merania, at which point a branch of the Hohenzollerns takes over.