(; Northern Bavarian: Wåuṉsieḏl or Wousigl) is the seat of the Upper Franconian district of in northeast Bavaria, Germany. The town is the birthplace of poet Jean Paul. It also became known for its annual Festival and the Rudolf Hess Memorial March held there by Neo-Nazis until 2005. Geography lies in the Fichtelgebirge Mountains in the valley of the at the foot of the Plateau. History was first mentioned in 1163 as the seat of a , Adelbertus or Albert. The name probably originates from ('glades') and ('noble seat'). In 1285, Burgrave Friedrich III of Nuremberg received the fiefdom of the town from King Rudolph I of Habsburg. In 1326, was given town rights by Burgrave Friedrich IV and this was confirmed in 1328 by Emperor Louis the Bavarian. In 1430 Hans of defeated the Hussites in the Battle of , a low mountain immediately south of , and in 1652 Jobst of beat the Bohemians also on the . In the Middle Ages, was a centre of tin mining and achieved great economic importance through the manufacture of tin plate. In 1613, it became capital of the — an area comparable in size to the modern district . The bailiffs () in , , , and were all subordinated to the high bailiff () in . was a part of the Principality of Bayreuth until 1791/92 when the last margrave, Karl Alexander, abdicated and the region was placed under Prussian administration. It was occupied for four years by Napoleon's troops and, in 1810, became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria. Fires in 1476, 1547, 1607, 1636, 1644, 1646, 1657 and 1731 destroyed various parts of the town. After the last major fire in 1834, which razed two-thirds of , the town was rebuilt in a classicist style. Birthplace of the nationalist student (October 5, 1795) who later went on to assassinate , a famous conservative German playwright. Kotzebue's death was a direct result of his published ridicule of the student associations in general, however focusing harshest comments on the newly formed , student organizations that supported free institutions, a national German state, uncensored press. In addition, the affluent writer was appointed as Russia's "ambassador" (by Russia) making his death a certainty. In his role as ambassador, Kotzebue was accused as being a "spy" while his role as editor of a literature review magazine brought him accusation of outright plagiarism.