Selb: Porcelain Culture, Theater and Leisure
Accommodation in Selb
During a stay in Selb, porcelain and industrial history, theater, and leisure activities can be considered as different parts of your itinerary. The focus is the Porzellanikon Selb, housed in a former Rosenthal factory. Other options include a walk through the city, guided tours and events. You can use whichever of these themes shapes your stay as a guide when searching for accommodation and planning your trip.
Porzellan erinnert in Selb an die Stadtgeschichte und die regionale Herstellungstradition.
Photo: Doris Antony , Berlin via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
The History of Porcelain at the Porzellanikon
The former Rosenthal factory was decommissioned in 1969. Today, around 9,000 m² of the repurposed industrial site are home to three museums: the European Industrial Museum for Porcelain, the Rosenthal Museum and the European Museum for Technical Ceramics. The Porzellanikon Selb covers more than 8,000 m² and displays old machinery, interactive exhibits, Rosenthal tableware, technical ceramics and a steam engine. The exhibitions thus bring together industrial history and various aspects of porcelain production.
The former use of the factory is particularly easy to picture at the imposing round kilns: six of the original ten are fully preserved and open to visitors. Together with the machinery and steam engine, they give the museum visit a tangible connection to industrial work at the site. The interactive exhibits complement the objects, while Rosenthal tableware and technical ceramics provide further distinct areas of focus. This makes it easier to decide whether you are most interested in the factory’s history, porcelain design or technical ceramics.
City Walks and Architecture
A walk through Selb takes you past the art, culture, old, new and special features of this porcelain and design city. You can begin in person or take a virtual tour. On a guided city tour led by a certified guide, you’ll pass the porcelain fountain on Martin-Luther-Platz and the Porzellangässchen, a lane paved with porcelain. Tour dates are arranged with the Tourist Information Office.
A stroll through Selb also offers the chance to see some striking buildings. The Rosenthal headquarters building was artistically enhanced by Otto Piene; next to it is the Spiegelhaus, with a mirrored façade designed by Marcello Morandini. These stops offer a different focus from the Porzellanikon collections: here, the emphasis is on architectural art and façade design in the urban landscape.
Theater and Recurring Events
The Rosenthal Theater is centrally located in Selb on the hillside of the Selbbach valley. Its program includes operas, operettas, musicals and plays, as well as symphony concerts, chamber concerts, jazz concerts and cabaret. If you’d like to include a performance in your stay, checking the current program can help you plan your schedule.
Recurring cultural events include the International Borderland Film Days. They have been held annually since 1977 during the week after Easter at SPEKTRUM Selb. The Rosenthal Theater also hosts an annual presentation of the local porcelain industry under the theme “Weeks of White Gold.” Check the event dates separately if you’re planning to visit during a specific period.
Leisure Activities for Different Interests
Selb’s leisure facilities include a pump track and a skatepark. The asphalt pump track can be used with mountain bikes, BMX bikes, skateboards, scooters, inline skates, longboards and balance bikes. This means the facility is not limited to just one type of wheeled activity. Which of these options is of interest to your group depends on what you’d like to combine with your visit.
Selb indoor swimming pool in Rosenthal Park has a sports pool, adjoining non-swimmer pools with massage jets, and a children’s pool with an elephant slide. The different pools offer a range of ways to enjoy the facility; check the operator’s latest visitor information before planning a visit. Together with the museum, city walk and theater, they provide a choice of cultural and leisure activities, so you don’t have to limit your stay to a single theme.
When choosing accommodation in Selb, your planned visits may be the deciding factor: the Porzellanikon offers a different focus from a performance at the Rosenthal Theater or a visit to the indoor swimming pool. First decide which of these activities matter for your travel dates, then check the latest visitor information and event details for each.
More local pages: Selb-Plößberg, Wildenau.
More destination pages: Thiersheim, Weißenstadt, Arzberg, Tröstau, Schirnding, Thierstein.
For the broader travel overview: Wunsiedel in the Fichtelgebirge.
