page_title: Hof, Bavaria
section_title: Roman Period
hierarchical_section_title: Hof, Bavaria / History / Roman Period
context_page_description: Hof is a town on the banks of the Saale in the northeastern corner of the German state of Bavaria, in the Franconian region, at the Czech border and the forested Fichtelgebirge and Frankenwald upland regions.
  The town has 47,296 inhabitants, the surrounding district an additional 95,000.
  The town of Hof is enclosed by, but does not belong to the Bavarian district of Hof; it is nonetheless the district's administrative seat.
  The town's most important work of art, the Hofer altar, dates from about 1465 and is exhibited in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich today. The Heidenreich organ in the parish church of St. Michaelis, completed in 1834, is considered one of Bavaria's finest.
  Hof is known for two local "delicacies", namely Schnitz, a kind of hotpot, and sausages boiled in a portable, coal-fired brass cauldron, which are sold in the streets by the sausage man. There is also a particularly strong beer, which is available only on the first Monday after Trinity Sunday. This tradition dates back to the establishment of the town militia which forced all shooters to take part in a special shooting training each year.
context_section_description: Hof in the Middle Ages was located in the Provincia Variscorum and was known in Latin as Curiae Variscorum or Curiae Nariscorum meaning "Court of the Varisci/Narisci." It is assumed then that Hof was the place where the chief(s) of the Varisci (or Narisci) tribe of the Suebi people held court (and/or perhaps a pagan temple or hall). The Varisci appear briefly in Tacitus' Germania (Chapter 42) as participants in the Marcomannic Wars. Their chief, Valao, was killed during battle around 167 AD and it is possible that these ancient peoples were then transplanted to Italy by Marcus Aurelius and lost their identity. A few centuries later (4th or 5th century) the obscure Armalausi peoples appear where the Varisci once lived, however the Latin name of Varisci stuck to the region. This is evidenced by nearby Plauen being called Plavia Variscorum and Hof: Curia Variscorum. The name Curiae Variscorum has been used to denote the city of Hof in numerous documents and publications throughout the years. This legacy remains even to this day as the word 'Hof' is German for 'court', just as 'curiae' is Latin for 'court'.
caption: Varisci/Narisci Tribe during Roman Empire. Seen as 'Narister' on this map.