Rosenthal and Hutschenreuther are the defining brands of the porcelain industry in Franconia. Their home of Selb is at the heart of the "Porcelain Route", which takes you to the centres of the porcelain industry between Weiden and Hof.

Heart of the Porcelain Route
The allure of "white gold" meant porcelain was made wherever the raw materials could be found – in this case wood fuel from lush forests such as those in the Fichtelgebirge mountains and china clay in the Upper Palatinate or Bohemia. Manufacturers with worldwide reputations such as Rosenthal or Hutschenreuther seem to always have their finger on the pulse when it comes to tableware or artistically crafted figures and ornaments.

Selb is well-known as a porcelain town and this is clearly reflected in the town's most important and charming attractions. The porcelain fountain is exquisitely adorned with mosaic stones of white, gold, blue and turquoise. At Selb Town Hall the sound of 22 small porcelain bells ring out in the carillon, and the porcelain-paved Porzellangässchen is a true extravagance.

The first porcelain manufacturer to set up in the area around Selb was C. M. Hutschenreuther in 1814. The raw materials for producing porcelain – china clay and charcoal for the kilns – were found in abundance in the Fichtelgebirge mountains, and during the course of the 19th century, the area around Selb developed into a worldwide centre of the porcelain industry.