Augsburg

 Travel times from Regensburg:
Train – 2 hours, 30 mins.
Car – 1 hour, 30 mins.

Founded by Emperor Augustus in 15 B.C., Augsburg got its starts as a Roman military camp and became a Roman provincial capital for more than 400 years. By the 15th century, it was one of Europe’s wealthiest and most important merchant cities. Having developed over two millennia, this town’s distinct cityscape was shaped by all the great stylistic epochs. Great buildings, monumental fountains, lavishly laid-out streets, and ultramodern architecture attest to the city’s tradition of cosmopolitan bounty.

Many of Augburg’s unique features can be credited to the pre-mercantile times of Roman soldiers, though. The city’s wall dates from the Middle Ages, but you can still find traces of the Romans’ handiwork in stretches of the original wall. They were also responsible for the city’s intricate canal system. By one count, as many as 600 bridges cross the still-intact waterways – more, Augsburgers claim, than in Venice or Amsterdam. Be sure you don’t miss the Roman Museum, a church of the former St. Magdalena monastery with prehistoric exhibits and interesting finds from the Roman empire.

Take time to appreciate the magnificent beauty that the Renaissance imparted on Augsburg’s façade. It is even nicknamed the “German Renaissance City.” The majesty of this era is still very much alive here in the architecture of the monumental Rathaus (City Hall). This imposing Renaissance masterpiece was built from 1615 to 1620 by Elias Holl as an expression of the Free Imperial City’s civic pride. Enjoy an impressive panoramic view of the city’s architectural gems from the adjacent Perlachturm tower.

Just one of many Renaissance fountains surviving intact, the magnificent Augustusbrunnen was erected in honor of the Roman Emperor from whom the city derives its name. Maximilian Street, framed by the historic façades of stately patrician homes, attests to the city’s affluence in the days of the famous Fugger and Welser merchant dynasties. The world’s oldest social settlement for the poor, The Fuggerei, was built by Jacob Fugger the Rich, banker to kings and emperors.  Even today, its residents pay less than a dollar a year in rent.

Banking must have been the profession of choice in Augsburg for those who wanted to lives like emperors and kings, as evidenced by the Schaezler Palace. The city palace of  banker Liebert von Liebenhofen was built from 1765 to 1770 and features a richly adorned Rococo Banquet Hall. Considered the most impressive Rococo work in Augsburg, it is also one of the most impressive private Rococo buildings in Bavaria. Today it also houses the German Baroque Gallery and the State Gallery with paintings by masters such as Dürer, Holbein and Cranach.

Of interest to music-lovers, the ancestral home of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is open to the public and houses a museum for the famous composer, whose family originated in Augsburg.

Augsburg also touts an impressive collection of religious edifices. The Dom (Cathedral) is lit by five of the oldest figured stained glass windows of the world (1140). St. Ulrich & Afra-Basilika and the Protestant Ulrichskirche join with the Dom to constitute a splendid architectural ensemble. And in 1518, Martin Luther first defended his theses of Protestantism to an emissary of the Pope while residing in St. Anna's Church, a former monastery that offers excellent examples of Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo styles.

The Augsburg region is distinguished as the childhood home to Elisabeth, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary. Born in Munich in 1837, she married Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph at age 16 and quickly became the Princess Diana of her century. A strikingly beautiful woman, “Sisi” was beloved by the people. At the same time, she suffered as she tried to become accustomed to the etiquette and customs of the royal court, instead choosing to spend much of her time traveling. Eventually, she developed into a confident and energetic woman who lived her life with independence until she was assassinated in Geneva in 1898. Augsburg is the western terminus of the Sisi Road, which travels through Bad Ischl, Austria, where she met Franz Joseph, and Vienna, where she lived in the Hofburg and Schönbrunn. The Road continues into Hungary to Gödöllö Palace near Budapest.