Augsburg

A 2,000-year-old Roman city and home of the Fugger family, with the Fuggerei, the world's oldest social housing complex, and a World Heritage water management system; a major city on the Romantic Road.

Augsburg lies in the Swabia region of southwestern Bavaria, Germany, about 60 km from Munich (30–45 minutes by train). Founded in 15 BC by the army of Roman emperor Augustus, it is one of Germany's oldest cities. In the 15th and 16th centuries the Fugger and Welser families built Europe's most powerful financial and trading empires here, leaving behind the Renaissance Town Hall with its Golden Hall, the Fugger Houses and the Fuggerei, the world's oldest social housing complex; the Peace of Augsburg was also signed here in 1555. In 2019 the Water Management System of Augsburg was inscribed as a World Heritage Site, including its network of canals, the Red Gate water towers, Renaissance fountains, and the Hochablass weir and Olympic whitewater slalom course south of the city. The old town is compact and centred on Rathausplatz: head south along Maximilianstraße to the Basilica of Sts. Ulrich and Afra, or east to the canal-laced Lechviertel craftsmen's quarter and the Fuggerei, all easily done on foot. Augsburg is also the hometown of Mozart's father Leopold and playwright Bertolt Brecht, and the Augsburger Puppenkiste is a puppet theatre beloved by families across Germany. Located midway along the Romantic Road, the city makes a good base for a day trip to Nördlingen, the old town built in a meteorite crater, or to Legoland to the west with kids. Apr–Oct brings pleasant weather, and summer is best enjoyed in beer gardens and along the canals; the December Christmas market on Rathausplatz is one of the most beautiful in Bavaria. Plan on 1–2 days. The old town is best explored on foot and by tram, while Legoland and Nördlingen require the train or a car. Note that most museums are closed on Mondays.

Top sights

• Fuggerei – Founded in 1521 by the Fugger family, the Fuggerei is the world's oldest social housing complex, and its annual rent is still just €0.88.
• Augsburg Town Hall & Golden Hall – One of Germany's most important Renaissance secular buildings, its Golden Hall is dazzlingly gilded and has become a symbol of the city.
• Nördlingen – A perfectly round medieval town built inside a crater formed 15 million years ago, where you can walk the full circle of its city walls.
• Perlachturm – A 70-meter bell tower beside the town hall. Climb its 258 steps for views over the red roofs of the old town and, on clear days, the distan…
• Augsburg Cathedral – A bishop's cathedral founded in the 9th century, home to the world's oldest complete set of figurative stained-glass windows.
• Basilica of SS. Ulrich and Afra – A late Gothic cathedral at the end of Maximilianstraße. Its onion-domed bell tower is a landmark of the old town skyline.
• Schaezlerpalais – A rococo palace art gallery with a dazzling mirrored banquet hall, also housing works by Dürer and other German masters.
• Augsburger Puppenkiste – A nationally beloved German marionette theatre founded in 1948, with a museum displaying classic puppets.
• Maximilianstraße – The most splendid main street of the old town, lined with merchant mansions and Renaissance bronze fountains. In the evening it's a hub for…
• Augustus Fountain – A 1594 Renaissance bronze fountain on the town hall square, commemorating Augustus, the Roman emperor credited with founding the city.
• Fugger Houses – The Fugger family's city palace, with an Italian-style Damian Courtyard. It is Germany's earliest Renaissance building.
• St. Anne's Church – The church where Martin Luther stayed in 1518. The Fugger Chapel is Germany's first Renaissance building.
• Red Gate & Water Towers – The old town's southern city gate and water towers dating back to the 15th century, among the core sites of the Water Management System Wor…
• Hochablass & Eiskanal – A weir on the Lech River and the 1972 Olympic whitewater slalom course, the source of the World Heritage water system.
• Lechviertel – An old craft district criss-crossed by canals, with little bridges, workshops and cafés. It is ideal for wandering without a plan.
• Brecht House – The small house where playwright Bertolt Brecht was born in 1898. Exhibits cover his life and dramatic works.
• Mozart House Augsburg – The birthplace of Mozart's father, Leopold, with displays on the Mozart family's connection to Augsburg.
• Augsburg Synagogue – One of Europe's most beautiful synagogues in Art Nouveau style, with the Swabian Jewish Cultural Museum attached.
• Maximilian Museum – A city history and art museum with original Renaissance fountain bronzes displayed in a glass-roofed courtyard.
• State Textile and Industry Museum (tim) – An industrial museum converted from an old textile mill, where you can watch looms in action and learn about the city's textile history.
• Augsburg Zoo – A mid-sized zoo south of the city with about 1,300 animals and shaded grounds. It's good for a family half-day outing.
• Augsburg Botanical Garden – A botanical garden next to the zoo, with a Japanese garden, rose garden and tropical greenhouse. Light events are occasionally held on summ…
• Roman Museum Augsburg – Excavated artifacts from Augsburg's time as the capital of a Roman province, bearing witness to two thousand years of city history.
• Legoland Deutschland – Legoland Deutschland in Günzburg, with LEGO miniature landscapes and children's rides. It is ideal for a family day trip.
• Dinkelsbühl – One of the best-preserved medieval towns on the Romantic Road, with its city walls, gates and colorful half-timbered houses intact.
• Harburg Castle – A medieval castle on a rocky hill above the Wörnitz valley, with its walls, towers and defensive galleries well preserved.
• Landsberg am Lech Old Town – A walled old town on the Lech River with a late Gothic Bavarian Gate, a town hall designed by Zimmermann and stepped weirs along the river.

Where to eat

• AUGUST – A two-Michelin-starred restaurant housed in the 1877 Villa Haag, where Chef Grünwald is renowned for his nature-themed…
• Bauerntanz – A traditional 16th-century tavern in the Lech district, famous for its Swabian cheese spaetzle, onion roast beef, and t…
• Ratskeller – A historic vaulted cellar restaurant beneath the Augsburg Town Hall, serving traditional dishes such as Swabian platter…
• König von Flandern – A downtown basement brewpub serving unfiltered "Drei-Heller-Bier" and modern Bavarian cuisine.
• Gasthaus Settele – A family-run Haunstetten institution since 1905, beloved by locals for its cheese spaetzle and Swabian roast beef.

Itineraries

• Romantic Road Self-Drive: Würzburg to Füssen – Head south from the wine towns on the Main River, past medieval walled towns, to castles at the foot of the Alps