Augsburg

Travel times from Heidelberg:
Train – 2 hours, 30 mins.
Car – 2 hours, 30 mins.

Augsburg is yet another city that witnessed pivotal events in the Reformation due to Luther’s presence. Later in the same year of the Heidelberg Disputation, an emissary of Pope Leo X was sent to Augsburg in lieu of trying Luther in Rome. After refusing to recant his beliefs (ultimately leading to his excommunication), Luther fled to Wittenberg fearing his life.

The Augsburg Confession, a statement of basic Protestant beliefs and ideas, was written in 1530 for the Diet of Augsburg, convened to find a settlement between the various Protestant groups in the area. These various events made Augsburg a key city of the Reformation.

But before the upheaval of the Reformation, indeed before Christianity itself, Augsburg got its starts as a Roman military camp. Founded by Emperor Augustus in 15 B.C., it 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.

Augsburg is nicknamed the “German Renaissance City,” and 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. 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 while Martin Luther was in the city defending his Theses to the Pope’s emissary, he resided in St. Anna's Church, a former monastery that offers excellent examples of Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo styles. You can still visit the so-called “Lutherstiege” where he slept during his stay in Augsburg.

This is just a sampling of sights and cities in the Historic Highlights of Germany. Find out more at www.historicgermany.com. For planning assistance, contact your travel professional.