Story & Photos By Stan Wawer
Eighteen hundred years ago Regensburg was a Roman military town with 6,000 legions. The Romans built a fortress in this city that later became the first capital of Bavaria.
Some of Europe’s most important architectural and cultural monuments, plus fascinating museums and art collections make Regensburg an attractive place to visit. Red roofs, ornate churches, towers, turrets and townhouses from the 12th and 14th centuries characterize the medieval townscape of the former free imperial city. Built in stone, they were a symbol of the wealth of what was then the richest town in southern Germany.
During that period the merchants had the money and won control of the city. The heavily laden carts of the rich Regensburg trading merchants crossed one of the city’s most impressive landmarks,
the 360-yard Steinerne Brücke (Stone Bridge). It crosses the Danube River and is a masterpiece of medieval engineering 850 years ago. It is the oldest preserved stone bridge in Germany and affords the best view of the town.
There is a hump in a section of the bridge. According to legend, the devil tried to destroy it when he didn’t get the three souls he was promised by the mason who built the bridge. Instead he got the souls of two chickens and the mason’s dog.
The Historical Wurstküchl, the oldest sausage tavern in the world, is at the end of the Stone Bridge and a must for sausage lovers. It dates back to the 12th century, the time when the Stone Bridge was built, and now has become something of a legend.
The bratwursts are cooked on an open charcoal grill and served on a bed of sauerkraut. You can get anywhere from two to 12 sausages. I had six on a bed of sweet sauerkraut and washed it down with a dark beer from a local brewery. It was the best of a number of outstanding meals in Bavaria. Eating a brat without Wurstküchl’s traditional sweet mustard is only half as enjoyable. It is a recipe passed down by a woman named Elsa Schricker. You can purchase Wurstküchl products online at www.wurstkuchl.de. The present owners are the family Schricker-Meier. You might also want to try the potato soup.
Regensburg came through World War II bombings unscathed. “That was a stroke of luck,” said guide Dieter Kuhn, looking dapper in his Bavarian sports coat. “Just three kilometers [about one and three-quarter miles] from here was the Messerschmitt aircraft factory and it got bombed. We got away. It wasn’t our time yet for bombing. And then the war ended.”
Regensburg wasn’t as lucky in the early 1800s when Napoleon’s army came through and destroyed a third of the city.
Our Dear Lady of the Old Chapel is the oldest church in Bavaria, dating back to the ninth century. The Romanesque basilica was rebuilt in the Bavarian rococo style in the 18th century. The church is ornate, with every possible space covered with religious art. Of special interest is the new organ, which was dedicated by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 during his visit to Regensburg. This instrument is the only organ personally blessed by the Pope.
There is only one way into the Old City and that is through the Roman gate, Porta Praetoria. The original arch dates back to AD 179. “Nobody knew it was a Roman gate until 1885,” Kuhn said. The northern gate facing the Danube was discovered during renovations in the Bischofshof brewery. It was restored in 1887 and is a part of the Bischofshof complex. The Porta Nigra, Trier’s northern city gate, was built at the same time and the two are the only remaining Roman gates north of the Alps. Regensburg’s Porta Praetoria is significant in that it is the only remaining gate of a Roman military camp in northern Europe.
Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius founded Regensburg. “In the movie ‘Gladiator,’ Marcus Aurelius was strangled by his son Commodus [Joaquin Phoenix],” Kuhn said. “This was not true, this was a scriptwriter. Marcus Aurelius died after eating too much Alpine cheese. His sons died at an early age.”
St. Peter’s Cathedral, with its Gothic architecture, towers over the city. The colorful stained glass windows dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries are particularly impressive. The most notable feature of the cloisters, once a burial place for Regensburg residents and canons, is the Gothic rib-vault ceiling. The All Saints Chapel designed by north Italian architects evokes associations with Ravenna. The cathedral is a masterpiece of Gothic art in Germany. Statues carved into the outside of the cathedral tell an interesting story, according to Kuhn.
“In the Middle Ages most people couldn’t read or write,” he said. “That’s why there are so many statues. It’s easier to believe when you see it. The statues depict stories from the Bible.”
The windows on each side of the front of the cathedral are different. One side was built in 1320 and the other side in 1420. The cathedral was finally completed in 1862.
The Town Hall and Medieval Torture Chambers is a complex of several buildings built in the mid-13th century and shows us glimpses of the organization of a medieval city council, including a “questioning room” (torture chamber). The cellars house the torture chamber, which still has its original tools of torture.
Pope Benedict XVI was university professor Dr. Ratzinger during his years in Regensburg. Regensburg is about 60 percent Catholic. The Pope’s brother was the conductor of the world-famous Cathedral Boys’ Choir Regensburger Domspatzen. The boys’ choir celebrated its 1,000th anniversary in 1976. It is the oldest boys’ choir in the world.
A visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the cloister St. Emmeram and the place of the Thurn & Taxis dynasty is a voyage through many centuries, from the Middle Ages to the present. The Emmeram cloisters were built between the 11th and 14th centuries. The important saints Emmeram and Wolfgang, as well as Carolingian emperors, Bavarian dukes and Regensburg bishops, have all been buried here. The dining room has a 2,198-pound chandelier. Tapestries date back to the early 17th century.
Regensburg once had a large Jewish community, protected because the city was rich, according to Kuhn. In 1938, the number was 450. Half escaped the Nazi regime and half were killed. In front of one building are stumbling blocks where a Jewish family lived and were killed. They were deported and killed in 1942.
“Things can never be back to normal but we can keep it from ever happening again,” Kuhn said sadly.
Bavaria is a haven for Germany’s famous Christmas markets and Regensburg is no exception. The city has four — Regensburg Christmas Market, Lucrezia Craft Market, Christmasmarket at the Spitalgarten and Romantic Christmas Market at the Thurn & Taxis Palace.
If you go
Lufthansa has daily flights to Frankfurt and connecting flights to Munich. Go to www.lufthansa.com.
Where to stay
ACHAT Plaza Herzog am Dom Regensburg, Domplatz 3, 93047 (www.achat-hotels.com/wEnglisch/02_hotels/Uebersicht_Hotels/29_Uebersicht.php?navid=23). The four-star hotel includes a buffet breakfast and excellent rooms. It is across the plaza from St. Peter’s Cathedral in the midst of Regensburg’s Old Town.
All information is accurate at the time of publication but prices, dates and other details are all subject to change. Confirm all information before making any travel arrangements.
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