Visit Augsburg

The Basilica of St. Ulrich and Afra in Augsburg, is a landmark in its southern old town. One church is Roman Catholic, the other Lutheran, the duality being a result of the Peace of Augsburg concluded in 1555 between Catholics and Protestants. In the church are the tombs containing the remains of the diocese kept Saints Ulrich, Afra and Simpertus.

The Cathedral of Augsburg was founded in the 11th century in Romanesque style, but with 14th century Gothic additions. Together with the Basilica of St. Ulrich and Afra, it is one of the city's main attractions.

The Perlachturm is a 70 meter tall tower in Augsburg's old town. Originally built as a watchtower in the 10th century, it is nowadays part of an ensemble with the City Hall of Augsburg, a landmark of the city. The exact origin of the name Perlachturm is unknown. To reach the viewing platform at the top 258 stairs have to be climbed.

The Town Hall is the administrative centre of Augsburg and one of the most significant secular buildings of the Renaissance style north of the Alps. It was designed and built by Elias Holl, Master Builder of the town, in 1615–1624. Due to its historic and cultural importance, it is protected by the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

Golden Hall, is the most impressive of the Town Hall’s rooms. The room, richly adorned with large doorways, magnificent murals and a coffered ceiling, was badly bomb damaged during WWII. When the Rathaus was restored after the war, the room was not repaired to its original state. In the early 1980s, the council decided to renovate the Goldener Saal for the 2000 anniversary of the city in 1985.

The Fuggerei is the world's oldest social housing complex still in use. It is a walled enclave within the city of Augsburg. It takes it name from the Fugger family and was founded in 1516 by Jacob Fugger as a place where the needy citizens of Augsburg could be housed. The gates were locked at night, so the Fuggerei was, in its own right, very similar to a small independent medieval town.

In 1876, the Augsburg municipality decided to build a theater on a filled-in section of the former city moat. Built by the well-known Viennese theater architects Hellmer and Fellner in neo-Renaissance style, the theater had 1400 seats and was rich in architectural ornamentation. The theater suffered severe bombing damage in the Second World War and in was rebuilt in 1952.

The City Theater has running performances of several known operas and plays such as Cinderella, Tartuffe, or the immensely popular “Die Fledermaus". The plays shown include classics by Friedrich Schiller, Heinrich von Kleist as well as modern works by Peter Weiss but also regular performances of plays written by one of Augsburg's famous sons Berthold Brecht.

The Augsburger Puppenkiste is a marionette theatre located at the former Heilig-Geist-Spital in the historic centre of the city. The "Augsburger Puppenkiste" began in 1948 with productions of theatrical adaptations of fairy tales and serious pieces. In 1953, it began producing television series and gained nation-wide prominence with productions, such as Jim Knopf, and Urmel aus dem Eis.

The Augsburg Eiskanal is an artificial canal feature in the city that was constructed as the canoe slalom venue for the 1972 Summer Olympics that were hosted in Munich. The first artificial white-water course of its kind, it has served as a prototype for numerous artificial courses since constructed. It is still considered a world-class venue, and hosts many World Cup and international races.