Augsburg

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19 July 2014

We began the day for Augsburg with a very early train on Saturday since it's the only local train with the quickest speed, 1 hour 10 minutes instead of an almost 2-hour journey.  We had a nice breakfast at a cafe on the way to the town centre.

Our sightseeing began with St. Anne Church. It was built in 14th century.  The remarkable ceiling is painted with Baroque and Rococo stuccowork and frescoes by Johann Georg Bergmüller.  It is decorated with beautiful paintings.   The church gets famous, perhaps also because Martin Luther's stay.
 

The Rathaus (town hall) is a popular tourist spot in Augsburg. It is renowned for its Golden Hall, with magnificent, pompous portals, coffered ceiling and mural paintings.  It is opened between 10am and 6pm unless there is a private event.


 


Augsburg Cathedral dated back to 11th century.  The style is Romanesque but with Gothic additions in 14th century.  It is enormous and has many high quality paintings and sculptures.




On the south clerestory are the oldest stained glass windows in Germany.  Portraits of the prophets, Jonah, Daniel, Hosea, Moses and David are from the late 11th century or early 12th century.  They are called 'prophets windows', made by the monks of Tegern Lake.  They are high up and it's quite dark there.  Click here to experience the enormity of, organ music and singing at the cathedral.


















We then proceeded to the Fuggerei, the world's oldest social settlement founded between 1514 and 1523.  It includes 67 buildings, 140 apartments, one church and administrative buildings.  Annual rent is surprisingly low, €0.88.  Tenants need to pay for the utility such as heating, water and electricity, around €100 per month.  The basic qualification to live in the Fuggerei is one must be poor and Catholic, and pray for the founder family three times a day.  Franz Mozart (the great grandfather of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) lived there since 1681.


 


Augsburg is a proper and organised town.   Most buildings are rennovated with nice pastel colours.   While walking in the centre, you won't miss the three beautiful fountains with exquisite bronze sculptures.  They are: Augustus Fountain, Mercury fountain and Hercules Fountain.
























In between we passed by the Mozart House.   Leopold Mozart (father of Mozart) was born in the house in 1719.  He had great musical talent and worked as a composer and deputy musical director. He gained fame at time and groomed his son to become one of the most influential and well known composers.



Our last major spot of the day was Sankt Ulrich und Sankt Afra.  It is a richly furnished late Gothic basilica built in the architectural styles of Renaissance and Baroque.  The exterior is beautiful.  The interior is decorated with giant altars and remarkable art pieces.


 


Location: Augsburg, Germany

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