Regensburg

Regensburg was not bombed during World War II, so it’s one of the best-preserved medieval sites in Europe.

Living in Germany provides so many opportunities to do day-trips, or weekend get-aways, especially while many people are still reluctant to travel outside of Germany. A couple weeks ago we went to Regensburg; from Amberg it’s less than a one-hour drive!

It’s the oldest town on the Danube river, and sits on the edge of the Black Forest; it’s a gorgeous city with more than 1000 historical buildings.

Many of the European river cruises include it on their stops. The ships dock near the famous stone bridge (1017 feet long) that was built between 1135 and 1146; it has 16 arches and is still considered a marvel of medieval engineering. This bridge opened major international trade routes between northern Europe and Venice, which resulted in Regensburg's golden age as a residence of wealthy trading families. Regensburg became the cultural center of southern Germany and was celebrated for its gold work and fabrics.

Although currently enduring a repair process (as are so many churches/cathedrals throughout Europe), St. Peters Cathedral is the seat of the Regensburg Catholic diocese and revered as the most important Gothic structure in southern Germany. While the current cathedral has been significantly restored, there has been a cathedral in this location since the 8th century. Its’ towering spires can be seen all over the city.

Unfortunately, we were there on a Sunday, but we found so many reasons to go back on any other day when everything is open. We were delighted to see there is an entire section of the old town dedicated to antiques; there was gorgeous collectibles in the windows.

We didn’t see it, but heard the Regensburg Sausage Kitchen is a major tourist attraction! It was originally built as the construction headquarters of the stone bridge but is now adjacent.

I would also like to visit the botanical garden on the campus of the University of Regensburg, and some of the outdoor museums they refer to as their “document sites” which are dedicated to specific topics like Roman, Jewish and Bavarian history.

We enjoyed Regensburg so much that we are no longer thinking of it as “a day trip”. Although you can easily be impressed in one day, if that one day is a Sunday, you will miss out on so much!

We will be returning to spend an entire weekend. We loved it!