Germany

Regensburg

WHS Score 3.08
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Votes 109 Average 3.17
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Votes for Regensburg

0.5

  • Alikander99

1.0

  • Anne

1.5

  • Adrian Turtschi
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  • Els Slots
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2.0

  • Anthonynice
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2.5

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  • Federico P.
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  • Matejicek
  • merveil
  • Peter Alleblas
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  • Philipp Peterer
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  • Randi Thomsen
  • Solivagant
  • Wojciech Fedoruk

3.0

  • Alessandro Votta
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3.5

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  • Zhenjun Liu

4.0

  • awestix
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4.5

  • Bropyk
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5.0

  • Dhhtravel
  • KngAlaric
  • Rafał Kałczuga
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  • Yevhen Ivanovych

The Old Town of Regensburg with Stadtamhof has an almost intact late medieval city center with many Romanesque and Gothic buildings.

Regensburg was an important trading centre along the Danube from the 11th to the 14th centuries. Also, the Imperial Assemblies of the Holy Roman Empire were held here. Its roots lie in the Roman town of Castra Regina.

Community Perspective: The town has a fascinating history, but some find its current townscape dull while others are quite smitten with it. Have a look at its old tower houses, the Alte Kapelle or Romanesque Scottish Portal at St Jakob's church. And then there’s always beer and sausages. The Stadtamhof in the title is the name of a district on the opposite side of the river from the center.

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Old town of Regensburg with Stadtamhof (ID: 1155)
Country
Germany
Status
Inscribed 2006 Site history
History of Regensburg
2006: Inscribed
Inscribed
WHS Type
Cultural
Criteria
  • ii
  • iii
  • iv
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
Related Resources

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Urban landscape: Medieval European
Travel Information
Exact locations inscribed twice (or more)
Exact locations inscribed twice (or more)
Several of the Danube Limes locations in Regensburg lie within its Old Town
Recent Connections
View all (46) .
Connections of Regensburg
Individual People
  • Johannes Kepler
    Death
  • Napoleon was here
    No 6 Domplaz has a large stone plaque on its front wall recording "Hier hat Napleon I am 23 April 1809 Quartier Genommen". In fact, although the Battle of Ratisbon (Regensburg) took place on 23 April and Napoleon was slightly wounded (his foot being bruised by a spent ball) he spent the night outside the city at nearby Prull Monastery before making the former townhouse of the Prince Primate Karl von Dalberg his HQ for the next 2 days
  • Goethe
    Part of his Italian Journey

    See www.textlog.de

Geography
Trivia
  • Twin Towns
    Regensburg and Stadtamhof: the latter was a rival neighbouring city until its incorporation in the 20th century.
History
  • Holy Roman Empire
    After the war, in 1663, Regensburg hosted the Imperial Diet, with some interruptions, until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, in 1806. (AB ev)

    See en.wikipedia.org

  • Ancient Roman colonies
    Regensburg was known as Castra Regina, there was a large Roman military post and a town; remains are left from the Porta Praetoria
  • Judensau
    Mid 14C "weathered sculpture of a Judensau .. from the south façade of the Regensburg cathedral. It depicts three Jews, who were originally identified by pointed hats"

    See www.sacred-destinations.com

  • Carolingian Empire
    Regensburg was their regional capital and Charlemagne visited it regularly from 788 on; there are also some remains of a Carolingian palace found
  • The Crusades
    Was "the point of departure for the crusades of the years 1147 and 1189" and the Jews faced "forced christening ... in the year 1096 by crusaders who were passing through Regensburg." (Nom File)
  • Located in a Former Capital
    Principality of Regensburg (1803-1810)
  • Thirty Years' War
    "During the Thirty Year War, Regensburg was made into a garrison city. There was a bitter conflict between Regensburg and Bavaria, and the city suffered of plundering. In 1633, it was under the siege by the Swedes, but was saved from the worst." (source: ICOMOS)
Architecture
Damaged
  • Damaged in World War II
    Despite having the Messerschmidt factory nearby, which was heavily bombed, the old town escaped damage. Except for the historic "Steinerne Brücke" (Stone Bridge) of 1145, one pier of which was blown up by the Nazis in an attempt to stop the US armies!!
World Heritage Process
Religion and Belief
Human Activity
  • Forced labour during WWII
    In the final months of World War II, in March and April of 1945 a subcamp of the Flossenbürg concentration camp was located in the city, with 460 forced laborers of various nationalities, 40 of whom died.

    See www.gedenkstaette-flossenbuerg.de

  • Breweries
    Spitalbrauerei: 'The Spitalbrauerei (Hospital, Hospice or Almshouse Brewery) was founded in 1226, which makes it the City's oldest brewery, and the World's oldest Almshouse Brewery. Its address "At the Foot of the Bridge"

    See www.spital.de

  • Salt
    Salzstadl (1597), a warehouse for salt on Stadamthof
Constructions
Timeline
  • Built in the 12th century
    St. Emmeram´s Monastery: church rebuilt in 1166 & Benedictine Monastery of St Jacob´s .. Its church, dating from the 12th century, is one of the most important High Romanesque buildings in southern Germany. (AB ev) & The Goldene Turm (12th century)
WHS Hotspots
Science and Technology
News

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Recent Visitors
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Visitors of Regensburg
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Community Reviews

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First published: 03/12/21.

Matejicek

Regensburg

Regensburg (Inscribed)

Regensburg by Matejicek

Regensburg is evaluated lukewarmly in our community. Maybe Regensburg really is a collection of monuments without OUV, but it belongs to few well-preserved German towns after WWII destruction. Well, I would not call it intact, because there are several modern constructions and re-constructions in the core, but still the town looks nice, the river with islands is very valuable addition to its appearance, and from the stone bridge, one can observe most of vertical monuments of the town including Cathedral and medieval tower-houses.

My evaluation is fairly positive for Regensburg. Maybe I am positively biased, because for Czechia, Regensburg, which is located not far from Czechia, is a fine example of features, which we do not have (Roman monuments) or which are already gone or almost disappeared (Tower houses, gothic houses facades, large early-medieval complexes). Furthermore, Regensburg has quite prominent place in the history of Czechia as the source of Western/Southern culture and religion.

I have visited the site already 3 times. Last time, I did a day trip from Prague by train (one way - 4 hours) in November 2021. Regensburg is a small version of Prague: it has river with an old stone bridge, a gothic cathedral, and picturesque squares. The stone bridge has been reconstructed a couple of years ago, but it looks quite sterile to me. Cathedral is pretty nice, but nothing exceptional taking into account that it is a result of extensive reconstructions to gothic style. I like St. Emmeram with its history …

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First published: 09/12/19.

Jakob Frenzel

Regensburg

Regensburg (Inscribed)

Regensburg by Jakob Frenzel

March 2010 - on a trainride to Vienna, we made a few hours stopover in Regensburg. We walked through the charming streets entered a few churches and got a bite of good sausages. Finally we sat next to the Donau in the historic Spital Brauerei and had a refreshing Helles. All in all, it is a nice town, but other Bavarians towns are as well. Perfect stopover before continuing to Vienna.

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First published: 26/02/16.

Michael Turtle

Regensburg

Regensburg (Inscribed)

Regensburg by Michael Turtle

To get the most out of a visit to Regensburg, the best thing to do is just walk through its streets. Even the buildings of no particular note that line the alleyways all come together to create the sense of medieval city.

The particular highlights of the city are all within a very easy walking distance of each other. From the Roman Bridge, walk up into the centre of town to see the cathedral, cut across to the old town hall, through the Haidplatz square and over to St James’s Scottish Church.

The various public squares are nice places to stop for a rest. The fountains or statues in the centre of many of them are little homages to the city’s past and the buildings surrounding them have authentic and artistic facades.

Regensburg is popular with tour groups that move in large mobs but they tend to stick to the main streets. Getting away from the obvious paths and exploring the alleyways will not just give you a bit more peace, it will also show you how small businesses and residences of today have been incorporated into the original buildings.

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First published: 08/09/13.

Ian Cade

Regensburg

Regensburg (Inscribed)

Regensburg by Ian Cade

Ah, such a familiar feeling: 2 hours of strolling in the drizzle feeling slightly underwhelmed by another variation of a European Town, a few hours later I'm rushing for the train feeling like I want to relocate to the city after something intangible suddenly wins me over. Yep, I ended up smitten with yet another small/medium sized European city.

Initially I wasn't really swept away by the main sights. The cathedral was large and grand, but nothing really exceptional for me (though maybe I am just getting a little too blasé about these as I have visited so many). The remains of the roman walls were rather underwhelming and then I was shooed away from sheltering under an awning whilst trying to eat some sausages and order a beer at the famous Wurstkuschl, I was feeling damp and discouraged.

Things picked up in the excellent world heritage museum next to the bridge, which like many other such museums did a great job of explaining the Outstanding Universal Value of the site as well as the history and personalities associated with it. As the rain abated I went for a stroll to Stadtamhof on the other side of the river the crossing was very reminiscent of the Charles Bridge in Prague, just missing the statues and the looming castle. Stadtamhof was pleasant with a few nice cafes and a different feel to the rest of the city. Things really improved for me as I called into one of the city's …

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First published: 17/07/13.

Clyde

Regensburg

Regensburg (Inscribed)

Regensburg by Clyde

I visited Regensburg in June 2013, just after the terrible Danube floods in Passau. The water level was still high when I visited the river bank opposite the cathedral was completely flooded as were the nearby gardens. Some of the houses and restaurants still had sacks of silt in front of their doors! Luckily there were no major damages in Regensburg. I really enjoyed the view from the stone bridge and found a quiet spot in the shade just opposite the cathedral were I could enjoy the view. Most of the buildings are restored and are beautifully painted in different colours. It reminded me a bit of Prague or Budapest in a way but much smaller and quieter.

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First published: 28/05/10.

Els Slots

Regensburg

Regensburg (Inscribed)

Regensburg by Els Slots

Regensburg's nomination dossier seems to document every single structure in town. This will make great historical material in a few hundred years! ICOMOS however was not amused and complained that it's not about the number of sites but about the themes they represent.

I made good use of the lists of structures from all ages and plotted the most interesting sounding ones on a map of Regensburg. I visited the town on a day trip from Bamberg. A good place to start is the historical museum, which holds a large exhibition on the local Roman history. It shows how the Roman military camp developed into a town. All are very well displayed, although signs are in German only. The entrance fee is 2,20 EUR.

I then checked out two of the most prominent tower-houses, something that I never expected to see here. Most of the buildings here look very new, they have been restored extensively in the 1990s. They all have signs telling their historical value. Some sites I couldn't link to the description in the nomination file however, for example I noticed no wood at all at "the oldest completely preserved wooden building in Germany" (Keplerstrasse 12).

Back on my way to the train station I had a quick look at the Monastery of St. Emmeram. It still has very old frescoes on its facade. In all, I spent about 3.5 hours in town and I had to rush at the end to catch my train.

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First published: 08/05/09.

Assif

Regensburg

Regensburg (Inscribed)

Regensburg by Els Slots

I went to Regensburg and nearby Nuremberg at the same day. I must confess my impression that the latter completely overshadowed the former. Both are mediaeval cities but while Nuremberg was erased during WWII and completely reconstructed afterwards Regensburg still preserves its original buildings. Is this a reason enough for its inscription? Dresden is a good counter-example.

Well regardless of Nuremberg, I can say that Regensburg is a relatively dull town unlike many other colourful mediaeval towns in Germany (or even in Bavaria). Still there are two highlights: the stained glass at the local cathedral and the interior of the town hall, which I would really recommend visiting. It features the largest undomed hall for its time without supporting columns, which was a major engineering achievement.

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First published: 14/12/08.

Klaus Freisinger

Regensburg

Regensburg (Inscribed)

Regensburg by Els Slots

I agree with the other reviewers here - Regensburg is really a beautiful town with a fascinating history. The old town is very compact and wonderfully preserved, luckily having escaped any destruction during WW II. In the Middle Ages, many Imperial Diets (Reichstage) were held there, largely because of its strategic position on the Danube. From the end of the Thirty Years' War until the end of the Empire in 1806, the Permanent Imperial Diet had its seat in Regensburg's Town Hall. Now there is a really interesting museum there, with many original rooms.

There are also several beautiful religious buildings, especially the Cathedral of St. Peter and the Monastery of St. Emmeram, as well as the historic Stone Bridge leading across the Danube to the district of Stadtamhof, which used to be an independent city. The famous aristocratic family of Thurn and Taxis, which introduced the first postal service in Central Europe, also has its palace in Regensburg, and there are interesting guided tours. The only problem there, for people visiting Regensburg in December, is that you actually have to pay an entrance fee for the Christmas Market in the palace courtyard...

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First published: 30/06/08.

Anonymous

Regensburg

Regensburg (Inscribed)

Regensburg by Els Slots

We lived in Regensburg, in Stadtamhof on the main street, for 4 years. It was an amazing town full of charm and character. Parts of the old Roman wall still exist and the Steinere Brucke is over 800 years old. You can take tours of the city...highly recommended. Christmas is a wonderful time to visit as there is a Christkindlmarkt in many of the squares.

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