Rathaus First stop was the Rathausplatz for the historical Rathaus.	Perlachturm Also on the Rathausplatz is the Perlachturm (Perlach Tower), which doesn't open until 1 May.	Rathaus Rest Right in the middle of the Rathausplatz, one of our students could no longer restrain that SCSU spirit.
Brunnen Augustus One of the three prominent fountains in town.	Brunnen Hercules Another of the three prominent fountains in town.	Brunnen Mercurius Yet one more of the three prominent fountains in town.
Fugerei This is where subsidized housing started.	Dom The most prominent of the churches in town.

A Brief History of Augsburg

Augsburg is the second oldest city in Germany after Trier, and the oldest in Bavaria. The city celebrated their 2000-year jubilee in 1985 and awarded the first Peace of Augsburg Prize for interdenominational understanding.

With a population of 275.912 (May 2004), it is the third largest city in Bavaria. Augsburg was established in 15 B.C. as the military camp Augusta Vindelicum under the reign of Roman Emperor Augustus. The Romans invested enough money into the area by the River Lech to make it a powerful military camp. It remained under roman control until 30 A.D. when they were driven out by the Alamanni Germanic tribe.

It is near the site of the 955 Battle of the LechFeld. Future emperor (Kaiser) Otto the Great and Bishop Ulrich led their forces of 10.000 to a victory over the 50.000 strong Maygars (Hungarians). This victory of German forces was considered critical and stopping the Maygars incursion into central Europe.

Augsburg got the first town charter in 1156 from Kaiser Friedrich Barbarossa, the oldest written copy is from 1256. It became an imperial free city on 9 March 1276, which was responsible only to the emperor and not a part of a territory.

In 1420, the Black Plague Claimed 16.000 victims in the town

The Fuggerei was founded in 1514. This time was a high point of the financial and mercantile power of the Fuggers, Welsers and other Augsburg dynasties. This is the world’s oldest social settlement, which was named after the successful businessman Jakob Fugger. The Fuggeri still houses 200 impoverished Catholic tenants who pay a symbolic rate of one Euro annually to live in the estate. 

The Rathaus was completed in1620 along with the Perlachturm by the city´s architect Elias Holl. This was also the time of conflict between the Catholics and followers of Martin Luther. In 1655 the Peace of Augsburg was signed, which allowed local rules to determine which religion would be observed. The Peace of Augsburg is still celebrated every year on 8 August.

When the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1805, the city lost its independence and became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria.

Last update 19 April 2005