Peace in Augsburg

Though most of the month of May was cold and rainy, we did have one or two nice days. One Monday was so nice that I had to get out and go somewhere. I didn't have a lot of time, however, so I decided to take the 45 minute train ride to Germany's second oldest city, Augsburg.

It was a beautiful spring day...

I wandered into the old town and made my way to the tourist info point, passing some lovely sights along the way....

From the TI I got a free map of the city and then I planned my day.

My first stop was a döner (a Turkish Gyro) for lunch, and then I went to the Fuggerei.

Before Munich was much more than a bridge over the Isar, Augsburg was a booming medieval metropolis on one of the most important trade routes from Italy to the rest of northern Europe. Much wealth came into the city and one of the most important families to arise was the Fugger family in the 15th century.

The Fuggers followed the Italian Medicis to become the #1 bankers of Europe, giving credit to many of royal heads of state. Jakob Fugger, who died in 1525, is still considered one of the richest men of all time.

In 1514 Jakob Fugger bought up a large chunk of land in Augsburg and turned it into what is now the world's oldest social housing complex. Jakob and his successors maintained the housing complex, known as the Fuggerei, and charged the needy occupants one gilder per year (€0.88) and continues its service to the poor to this day.

Each apartment is small, but homey and adequate for the needs of the residents...

One of the apartments serves as a museum to show what the apartments looked like three hundred years ago...

Before baby-monitors were invented it was convenient to keep the sleeping baby in the room adjacent the kitchen where the mother could peep through the small window in the wall to make sure the baby was OK...

They also had an apartment to show how the modern Fuggerei residents live...

You can't beat €0.88 for a place like that.

Though Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, his family actually came from Augsburg. His grandfather lived for a time in the Fuggerei and a small plaque above his former apartment commemorates this...

The Fuggerei was badly damaged in World War II and a small bunker has been turned into a museum to show the damage and some of the horrors of World War II in Augsburg...

It's hard to tell from the picture, but the gas mask below is child-sized...

Downtown Augsburg ca. 1940...

Downtown Augsburg ca. 1945...

The Fuggerei is a wonderful example of the good rich people can accomplish with their money. It also goes to show how private individuals can make huge improvements to their communities all on their own accord and without the intrusion of the government.

My last stop was the nice little chapel with a nice tapestry...

I left the Fuggerei and headed towards the limits of the old town where ancient towers, gates, and walls mark the boundaries of medieval Augsburg. There is also a small stream and the whole city wall area is now one big park...

I found a heron on the hunt in the stream...

There he goes!

Caught one!

As I followed the park along I came to a rather long slippery slide...

So I had a go...

After so much rain and cold weather, it was nice to be in a perfect state of spring in this beautiful city...

There was even a fancy French garden...

I eventually came around to the other side of the old town and followed the steeples to the city center...

Downtown Augsburg...

Because of Augsburg importance in former times, the Holy Roman Emperor held a series of special congresses, or "diets" here from the late middle ages to the 1600's. One of the most important of these diets took place in 1555 when the "Peace of Augsburg" was issued. This treaty eased the tensions of the Protestant Reformation in Germany by allowing each German prince to choose either Lutheranism or Catholicism for domain which he controlled, and those citizens who were dissatisfied with the prince's choice could move away freely.

Out of another one of these diets came the Confession of Augsburg, which is basically the Lutheran version of the Articles of Faith.

In the late afternoon the street-side cafes started to get a bit more crowded...

I went to the main square where the city hall (right) stood next to the large Perlacher Tower.

I was hot and tired and so I found a busy cafe on the main square and bought a cold chocolate milkshake. It tasted so good as I sat in the shade and enjoyed the view of the square and the people watching.

After my re-energizing milkshake, I walked up the street a bit to the old cathedral and had a look inside...

Not far from the cathedral is the birthplace of W.A. Mozart's dad, Leopold...

From there I headed back to the main square again...

Passing a WWII military memorial along the way...

I climbed to the top of the Perlacher Tower and had a look around at all the places I had been that day....

View over the town hall to the main drag of the city...

The square below...

One of the old city towers on the edge of the old town...

The Fuggerei...

People on the main square below...

But soon it was time to start heading back to the train station. I said goodbye to the main square...

Passed Jakob Fugger...

I got back to the train and was on my way back to Munich. One of the stops along the way was this town...

I wanted to get out and enjoy the town a bit, but time was short and my lips were chapped anyway.


So I arrived back in Munich and had only enough time to run home and grab a few things before going to the church for Family Home Evening. I taught everyone how to play the candy-bar game...

I came out good with the Wunderbar and a Ritter Sport Cornflakes bar...

Yeah, it was a fun spring day in a historical old city not far from Munich.

Very peaceful.

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