Regensburg Tourist Attractions

The best view of Regensburg is to be had from the 310m/340yd long Stone Bridge (Steinerne Brücke; 12th C.) over the Danube, a masterpiece of medieval engineering.

Near the Stone Bridge in Regensburg lies the Domplatz (Cathedral Square), the hub of the city's life. The Cathedral (Dom) of St Peter (13th-16th C.), with its two tall spires (105m/345ft high) and magnificent west front (1395-1440), is the finest Gothic church in Bavaria. The interior is of great beauty and spatial effect; its most notable features are the superb stained glass (mostly 14th C., restored in the 19th C.) and the figures of the Annunciation (c. 1280-90) on the two western piers of the crossing.Adjoining the beautiful cloister (14th-16th C.) is the Romanesque All Saints Chapel (wall paintings). On the north side of the cloister is St Stephen's Chapel, which may date from Carolingian times.The Cathedral is famed for its boys' choir, the "Domspatzen" ("Cathedral sparrows").The Cathedral Treasury, displayed in the old Bishop's Palace, includes goldsmith's work and fine textiles of the 11th to the 20th century. On the north side of the Bischofshof are the arched gateway and east tower of the Porta Praetoria, the north gate of the Roman legionary camp, Castra Regina (second C.).

On the south side of the Domgarten in Regensburg is the Early Gothic church of St Ulrich (c. 1025), with the Diocesan Museum (sacred art from the 11th C. onwards).

Adjoining the Bishop's Palace in Regensburg is the Niedermünster (12th and 17th-18th C.), with the tomb of St Erhard and 12th and 16th C. frescoes. Under the church are the excavated remains of Roman, Merovingian, Carolingian and Ottonian buildings (conducted visit).

To the north of the Niedermünster in Regensburg, the Danube is spanned by the Iron Bridge (Eiserne Brücke), near which is moored the museum ship "Ruthof/Ersekcsanad," an old paddle-steamer with an exhibition of material on the history of shipping in Bavaria.

In the Alter Kornmarkt (Old Cornmarket) in Regensburg, to the south of the Niedermünster, are: the so-called Roman Tower (actually a relic of a Carolingian imperial stronghold); and the Herzogshof, a residence of the Dukes of Bavaria which is mentioned in the records as early as 988. On the south side of the square stands the Old Chapel (Alte Kapelle; originally built 1002; choir 1441-52), with a sumptuous Roccoco interior. On the east side of the square is the Baroque Carmelite Church (1641-60; facade 1673).

In Dachauplatz (56m/60yd long stretch of Roman walls) in Regensburg is the Municipal Museum, housed in a former Minorite friary (prehistory, Roman times, history of the town, art of the 14th-19th centuries, folk art).

Southwest of the Stone Bridge in Regensburg lies the old merchants' quarter, in which are a number of old tower-houses. The picturesque Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus) dates from the 14th-18th centuries (historical apartments, medieval courtroom, collection of art and antiquities). The Imperial Hall (Reichssaal) was the meeting-place of the "Perpetual Imperial Diet," the first German parliament (1663-1806). The Baroque eastern wing, linked with the older part of the building by the tower, was added in 1661.

At Keplerstrasse 5 in Regensburg, is the house in which the astronomer Johannes Kepler died in 1630. It is now a museum (contemporary furniture, original instruments, working models, documents).

In Haidplatz in Regensburg can be seen the 15th C. New Weigh-House (Neue Waage), the scene of a famous disputation in 1541 between Melanchthon and Johann Eck.

At the west end of the old town of Regensburg, in Jakobstrasse, is the Schottenkirche, built about 1150-80 by Irish ("Scottish") monks. The north doorway has enigmatic sculpture showing northern influence.

Southeast of Bismarckplatz in Regensburg is the Early Gothic Dominican Church (13th C.), in the ascetic style of the mendicant orders, with a finely proportioned interior.

On the south side of the old town of Regensburg lies Emmeramsplatz, with the Regierungsgebäude (government offices) and the Benedictine monastery of St Emmeram, one of the oldest in Germany, founded in the seventh century on the site of a Late Roman building (secularized 1803). It has a Romanesque porch (c. 1170), on the left of which is the entrance to St Rupert's Church (remodeled in Baroque style). Straight ahead is the doorway (with three 11th C. limestone reliefs) of St Emmeram's Church (eighth-12th C.). The church has a sumptuous Baroque interior by the Asam brothers (1731-33) and contains a number of magnificent tombs of the 12th-15th centuries (Hemma, wife of King Ludwig the German; Duke Henry the Quarrelsome; Duke Arnulf; St Emmeram). Under the church are three crypts (St Emmeram's, eighth-ninth C.; St Ramwold's, 10th C.; St Wolfgang's, 1052).

The old conventual buildings in Regensburg became in 1812 the residence of the Princes Thurn und Taxis, German Postmasters-General until 1866. Parts of the palace, which was altered and enlarged in the 19th C., are open to the public, including the museum in the old court stables, the Marstall.

To the west of Regensburg, on the banks of the Danube, extends the Herzogspark, with the Herzogspalais (Ducal Palace), now occupied by the Natural History Museum of Eastern Bavaria (petrography, mineralogy, paleontology, zoology, botany).To the south, in the Stadtpark, is the East German Gallery.

Days of Old Music is an annual three-day festival that takes place in early June. Events include chamber concerts and recitals by international performers, including orchestras from Europe and North America. The performances focus on early baroque and Renaissance music and take place in venues including the Minorettenkirche, City Hall, the Dominican Church and Duke's Hall.

The culture of the former East Germany is portrayed in the 2000 painting, plastic and graphic arts on display at the Art Forum East German Gallery.

Thurn and Taxis Castle in Regensburg is made up of ancient abbey buildings. A unique feature is its well-preserved gothic cloister.