EURORING HOTEL TRAUBE

Donauwörth

by Gili_S

Donauwörth is medium small size town. I visited here because my local friend recommended it to me. Upon arriving I was looking as usual the local tourist information office and all what I found was this info point outside the railway station. I wonder if I was the only tourist today here in the city :-)

Donauwörth

Small wooden bridge

by Gili_S

We walk all the way from the railway station to the old city, was about 10 or 15 minutes with Netta’s speed. But it was nice to see all around in the city, the modern side and the old city. On the way we walked narrow streets and wooden bridge.

Colourful Town on the Romantic Road

by Kathrin_E

Donauwörth is on the Romantic Road, the probably most visited tourist route in Germany. However, it is one of the many places along the route that most visitors don't take into consideration for a stop because they have never heard of it. It is not as spectacular as Rothenburg or Nördlingen, admittedly, but if you have time it is worth a few hours.

I was not touring the Romantic Road, though. I was on the way back home from Ingolstadt and decided to hop off the train and see another new place on the way. Donauwörth is about halfway along the regional train route between Ingolstadt and Ulm.

The town is located where the small river Wörnitz meets the Danube. The big river provided work for the citizens - fishing and trade. The river by the town is not the Danube but the Wörnitz, though.

The town can well be visited in a couple of hours and walks are short, hence a perfect stopover destination, except for one practical problem: There are no lockers at the train station. Many thanks to the nice lady at the tourist information for storing my suitcase!

Unfortunately Donauwörth shared the fate of most cities and many towns in this country: heavy damage in World War II. However, if you don't know you won't notice. The old town has been rebuilt well and the result is indeed pretty.

What impressed me most? The colours. The houses are each painted in a different colour. All shades of pastels are there but also stronger colours. The general appearance is lively and colourful even on a grey autumn day like this. I can only imagine what it may look like on a sunny day.

Donauwörth

by Bregman

North of Augsburg, on the Romantic Road you will find the little town of Donauwörth. The town, sitting on the banks of the Danube river is one of the most charming ones in the area and certainly deserves a stop if you're doing your way from Augsburg northward.

Buildings in Reichsstraße

by Kathrin_E

The main street of the town, rather a wide street market that substitutes a central square, extends between the town hall at the lower end and the parish church and Fugger House at the top end. It is lined by the gables of the (rebuilt) houses of the wealthy citizens of past centuries. Seevral of those building deserve an extra look and an extra mentioning. Since I did not want to write a separate tip on each of them, I am assembling them here.

The Fuggerhaus (top photo) belonged to the mighty Fugger clan, bankers and merchants in Augsburg and the richest family in the whole Holy Roman Empire, if not Europe. They acquired the position as representants of the Empire in the imperial city of Donauwörth in 1536 and built their seat at the top end of the market street. Nowadays the building hosts the administration of the district (Landkreis).

The fountain opposite the parish church is a more recent addition. It was created for the millennium of the town in 1977. The eagle has been the town's crest since the 12th century and refers to its status as free imperial city.

The parish church has a separate tip, hence (thanks PJ for teaching me the use of this word) I am not going into details here.

Opposite the church's choir we find the big inn named "Goldener Hirsch" , the Golden Stag, one of several inns in the main street and probably the one with the most beautiful sign.

The Tanzhaus served as trade and festival hall. It was built around 1400. Every Sunday there was dancing for the citizens of the town, organized by the magistrate.

The original building was destroyed to the foundations in the air raid of April 1945 that did so much damage to the town. It was rebuilt in the 1970s. The facades were reconstructed according to the original but the interior is a modern, functional building. It contains the theatre, a restaurant, some shops, and the archeological museum.

The yellow building on the right next to Tanzhaus is the Stadtkommandantur , the seat of the military commander of the town. The baroque facade covers a much older building.

This is about the only building in the whole Reichststraße that does not turn its gable towards the street but its long side.

Timberframe architecture is rare in Donauwörth but there is a fine example opposite the town hall, the Baudrexlhaus. The weathervane shows the date 1592.

The ground floor hosts a little crafts shop with pretty old fronts and shop win dows, probably from the late 19th or early 20th century.

The Alte Kanzlei , the old chancellery, i.e. administration of the town, is not located in Reichsstraße but just round the corner in Rathausgasse.