Augsburg Things to Do

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The building of the Town hall - Rathaus and Perlahturm - Tower were constructed in 1615-20 under the project of the most expensive city architect Elias Hall in style Renaissance. Lantern domes, so-called "Romance helmets" or "Augsburg's bulbs" are well known.

It is the most important secular Renaissance structure north of the Alps. It expresses the self-assurance of the Free Imperial City of Augsburg.

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An area of social housing for the old and needy residents of Augsburg. Jakob Fugger it's founder thought of it as his passport to a better afterlife, wonder if he was right?
Anyway it's an interesting place to visit, one house is open to visit as a museum and shows a typical residence from times gone by.
Well worth the 2 Euro entrance fee.

The Fugger Houses in the centre of Augsburg once were the family's trade empire headquarters. From here, they dominated the European trade. Today, the buildings are an exclusive address and house an expensive restaurant, some companies and the Fugger Private Bank. You can walk across the yards in the middle of the buildings, but I'm not sure if there's a guided tour through the buildings themselves.

The Perlachturm, located just next to Augsburg's town hall, probably provides the best view over the city. 261 narrow steps lead you up to the top from where you can enjoy a 360° view over the rooftops and houses.
The entrance fee of 0,50 Euro has to be paid on top.

The Fuggerei is Augsburg's most famous sight. During the Renaissance, the incredibly wealthy Fugger family dominated the trade in Europe. Their trade empire included many different goods and left traces all over the continent (and even further). In 1521, Jakob Fugger founded the world's first social housing project. For a more or less symbolic rent of 0,88 Euro per year (in today's currency), poor Augsburg citizens could live in the houses. The rent also included several prayers per day for the donator. Interestingly, the rent has stayed the same until today! Compared with rents as much as 500 Euro per month (!), this is incredibly cheap. So even today, the Fugger's social heritage leaves its traces in Augsburg.
What is there to see? The Fuggerei houses are built in several courtyards with a nice and quiet atmosphere. Most of the buildings are overgrown with wine ranks. One of them houses a museum which gives an interesting overview about the history of the Fugger empire. The museum also displays a typical Fuggerei room of ancient times. Furthermore, there are many plaques on the buildings themselves which inform about the history of the Fuggerei. A nice cafe invites you to stop for a drink or some food.
The entrance fee is 2 Euro.
Btw, for German male visitors of younger age: It is possible to do your Zivildienst in the Fuggerei.

The aforementioned Fuggers, a wealthy family of local merchants, established what is said to be the world's oldest example of social housing in 1521.

The Fuggerei is a self-contained walled district of about 70 houses. Its 150 residents continue to pay the traditional rent of three daily prayers to the Fuggers plus an annual peppercorn payment of one guilder (calculated today at 88 euro cents). However, the three gates to the settlement close each evening and residents who miss the lock-out are required to cough up.

It's a pleasant area for a stroll amongst the amber-coloured buildings covered in ivy. House number 14 is home to the Fugger history museum, complete with an apartment showing 400-year-old original furnishings.

The website has opening hours and admission charges for visitors. The museum has just been remodeled so maybe they are being more strict about collecting an entrance fee, but on our visit the gatehouse was empty and we entered without paying.

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The oldest of Augsburg's great churches, the Dom probably has Roman foundations judging by the excavations nearby.

The facade is an interesting melange of Romanesque brick and masonry topped by copper-covered towers adjoining a Gothic chancel.

The remarkable bronze doors feature beasts holding the knockers in their jaws. Once inside, we were disappointed by the lack of access. Most of the extravagant side chapels were off limits (albeit fenced off by finely detailed wrought iron), as was the choir. The altar is a brutal, confrontational lump of badly-judged modern sculpture from the 1960s.

The most interesting feature for me was the enormous fresco of St Christopher with Christ on his shoulders (see photo). It was gargantaun, taking up the full height of one wall. The colours were bright and the lines crisp and if it weren't for the date of 1491 you'd assume it was some recent experiment in contemporary church decoration. Meanwhile the candlelit crypt, the oldest part of the building, plays host to 1000-year-old icon of the Virgin Mary.

A series of windows along one aisle depicting Biblical prophets is said to be the world's oldest representations of people in stained glass.

Outside, as I've mentioned, are some Roman foundations plus a display of statuary, grave markers and other ancient sculpture.

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The organ of this church is very decorated and, like the one in Sankt-Anna-Kirche, it has two painted panels that can be closed.
Before going out of Sankt Ulrich und Afra and passing to the following tips, have a look at the other photos of this tip that show other parts of the church.