Augsburg Things to Do

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Bertolt-Brecht-Haus is the little house in a little street of Augsburg where the most famous Augsburger, playwright Bert(olt) Brecht, was born on 10th February 1898. The house is today a museum including photos and documents by and about Brecht. It's worth visiting if you want to discover more about this great writer.
The ticket costs 2 euro (1 euro for students). Opening times: Tuesday-Sunday from 10.00 to 17.00. You are allowed to photograph without flash.
These pictures show the house, Brecht's family tree and some artistic representation of him.

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All parts of the church are wonderfully decorated, like these photos show. The other pic portrays a tomb, but I don't remember who is buried there. So, are you ready for the wonder I had promised you! Close your eyes and go to the next tip.

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This is an altar with a painting portraying Mary, Christ and saints. I have photographied it in two parts because it was too big. Close to the altar stands a reliquary: I don't know if it contains a relic of Saint Afra's or someone else's.
Here is also the pic of another altar. If you agree with me that they are beautiful, you must go on reading the following tips, because they will contain something much more beautiful.

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The former gothic St-Magdalena-Kirche (known as Dominikanerkirche), built in 1513-15 and re-arranged in the baroque style in 1716-24 hosts today the Römisches Museum. You can also see the inside of the building here. I think it was very beautiful as a church.

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Saint Afra was martyrized in 304 and the church of Sankt Ulrich und Afra was built by bishop Ulrich around her tomb, the only authentic tomb of a martyr to the North of the Alps.
The original sanctuary was built in 973, then it was rebuilt from 1475 to 1603. The tower dates back to 1594. 1710 marked the beginning of the baroque transformation.
Perpendicular to this church was erected the evangelical Sankt-Ulrich-Kirche (I still wonder if it's the same Ulrich as in the other church, but I don't think so). I couldn't visit it because it was being restored.

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Let's go upstairs now to visit the rooms where our friend Martin Luther stayed while in Augsburg.
These photos show the entry to the "Confessio Zimmer", the room where the Confessio augustana was written in 1530, and the book itself.

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Here is the study of Martin Luther with all the books he wrote and translated.
He was the first translator of the Bible into German, therefore he is considered as the creator of modern German.
He translated the Bible because, according to his new doctrine, believers had to be able to read the Holy Scriptures and to talk to God without a priest as go-between (the so-called universal priesthood). He used an easy language, that could be understood even by the lowest classes, so he contributed a lot to the enlargement of the German vocabulary.
The second photo shows the facsimile of the 95 thesis that Luther posted up on the portal of the Wittemberg cathedral. By doing so, he marked the start of the Protestant reform (better said "Protestant revolution"), and put an end to the unity of Western Christians, after the split between the Eastern and the Western Christian church in 1504 divided Christians into Orthodox and Roman Catholic.

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You can see inside Sankt-Anna a very ancient part, which is maybe more beautiful than the rest of the church. Actually, at the entry of this little church stands a panel with the inscription "Hold your breath".
This photo shows you only the little profile of the church, but hold your breath and click on "1 more photos", where a wonderful picture is waiting for you! Isn't that fresco incredibly well kept?