October 2005
Golden Oldie
Explore Germany's medieval miracle--Regensburg
Atrip to the Bavarian town of Regensburg, known as Germany’s “medieval miracle,” takes you straight back to the Middle Ages. Set on the Danube, the town is full of picturesque squares, cobbled streets, coffee shops and bars—but is yet to be tainted by mass tourism. Just a 90-minute train ride from Munich, Regensburg is ideal for a day or weekend excursion. I arrive on a Saturday morning and head straight to the town’s crowning glory, St. Peter’s. The 13th-century cathedral is reputedly Bavaria’s most important Gothic monument—it is certainly one of the state’s most striking cathedrals. Kings on horseback and gargoyles with animal and human faces feature on the outside of the imposing building. Inside the cathedral are nearly 100 images of St. Peter, its patron saint. An “ecclesia sancti Petri” was documented as early as ca. 800 AD here, and the coat-of-arms of the cathedral shows the Apostle in a boat. I gaze up at the cathedral vaulting, which soars 32 meters above the nave. Apparently, the idea was to form a “religious canopy”—a haven for those entering the cathedral. Equally striking are the cathedral’s medieval stained-glass windows and its twin spires, which tower over Regensburg. From this vantage point, I admire the city’s skyline—a sea of spires, towers and red-tiled roofs.
Intrigued by my glimpse of the town, I decide to find out more about it. A tour of the Old Town runs each hour from outside the cathedral, so I quickly buy a ticket and dive onto the departing tram. The tram tour is an ideal way to escape from the rain and learn about the town’s past. It soon becomes apparent that there is a sense of history everywhere you turn in Regensburg. You find relics of Stone Age and Celtic times in the museums, Roman masonry by the roadside and early Carolingian remains just below street level. The city’s splendid buildings in all styles, from Romanesque to Neoclassical, bear witness to its 2,000-year past. I learn on the tour that Regensburg owes its existence to a Roman emperor. Marcus Aurelius completed a fortified base for his legions beside the Danube, opposite the mouth of the Regen. This then grew into Regensburg. One of the town’s most famous wonders is its ancient Stone Bridge, now nearly 900 years old. It is a masterpiece of medieval engineering.
Coming into the town center from the river, you can see Germany’s most ancient stone building, the Porta Praetoria, a gateway dating from 179 AD. Giant blocks of stone were used to construct this gate in the northern wall of the Roman military camp. It survives as a reminder of Castra Regina, the Roman fortress and town. The memorial tablet to Sarmannina, a Roman matron, is almost inconspicuous in comparison, but it is far from insignificant—it is said to be the earliest record of Christianity north of the Alps. The tour tells me and my fellow passengers how Regensburg had grown fabulously wealthy by the 14th century, and the burghers built themselves magnificent towered palaces, inspired by those of Italian towns such as Lucca and San Gimignano, with which they traded in silk and spices. Once there were 50 “dynasty towers,” medieval skyscrapers constructed by the nouveau-riche merchants. Twenty survive, up to ten stories high, looming precariously above the narrow streets or squatting like inverted plant pots over the narrow squares, their allegorical friezes long since covered up. The courtyards were built with Italianate loggias, tiered galleries and monumental external staircases.
With the Wars of Religion of the early 15th century, the bottom fell out of the luxury-goods market, and by 1420, Regensburg was bankrupt. The burghers blighted their commercial prospects with their Catholic neighbors by turning Protestant in the 16th century, though the town’s prospects looked up in the 17th century, when it became the seat of the “Perpetual Diet,” the ruling body of the Holy Roman Empire. You can see the rooms where emperors, elector, dukes and prince-bishops met in the strangely homely setting of the Old Town Hall. The Prince of Thurn and Taxis, the Empire’s hereditary postmaster-general, was the Emperor’s permanent representative at the Diet, which was later to become Germany’s first parliament.
Apparently, there are 1,400 listed buildings in the center of Regensburg. One of the most frequently visited by tourists is a house in which Oskar Schindler once lived, marked now by a blue plaque. Yet, though the town is steeped in history, it would be wrong to think of the place as a living museum. The city is also an important industrial center. All the three-series BMW cars roll off the assembly line in Regensburg and the microchip in your mobile phone probably comes from Infineon’s Regensburg factory. As if that were not enough, more than 20,000 students attend the city’s three higher-education institutions, namely the University, the University of Applied Sciences and the College of Church Music, so it boasts a lively student atmosphere. The student population may be the reason why Regensburg has so many bars: there are some 350 hostelries in the Old Town, one for roughly every day of the year. The best bars—Kaminsky and Hemmingway’s—lurk in the maze of alleys between Haidplatz and Neupfarrplatz. Regensburg is also home to a host of cafés and restaurants. If you’re hungry, make a point of visiting the Bischofshof restaurant, which lies in the shadow of the cathedral. Sitting outside the restaurant in the cobbled courtyard, as waitresses in traditional costume glide by, is the perfect way to unwind after a hard morning of sightseeing. The Kartoffelsuppe (potato soup) is delicious. Sausage lovers should head to the Historische Wurstküche (Old Sausage Kitchen), which is situated by the Stone Bridge—it is easy to find, just let your nose follow the smell of sizzling sausages. This establishment, which claims to be the oldest restaurant in Germany, was used by the laborers who built the bridge—ample testament to the invigorating powers of the Bavarian sausage. Nowadays locals and tourists sit at the open-air riverside tables, tucking into plates of sausage and sauerkraut, washed down with ice-cold Pilsner beer. If you’re looking for a good place for afternoon coffee and cake, be sure to check out the 1686 Café Prinzess—Germany’s oldest coffee shop—a veritable gateau-lover’s paradise.
After consuming all that beer, bratwurst and cake, it may be a good idea to rent a bicycle at the train station to burn off some calories. Cycle paths head east and west along the Danube. There is pretty scenery and plenty of signs point out the nearest beer gardens. In fact, bicycles are perfect in Regensburg. The town is so compact that cars are unnecessary. It is also one of the few places where the pedestrian is king or queen, although the medieval labyrinth of streets takes time to master.
On Sundays, there are one-hour cruises around the city or slightly longer ones along the river to Walhalla, a grand monument modeled on the Parthenon, which houses statues of German heroes. The Hall of Liberation temple near Kelheim, meanwhile, towers above the world famous Danube valley at Weltenburg.
And don’t forget the shops. Regensburg is full of irresistable shops, selling hats, artifacts and paintings.
Indeed, Regensburg is so charming that you may be tempted to stay the night. If so, then head to the Hotel Orphée. There are three of these hotels, which were built by students during the 1968 student revolution. The Grand Hotel Orphée is to be found in a Baroque townhouse between the cathedral and Old Town Hall. The 24 rooms house elaborately carved Baroque doors plus ornately stuccoed ceilings. Each room has a face of its own and almost all of them are furnished with antiques and four-poster beds. The newly installed rooms in the attic offer good views over the roofs of Regensburg. The Petit Hotel Orphée has 15 rooms, which are equally as quaint and unique as those at the Grand Hotel. The Petit Hotel is in a house that was owned for many generations by the Regensburg merchants of the Schindlmeier family. The Country Manor Orphée, meanwhile, has 10 rooms set in a 16th-century former salt warehouse near the Danube, making a total of 49 rooms offered by the three Orphée hotels. Room prices range from € 90 to € 200—far lower than you’d expect for the luxury on offer. Just one more excuse, in fact, to spend even longer exploring this enchanting town.
