Regensburg

From the Roman period to the present, Regensburg has been an important place. Starting as a legionary fortress, parts of which can be seen today, the city was a base for Bavarian dukes and became a trading city with a stone bridge across the Danube.

As well as the great Gothic cathedral Dom St Peter, there were Romanesque churches such as St Emmeram, St Ulrich, Alte Kapelle, the Niedermünsterkirche and the mysterious-looking Schottenkirche St Jakob.

Even among the town houses there are towers reaching up to 40 metres. Examples such as the Goldener Turm, the Baumburgerhaus, the Kastenmeyer Haus and the Löblturm are little changed from their 13th century appearance.

Regensburg's 14th century Gothic Altes Rathaus was for about 150 years the venue for the Reichstag, the assembly of the princes and cities of the Holy Roman empire. The upper hall where the representatives gathered with their ruler can be toured today. Because of the excellent state of preservation of the old town, it is a world heritage-listed site.