Augsburg

Augsburg is a historic city in the Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, located about 50 kilometres west of the capital city, Munich. It is the third-largest city in Bavaria, with around 304,000 people living there and many more in the surrounding area.

The city was founded by the Romans in 15 BC and was named after the Roman emperor Augustus. For centuries, Augsburg was an important place in Europe, especially because of rich families like the Fugger and Welser who helped shape banking and trade. The city played a big role in important events like the Reformation, when leaders met there to discuss new ideas about faith.

Today, Augsburg is known for its beautiful old buildings and history. In 2019, a special system of canals and water towers from long ago was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, showing how clever people were in managing water many years ago.

Geography

Augsburg is located where the Alpine rivers Lech and Wertach meet, also sitting on the Singold river. The oldest part of the city and its southern areas lie on a high terrace between the hills of Friedberg to the east and the high hills to the west. To the south stretches the Lechfeld, an outwash plain from after the ice age, where some rare, natural landscapes remain. The city's forests and the Lech valley heaths are among the richest habitats in middle Europe for many plants and animals.

Augsburg borders the large nature park called Augsburg Western Woods, and the city itself has many green spaces. Because of this, in 1997, Augsburg became the first German city to win the Europe-wide contest Entente Florale for being one of Europe’s greenest and most pleasant cities to live in.

The suburbs around Augsburg include Friedberg, Königsbrunn, Stadtbergen, Neusäß, Gersthofen, and Diedorf. Nearby towns and municipalities are Rehling, Affing, Kissing, Mering, Merching, Bobingen, and Gessertshausen.

History

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Augsburg.

Early history

The city of Augsburg was founded in 15 BC on the orders of Emperor Augustus. The Roman colony that became Augsburg was known as Augusta Vindelicorum. The settlement was established where the Alpine rivers Lech and Wertach meet. In 120 AD Augsburg became an important city in the Roman province of Raetia. Over the centuries, Augsburg faced attacks from different groups.

Augsburg Confession

In 1276, Augsburg became a free city, meaning it could govern itself. It became a major trading center because of its location on important trade routes. The city was known for its cloth and textiles and was home to wealthy banking families. In 1530, an important document called the Augsburg Confession was presented there.

Leading European centre of capitalism of the sixteenth century

During the 15th and 16th centuries, Augsburg grew very wealthy. Families like the Fuggers and Welsers became very powerful in banking and trade. The city was also known for making textiles, armor, scientific instruments, and metalwork. Printers in Augsburg produced many books in German.

Thirty Years' War

Even though tensions grew, Augsburg managed to keep peace until the Thirty Years' War began in 1618. The war brought hardship to the city. When Swedish troops occupied Augsburg, a long siege followed. Many people suffered from hunger and disease, and the city's population dropped dramatically.

End of Free Imperial City status

In 1803, many free cities in Germany lost their independence. When the Holy Roman Empire ended in 1806, Augsburg was annexed by the Kingdom of Bavaria. In 1817, it became an important administrative center for the region of Swabia and Neuburg.

Industrial revolution

In the late 1800s, Augsburg's textile industry grew again, and later, machine manufacturing became important.

Second World War and Cold War

During the lead-up to World War II, Augsburg became a military center. The city had factories that made parts for military equipment. After the war, the city was occupied by American forces, who used former military buildings for their troops during the Cold War.

Politics

Municipality

Main article: List of mayors of Augsburg

For many years, Augsburg had leaders called Stadtpfleger and Mayor. In 1548, they decided to use only the title Stadtpfleger. After Augsburg became part of Bavaria in 1806, it was led by a Magistrate with two mayors.

Mayor

Since 2020, the mayor of Augsburg has been Eva Weber from the Christian Social Union (CSU).

City council

The Augsburg city council works together with the Mayor to guide the city.

Members of the Bundestag

Augsburg is part of the Wahlkreis 251 Augsburg-Stadt area. Volker Ullrich of the CSU was directly elected to the Bundestag. Ulrike Bahr for the SPD and Claudia Roth for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen were also elected.

Climate

Augsburg has an oceanic climate, which means it has mild temperatures throughout the year. Depending on how scientists measure it, it can also be described as having a humid continental climate. This affects the weather patterns and seasons in the area.

Main historic sights

Augsburg has many interesting places to visit. Some of the most famous include the Town Hall, built in 1620 in the Renaissance style, and the Perlachturm, a bell tower from 989. The Fuggerei is the oldest social housing area in the world, lived in since 1523.

Other sights are the Bishop's Residence, built around 1750, and the Cathedral, founded in the ninth century. There is also St Anne's Church, built in 1321, and the Augsburg Synagogue, one of the few German synagogues that survived the war and now has a Jewish museum inside. The Augsburg textile and industry museum shows how people, machines, patterns, and fashion have changed over time.

Water Management System

The water systems of Augsburg have been important for managing water for many years. The city was built near rivers that provided clean water through springs and streams. By the 1400s, they added pumps and water towers to help share the water. In 1545, Augsburg became one of the first towns in Europe to keep drinking water separate from water used for work, which helped stop sickness from dirty water. These water systems also powered fountains and machines for making food.

In the 1800s and 1900s, they added plants that used water to make electricity. These were some of the first in the world to do this, and they are still used today. On 6 July 2019, the Water Management System of Augsburg became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Incorporations

Population

Augsburg has a population of about 300,000 people. It is the third largest city in Bavaria and the largest city in the Swabia region. In the 16th century, Augsburg was one of the biggest cities in the Holy Roman Empire, with around 30,000 people. It grew to over 100,000 people by 1909 and has kept growing since then.

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Augsburg has friendships with cities in several countries. These include:

• Amagasaki, Japan (1959)
• Bourges, France (1963)
• Dayton, United States (1964)
• Inverness, Scotland, UK (1956)
• Jinan, China (2004)
• Liberec, Czech Republic (2001)
• Nagahama, Japan (1959)

Transport

The main road link is autobahn A 8 between Munich and Stuttgart.

Public transport is very well catered for. It is controlled by the Augsburger Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund (Augsburg transport and tariff association, AVV) extended over central Swabia. There are seven regional rail lines, five tram lines, 27 city bus lines, and six night bus lines, as well as several taxi companies.

The Augsburg tramway network is now 35.5 km-long after the opening of new lines to the university in 1996, the northern city boundary in 2001, and to the Klinikum Augsburg (Augsburg hospital) in 2002. Tram line 6, which runs 5.2 km from Friedberg West to Hauptbahnhof (Central Station), opened in December 2010. In December 2021, tram line 3 was extended southward to the neighboring city of Königsbrunn.

There is one station for intercity bus services in Augsburg: Augsburg Nord, located in the north of the city.

Augsburg has seven stations, the Central Station (Hauptbahnhof), Hochzoll, Oberhausen, Haunstetterstraße, Morellstraße, Messe and Inningen. The Central Station, built from 1843 to 1846, is Germany's oldest main station in a large city, still providing services in the original building. It is currently being modernised and an underground tram station is being built underneath it. Hauptbahnhof is on the Munich–Augsburg and Ulm–Augsburg lines and is connected by ICE and IC services to Munich, Berlin, Dortmund, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Stuttgart. As of December 2007, the French TGV connected Augsburg with a direct high-speed connection to Paris. In addition, EC and night train services connect to Amsterdam, Paris, and Vienna, and connections will be substantially improved by the creation of the planned Magistrale for Europe.

The AVV operates seven Regionalbahn lines from the main station to:

• Mammendorf
• Schmiechen (direction to Ammersee)
• Aichach/Radersdorf
• Meitingen/Donauwörth
• Dinkelscherben
• Schwabmünchen
• Klosterlechfeld

Starting in 2008, the regional services are planned to be altered to S-Bahn frequencies and developed long-term as integrated into the Augsburg S-Bahn.

Until 2005, Augsburg was served by nearby Augsburg Airport (AGB). In that year, all air passenger transport was relocated to Munich Airport. Since then, the airport has been used almost entirely by business airplanes.

Economy

Augsburg is a busy city with many important factories and technology companies. Big companies like MAN, EADS, and KUKA make advanced products such as printing machines, big diesel engines, industrial robots, and parts for the Airbus A380 and the Ariane rocket. After Munich, Augsburg is known as a key place for technology in Bavaria, especially for information and communications technology. It benefits from lower costs while still being close to Munich and its customers. In 2018, the Bavarian State Government officially recognized Augsburg’s importance in this area.

Major companies

• Boewe Systec
• Faurecia
• Fujitsu Technology Solutions
• KUKA
• MAN SE
• MAN Roland
• MT Aerospace
• NCR
• Premium AEROTEC
• Renk
• Siemens
• UPM-Kymmene
• WashTec
• Synlab Group
• Cancom
• Check24
• Amazon
• Patrizia Immobilien

Education

Augsburg has two important places for learning. The University of Augsburg started in 1970. There is also the Technische Hochschule Augsburg, which used to be called Fachhochschule Augsburg. Both help students study and learn new things.

Media

The local newspaper is the Augsburger Allgemeine, which was first published in 1807.

Notable people

Augsburg has been home to many important people throughout history. Some of these include:

• Saint Afra, a holy person known as the patron saint of Augsburg.
• Jakob Fugger, a well-known merchant and town leader.
• Hans Holbein the Elder, an artist who helped change German painting styles.
• Leopold Mozart, a musician and the father of the famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
• Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of a special type of engine named after him.
• Mietek Pemper, who helped save many people during a difficult time in history.

Sport

Augsburg has also been home to many athletes, including:

• Ulrich Biesinger, a footballer who played for Germany and won the 1954 FIFA World Cup.
• Helmut Haller, a footballer who played for West Germany in several World Cups.
• Bernhard Langer, a famous golfer.
• Philipp Kohlschreiber, a tennis player.
• Stefan Bradl, a motorcycle racer.

Sports

FC Augsburg is a football team from Augsburg that plays in the WWK ARENA, south of the city centre. They joined the Bundesliga in 2011 and have stayed there since. They also played in the Europa League for the first time in 2015.

Augsburg has an ice hockey team called the Augsburger Panther. Their home games are at the Curt Frenzel Stadion. The city also has baseball and American football teams.

During the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, a special channel was made for whitewater racing, called the Eiskanal, which is still used for competitions today.

Local city nicknames

Augsburg is sometimes called Fuggerstadt because an important family named the Fuggers lived there. In the area of Swabia, people also call it Datschiburg because of a favorite sweet treat called Datschi, made from fruit and thin cake dough. There is even a football team named after this sweet called the Datschiburger Kickers.

Younger people often shorten the city's name to "Aux."