Romantic Regensburg: A Walk through the Old Town

Regensburg was founded 2,000 years ago by the Romans. It was one of the wealthiest cities during the Middle Ages and, having mostly escaped the bombs of World War II, much of it has survived. On this walking tour of the enchanting Old Town, you’ll see traces of ancient ruins and medieval splendor.

Standing at the crossroads of ancient and modern history, this tour starts outside the House of Bavarian History museum near Castra Regina, a former castle and Roman military stronghold. Here you’ll see the Porta Praetoria, an archway set into the city’s sturdy original walls.

As you make your way through the old town’s cobblestone alleys, I’ll show you its patrician tower houses, fountains, and market squares, and share the stories behind them. Outside Altes Rathaus Regensburg (the old City Hall), I’ll point out two sculptures that represent the city’s protectors: Schutz (defense) and Trutz (defiance). The tour ends in Domplatz Square in front of one of the best-preserved Gothic cathedrals in Europe, St Peter Cathedral.

Along the way, you’ll have a chance to:

• Grab a sausage on a bun at Historische Wurstkuchl, one of the world’s oldest fast-food restaurants
• Cross the Danube using the Old Stone Bridge (Steinerne Brücke), one of Germany’s oldest bridges (which is 200 years older than Prague’s famous Charles Bridge!)
• Find out how the astronomer Johannes Kepler saved his mother from being burnt as a witch
• Compare Strudel at two different pastry shops
• See the square where medieval jousting tournaments took place, and a doctor fell to his death during a tight-rope act
• Hear the history behind one of the proudest Jewish communities in Medieval Europe, before their 1519 eviction

By the end of this 60-minute tour, you’ll feel like you just emerged from a walk back in time, and have plenty of ideas of what else to do and see in Regensburg.