Augsburg

Augsburg
From top: Perlachturm (left) and Augsburg Town Hall (right). Maximilian Museum, Fuggerei and Augsburg Cathedral,
Flag Coat of arms
Augsburg
Coordinates: 48°22′N 10°54′E / 48.367°N 10.900°E / 48.367; 10.900Coordinates: 48°22′N 10°54′E / 48.367°N 10.900°E / 48.367; 10.900
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Swabia
District	Urban district
Government
• Lord Mayor	Kurt Gribl (CSU)
Area
• Total	146.84 km2 (56.70 sq mi)
Elevation	494 m (1,621 ft)
Population (2017-12-31)[1]
• Total	292,851
• Density	2,000/km2 (5,200/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	86150–86199
Dialling codes	0821
Vehicle registration	A

Augsburg (German pronunciation: [ˈaʊ̯ksbʊʁk] (listen); Austro-Bavarian: Augschburg) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and regional seat of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is the third-largest city in Bavaria (after Munich and Nuremberg) with a population of 300,000 inhabitants, with 885,000 in its metropolitan area.^[2]

After Neuss and Trier, Augsburg is Germany's third oldest city, founded in 15 BC by the Romans as Augusta Vindelicorum, named after the Roman emperor Augustus. It was a Free Imperial City from 1276 to 1803 and the home of the patrician Fugger and Welser families that dominated European banking in the 16th century. The city played a leading role in the Reformation as the site of the 1530 Augsburg Confession and 1555 Peace of Augsburg. The Fuggerei, the oldest social housing complex in the world, was founded in 1513 by Jakob Fugger.

Geography[edit]

Augsburg lies at the convergence of the Alpine rivers Lech and Wertach and on the Singold. The oldest part of the city and the southern quarters are on the northern foothills of a high terrace, which emerged between the steep rim of the hills of Friedberg in the east and the high hills of the west. In the south extends the Lechfeld, an outwash plain of the post ice age between the rivers Lech and Wertach, where rare primeval landscapes were preserved. The Augsburg city forest and the Lech valley heaths today rank among the most species-rich middle European habitats.^[3]

On Augsburg borders the nature park Augsburg Western Woods - a large forestland. The city itself is also heavily greened. As a result, in 1997 Augsburg was the first German city to win the Europe-wide contest Entente Florale for Europe's greenest and most livable city.

Suburb and Neighbouring municipalities[edit]

Augsburg is surrounded by the counties Landkreis Augsburg in the west and Aichach-Friedberg in the east.

The Suburb are Friedberg, Königsbrunn, Stadtbergen, Neusäß, Gersthofen, Diedorf

Neighbouring municipalities:Rehling, Affing, Kissing, Mering, Merching, Bobingen, Gessertshausen

History[edit]

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Early history[edit]

The city was founded in 15 BC by Drusus and Tiberius as Augusta Vindelicorum (Latin pronunciation: [awˈɡʊsta wɪndɛlɪˈkoːrʊ̃] English pronunciation of Latin: /aʊˈɡuːstə vɪnˈdɛlɪˌkoʊrəm/^[4]), on the orders of their stepfather Emperor Augustus. The name means "Augusta of the Vindelici". This garrison camp soon became the capital of the Roman province of Raetia.

Early development was due to a 400-year affiliation with the Roman Empire, especially because of its excellent military, economic and geographic position at the convergence of the Alpine rivers Lech and Wertach, and with direct access to most important Alpine passes. Thus, Augsburg was the intersection of many important European east-west and north-south connections, which later evolved as major trade routes of the Middle Ages.^[5]

Around 120 AD Augsburg became the capital of the Roman province Raetia. Augsburg was sacked by the Huns in the 5th century AD, by Charlemagne in the 8th century, and by Welf of Bavaria in the 11th century, but arose each time to greater prosperity.

Augsburg Confession[edit]

Mixed Imperial City of Augsburg Paritätische Reichsstadt Augsburg
1276–1803 (Occupied by Sweden 1632–35)
Coat of arms of Augsburg before 1985
Status	Mixed Imperial City [de] (State of the Holy Roman Empire)
Capital	Augsburg
Government	Republic
Historical era	Middle Ages
• Bishopric established	4th century
• Bishopric gained Imperial immediacy	c. 888
• City gained immediacy	1276
• Diet of Augsburg: Confessio Augustana	1530
• Joined Schmalkadic League	1537
• Peace of Augsburg	1555
• Occupied by Sweden	1632–35
• Mediatised to Bavaria	1803
Preceded by Succeeded by Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg Kingdom of Bavaria

Augsburg was granted the status of a Free Imperial City on March 9, 1276 and from then until 1803, it was independent of its former overlord, the Prince-Bishop of Augsburg. Frictions between the city-state and the prince-bishops were to remain frequent however, particularly after Augsburg became Protestant and curtailed the rights and freedoms of Catholics.

With its strategic location at an intersection of trade routes to Italy, the Free Imperial City became a major trading center. Augsburg produced large quantities of woven goods, cloth and textiles. Augsburg became the base of two banking families that rose to great prominence, the Fuggers and the Welsers. The Fugger family donated the Fuggerei part of the city devoted to housing for needy citizens in 1516, which remains in use today.

In 1530, the Augsburg Confession was presented to the Holy Roman Emperor at the Diet of Augsburg. Following the Peace of Augsburg in 1555, after which the rights of religious minorities in imperial cities were to be legally protected, a mixed Catholic–Protestant city council presided over a majority Protestant population; see Paritätische Reichsstadt.

Thirty Years' War[edit]

Religious peace in the city was largely maintained despite increasing Confessional tensions until the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). In 1629, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II issued the Edict of Restitution, which restored the legal situation of 1552 and again curtailed the rights of the Protestant citizens. The inequality of the Edict of Restitution was rescinded when in April 1632, the Swedish army under Gustavus Adolphus captured Augsburg without resistance.

In 1634, the Swedish army was routed at nearby Nördlingen. By October 1634, Catholic troops had surrounded Augsburg. The Swedish garrison refused to surrender and a siege ensued through the winter of 1634/35 and thousands died from hunger and disease. According to J. N. Hays, "In the period of the Swedish occupation and the Imperial siege the population of the city was reduced from about 70,000 to about 16,000, with typhus and plague playing major roles."^[6]

Nine Years' War[edit]

In 1686, Emperor Leopold I formed the League of Augsburg, termed by the English as the "Grand Alliance" after England joined in 1689: a European coalition, consisting (at various times) of Austria, Bavaria, Brandenburg, England, the Holy Roman Empire, the Palatinate of the Rhine, Portugal, Savoy, Saxony, Spain, Sweden, and the United Provinces. It was formed to defend the Palatinate from France. This organization fought against France in the Nine Years War.

Augsburg's peak boom years occurred during the 15th and 16th centuries thanks to the bank and metal businesses of the merchant families Fugger and Welser, who held a local near total monopoly on their respective industries. Augsburg's wealth attracted artists seeking patrons and rapidly became a creative centre for famous painters, sculptors and musicians - and, notably, the birthplace of the Holbein painter family. In later centuries the city was the birthplace of the composer Leopold Mozart^[7] and the playwright Berthold Brecht.^[8] Rococo became so prevalent that it became known as “Augsburg style” throughout Germany.

End of Free Imperial City status and Industrial Revolution revival[edit]

In 1806, when the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved, Augsburg lost its independence and was annexed to the Kingdom of Bavaria. In 1817, the city became an administrative capital of the Oberdonaukreis, then administrative capital in 1837 for the district Swabia and Neuburg.

During the end of the 19th century, Augsburg's textile industry again rose to prominence followed by the connected machine manufacturing industry.

Military[edit]

Augsburg was historically a militarily important city due to its strategic location. During the German re-armament before the Second World War, the Wehrmacht enlarged Augsburg's one original Kaserne (barracks) to three: Somme Kaserne (housing Wehrmacht Artillerie-Regiment 27); Arras Kaserne (housing Wehrmacht Infanterie Regiment 27) and Panzerjäger Kaserne (housing Panzerabwehr-Abteilung 27 (later Panzerjäger-Abteilung 27)). Wehrmacht Panzerjäger-Abteilung 27 was later moved to Füssen.

During World War II, one subcamp of the Dachau concentration camp was located outside Augsburg, supplying approximately 1,300 forced labourers to local military-related industry, most especially the Messerschmitt AG military aircraft firm headquartered in Augsburg.^[9][10]

In 1941, Rudolf Hess without Adolf Hitler's permission secretly took off from a local Augsburg airport and flew to Scotland to meet the Duke of Hamilton, and crashed in Eaglesham in an attempt to mediate the end of the European front of World War II and join sides for the upcoming Russian Campaign.

The Reichswehr Infanterie Regiment 19 was stationed in Augsburg and became the base unit for the Wehrmacht Infanterie Regiment 40, a subsection of the Wehrmacht Infanterie Division 27 (which later became the Wehrmacht Panzerdivision 17). Elements of Wehrmacht II Battalion of Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 99 (especially Wehrmacht Panzerjäger Kompanie 14) was composed of parts of the Wehrmacht Infanterie Division 27. The Infanterie Regiment 40 remained in Augsburg until the end of the war, finally surrendering to the United States when in 28 April 1945, the U.S. Army occupied the heavily bombed and damaged city.

Following the war, the three Kaserne would change hands confusingly between the American and Germans, finally ending up in US hands for the duration of the Cold War. The former Wehrmacht Kaserne became the three main US barracks in Augsburg: Reese, Sheridan and FLAK. US Base FLAK had been an anti-aircraft barracks since 1936 and US Base Sheridan "united" the former infantry barracks with a smaller Kaserne for former Luftwaffe communications units.

The American military presence in the city started with the U.S. 5th Infantry Division stationed at FLAK Kaserne from 1945 to 1955, then by 11th Airborne Division, followed by the 24th Infantry Division, U.S. Army VII Corps artillery, USASA Field Station Augsburg and finally the 66th Military Intelligence Brigade, which returned the former Kaserne to German hands in 1998. Originally the Heeresverpflegungshauptamt Südbayern and an Officers' caisson existed on or near the location of Reese-Kaserne, but was demolished by the occupying Americans.

Politics[edit]

Municipality[edit]

From 1266 until 1548, the terms Stadtpfleger (head of town council) and Mayor were used interchangeably, or occasionally, simultaneously. In 1548 the title was finally fixed to Stadtpfleger, who officiated for several years and was then awarded the title for life (though no longer governing), thus resulting confusingly, in records of two or more simultaneous Stadtpfleger.

After the transfer to Bavaria in 1806, Augsburg was ruled by a Magistrate with two mayors, supported by an additional council of "Community Commissioners": the Gemeindebevollmächtige.

As of 1907, the Mayor was entitled Oberbürgermeister, as Augsburg had reached a population of 100,000, as per the Bavarian Gemeindeordnung.

Town Council[edit]

Election results of the Town Council since 1972 in percent[11]
Year	CSU	SPD	FDP	Grüne	ÖDP	Linke	REP	NPD	Pro Augsburg	AfD	other
1972	44,9	46,5	2,3	–	–	0,7	–	0,9	–	–	4,7
1978	46,8	44,5	2,7	–	–	0,4	–	0,6	–	–	4,9
1984	32,9	44,9	1,3	4,2	–	0,2	–	0,7	–	–	15,8
1990	43,1	28,4	2,5	10,8	–	–	10,0	–	–	–	5,2
1996	44,1	29,4	1,7	10,5	–	–	2,8	–	–	–	11,5
2002	43,5	36,4	3,5	8,7	1,8	1,2	–	–	–	–	4,9
2008	40,1	30,1	2,7	10,3	1,5	3,5	–	–	9,4	–	2,4
2014[12]	37,7	22,4	1,6	12,4	1,9	3,2	–	–	5,1	5,9	9,6
Seats 2014	23	13	1	7	1	2	–	–	3	4	62

¹2002 PDS, until 1984 DKP    ²Christlich Soziale Mitte (CSM): 3, Freie Wähler: 2, Polit-WG e.V: 1

Members of the Bundestag[edit]

Augsburg is located in the Wahlkreis 253 Augsburg-Stadt constituency, which includes Königsbrunn and the District of Augsburg (Landkreis Augsburg).

Volker Ullrich of the CSU was directly elected to the Bundestag in the 18th German Bundestag.

Indirectly elected to the Bundestag to adhere to the Landesliste were Ulrike Bahr for the SPD and Claudia Roth for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen.^[13]

Climate[edit]

Augsburg has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfb).

Climate data for Augsburg (1981–2010)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	2.3 (36.1)	4.1 (39.4)	8.9 (48)	13.6 (56.5)	18.5 (65.3)	21.4 (70.5)	23.8 (74.8)	23.5 (74.3)	18.8 (65.8)	13.4 (56.1)	6.6 (43.9)	3.1 (37.6)	13.2 (55.8)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−0.8 (30.6)	0.2 (32.4)	4.4 (39.9)	8.2 (46.8)	13.0 (55.4)	15.9 (60.6)	18.1 (64.6)	17.7 (63.9)	13.6 (56.5)	9.1 (48.4)	3.5 (38.3)	0.3 (32.5)	8.6 (47.5)
Average low °C (°F)	−3.9 (25)	−3.7 (25.3)	−0.2 (31.6)	2.7 (36.9)	7.3 (45.1)	10.5 (50.9)	12.3 (54.1)	11.9 (53.4)	8.3 (46.9)	4.8 (40.6)	0.3 (32.5)	−2.5 (27.5)	4.0 (39.2)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	40.1 (1.579)	36.6 (1.441)	47.8 (1.882)	50.7 (1.996)	85.5 (3.366)	90.0 (3.543)	99.7 (3.925)	92.2 (3.63)	65.9 (2.594)	52.8 (2.079)	52.1 (2.051)	53.5 (2.106)	766.9 (30.192)
Mean monthly sunshine hours	64.1	90.1	127.3	173.8	211.8	218.1	240.1	223.2	159.3	107.9	59.1	48.7	1,723.5
Source: Météoclimat

Main sights[edit]

• Town Hall, built in 1620 in Renaissance style with the Goldener Saal
• Perlachturm, a bell tower built in 989
• Fuggerei, the oldest social housing estate in the world, inhabited since 1523
• Fugger Palaces, restored renaissance palatial homes of the Fugger banking family
• Bishop's Residence, built about 1750 in order to replace the older bishop's palace; today the administrative seat of Swabia
• Cathedral, founded in the 9th century
• St. Anne's Church
• Augsburg Synagogue, one of the few German synagogues to survive the war, now beautifully restored and open with a Jewish museum inside
• Augsburg textile and industry museum-or just tim, organises it displays under headings Mensch-Maschine-Muster-Mode.
• Schaezlerpalais, a Rococo mansion (1765) now housing a major art museum
• St. Ulrich and St. Afra—one church is Roman Catholic, the other Lutheran, the duality being a result of the Peace of Augsburg concluded in 1555 between Catholics and Protestants
• Mozart Haus Augsburg (where composer's father Leopold Mozart was born and Mozart visited it several times)
• Augsburger Puppenkiste, a puppet theatre
• Luther Stiege, museum located in a church, that shows Martin Luthers life and different rooms. (free admission)
• Eiskanal, the world's first artificial whitewater course (venue for the whitewater events of the 1972 Munich Olympics)
• Dorint Hotel Tower
• Childhood home of Bertolt Brecht
• The Augsburg Botanical Gardens (Botanischer Garten Augsburg)
• Maximillian Museum
• Bahnpark Augsburg home of 29 historic locomotives, blacksmith, historic roundhouse
• 3 magnificent renaissance fountains, the Agustus Fountain, Mercury Fountain and Hercules Fountain from 15th century, build for the 1500 anniversary of city foundation
• Walter Art Museum at the "Glas-Palace"
• Roman Museum located in the former Monastery of St. Margaret (closed at the moment due to risk of collapsing). Renovation is taking place and the museum is expected to reopen in 2017.^[14]
• Medieval canals, used to run numerous industries, medieval arms production, silver art, sanitation and water pumping
• Kulturhaus Abraxas

• 

  Fünfgratturm tower

• 

  Ring of Mercy on the Dom (Cathedral) St. Maria

• 

  Augsburg Synagogue

• 

  St. Ulrich and St. Afra Cathedral

Urban Legends[edit]

City goddess Cisa[edit]

Allegedly Cisa (dea Ciza) was the city goddess of Augsburg. A representation of the Cisa can be seen on the weather vane of the Perlachturm; moreover, according to legend, some representations on the bronze doors of the cathedral are said to indicate the goddess. The mountain on which her temple is said to have stood was called "Zisenberk".^[15] The golden vane on top of Perlach-Tower next to city hall is the original likeness of the goddess from the 15th century.

The Stoinerne Ma[edit]

The "Stoinerne Ma" ("Stony Man") is a life-size stone figure on the eastern Augsburg city wall in the area of the so-called "Sweden staircase", which is located in the immediate vicinity of the Galluskirche and St. Stephan convent (on the outside of the city wall). It is probably a one-armed baker with a loaf of bread and a shield. In the area of the feet there is a helically twisted pedestal.

According to the legend, it is the baker "Konrad Hackher" who, during a long siege of the city, baked bread from sawdust and threw it into the ditch clearly visible for the besiegers over the city wall. The impression that Augsburg would still have so much bread that one could throw it over the wall is said to have demoralized the besiegers so much that they fired at him with a crossbow out of anger. A hit struck off his arm, and soon afterwards the siege was broken off. Historically, the event belongs to the Thirty Years' War, more precisely to the siege of Augsburg during the years 1634/35, when Catholic Bavarian troops under Field Marshal von Wahl wanted to recapture the city occupied by the Protestant Swedes. Of course, the baker's deed is not reliably proven.

The statue is often visited by walkers strolling along the city wall. As it is said to be a fortunate thing to touch the stone figure's iron nose. This custom is particularly popular with lovers.

Bei den sieben Kindeln[edit]

In the wall of the property Bei den Sieben Kindeln 3 ("At the seven infants 3") there is a recessed stone relief from the Roman period depicting six playing, naked children standing around a coffin.

Legend says that the commemorative plaque was commissioned by a Roman officer to commemorate the drowning of one of his children (therefore it is said to be "seven" children, although the plaque represents only six: the seventh child is drowned and lies in the coffin). According to current knowledge, the plate once formed the long side of a Sarcophagus, representing Erotes.

Incorporations[edit]

Year	Municipality	Area
July 1, 1910	Meringerau	9.5 km2
January 1, 1911	Pfersee	3.5 km2
January 1, 1911	Oberhausen	8.6 km2
January 1, 1913	Lechhausen	27.9 km2
January 1, 1913	Hochzoll	4.4 km2
April 1, 1916	Kriegshaber	59 km2
July 1, 1972	Göggingen
July 1, 1972	Haunstetten
July 1, 1972	Inningen

Population[edit]

Historical development[edit]

Year	Population
1635	16,432
1645	19,960
1806	26,200
1830	29,019
December 1, 1871 ¹	51,220
December 1, 1890 ¹	75,629
December 1, 1900 ¹	89,109
December 1, 1910 ¹	102,487
June 16, 1925 ¹	165,522
June 16, 1933 ¹	176,575
May 17, 1939 ¹	185,369
September 13, 1950 ¹	185,183
June 6, 1961 ¹	208,659
May 27, 1970 ¹	211,566
June 30, 1975	252,000
June 30, 1980	246,600
June 30, 1985	244,200
May 27, 1987 ¹	242,819
December 31, 1990	256.877
December 31, 1991	259.884
December 31, 1992	264.852
December 31, 1993	264.764
December 31, 1994	262.110
December 31, 1995	259.699
December 31, 1996	258.457
December 31, 1997	256.625
December 31, 1998	254.610
December 31, 1999	254.867
December 31, 2000	254.982
December 31, 2001	257.836
December 31, 2002	259.231
December 31, 2003	259.217
December 31, 2004	260.407
December 31, 2005	262.676
December 31, 2006	262.512
December 31, 2007	262.992
December 31, 2008	263.313
December 31, 2009	263.646
December 31, 2010	264.708
December 31, 2011	266.647
December 31, 2015	281.111
December 31, 2017	295.895

¹ Census result

Largest groups of foreign residents[16]
Nationality	Population (31.12.2017)
Turkey	11,701
Romania	7,242
Italy	4,280
Croatia	4,123
Poland	2,581
Syria	2,392
Iraq	2,369
Greece	2,129
Hungary	1,907
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1,823
Russia	1,746
Kosovo	1,650
Bulgaria	1,639
Ukraine	1,512
Serbia	1,312
Afghanistan	1,256
Total	64,627

Partner cities[edit]

• Inverness, Scotland, United Kingdom, since 1956
• Amagasaki, Japan, since 1959
• Nagahama, Japan, since 1959
• Bourges, France, since 1963
• Dayton, Ohio, United States, since 1964
• Liberec, Czech Republic, since 2001
• Jinan, Shandong, People's Republic of China, since 2004

Information on the partner cities can also be found at www.augsburg.de

Transport[edit]

Roads[edit]

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

Public transport[edit]

Public transport is very well catered for. It is controlled by the Augsburger Verkehrsverbund (Augsburg transport union, AVV) extended over central Swabia. There are seven rail Regionalbahn 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.^[17]

Intercity bus[edit]

There is one station for intercity bus services in Augsburg: Augsburg Nord, located in the north of the city.^[18]

Railway[edit]

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 modernized and an underground tram station is 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.

Air transport[edit]

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 is used almost entirely by business airplanes.^[19]

Economy[edit]

Augsburg is a vibrant industrial city. Many global market leaders namely MAN, EADS or KUKA produce high technology products like printing systems, large diesel engines, industrial robots or components for the Airbus A380 and the Ariane carrier rocket. After Munich, Augsburg is considered the high-tech centre for Information and Communication in Bavaria and takes advantage of its lower operating costs, yet close proximity to Munich and potential customers. In 2018 the Bavarian State Government recognized this fact and promoted Augsburg to Metropole.^[20]

Major companies[edit]

• Boewe Systec^[21]
• Premium AEROTEC
• Faurecia
• Fujitsu Technology Solutions
• KUKA Robotics / Systems
• MAN (Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg)
• manroland
• MT-Aerospace (former MAN Technologie)
• NCR
• Osram
• Premium AEROTEC
• RENK AG (offshoot of MAN SE)
• Siemens
• UPM-Kymmene (former Haindl)
• WashTec (former Kleindienst)
• Synlab Group
• Cancom
• Check24
• Amazon
• Patrizia Immobilien

Education[edit]

Augsburg is home to the following universities and colleges:

• University of Augsburg, founded in 1970^[22]
• Hochschule Augsburg (University of Applied Sciences, formerly Fachhochschule Augsburg)

Media[edit]

The local newspaper is the Augsburger Allgemeine first published in 1807. There are also several local radio stations and a local TV station (a.tv).

Notable people[edit]

• died 304 Saint Afra
• died 807 Simpert
• c.890–973 Saint Ulrich
• 1070–1127 Saint Wolfhard
• 1398–1469 Jakob Fugger the Elder
• 1442–1528 Erhard Ratdolt Printer, famous for having produced the first known printers type specimen book.
• 1459–1525 Jakob Fugger Noted banker and financial broker. An area within the city, called the Fuggerei was set aside for the poor and needy. Founded in 1519.
• 1460–1524 Hans Holbein the Elder, a pioneer in the transformation of German art from the Gothic to the Renaissance style.
• 1497–1543 Hans Holbein the Younger, portrait and religious painter.
• 1497–c.1574 Matthäus Schwarz, accountant and author
• 1517–1579 Paulus Hector Mair, martial artist.
• 1573–1646 Elias Holl, architect
• 1578–1647 Philipp Hainhofer, merchant, banker, diplomat and art collector.
• 1580–1627 Julius Schiller, lawyer and astronomer.
• 1701–1776 Andreas Christoph Graf, German teacher, author and poet.
• 1704–1767 Johann Jakob Haid, engraver.
• 1719–1787 Leopold Mozart, violinist-composer and father of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
• 1740–1786 Christoph Christian Sturm, preacher and author.
• 1822–1908 Eduard Bayer, composer and classical guitarist.
• 1858–1913 Rudolf Diesel, inventor of the diesel engine.
• 1871–1949 Albert Rehm, philologist who first understood the significance of the Antikythera mechanism
• 1873–1964 Hans von Euler-Chelpin, co-recipient of 1929 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
• 1885-1946 Julius Streicher, prominent Nazi prior to World War II, founder and publisher of anti-Semitic Der Stürmer newspaper, executed for war crimes
• 1887–1943 Julius Schaxel, biologist
• 1895–1946 Hans Loritz, Nazi SS concentration camp commandant
• 1898–1956 Bertolt Brecht, writer and theater director
• 1901-1947 August Schmidhuber, Nazi SS officer executed for war crimes
• 1908–1944 Wilhelm Gerstenmeier, SS concentration camp officer executed for war crimes
• 1915–1961 Josef Priller, Luftwaffe ace
• 1920–2011 Mietek Pemper, Polish-born Jew compiled and typed Oskar Schindler's list, which saved 1,200 Jewish prisoners from the Holocaust.^[23][24]
• 1927–1956 Werner Haas, Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.
• 1933–2011 Ulrich Biesinger, former German footballer, part of the team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup.
• 1939–2012 Helmut Haller, footballer who represented West Germany at three World Cups.
• 1944 Hans Henning Atrott, German author and theorist
• 1948 Wolf Blitzer, American journalist and CNN reporter
• 1957 Bernhard Langer, professional golfer.
• 1959 Bernd Schuster, football coach and former player
• 1961 Armin Veh, football coach.
• 1967 Sheryl Lee, actress, poet, and activist.
• 1968 Alexander Wesselsky, lead singer of the German band Eisbrecher
• 1980 Benny Greb, solo drum artist.
• 1983 Andreas Bourani, singer-songwriter
• 1983 Philipp Kohlschreiber, tennis player.
• 1985 Bianca Voitek, female bodybuilder.
• 1986 Maximilian Hornung, cellist.
• 1989 Stefan Bradl, motorcycle racer
• 1989 Johnny Cecotto Jr., racing career.

Sports[edit]

FC Augsburg is a football team based in Augsburg and plays in the WWK ARENA. FC Augsburg was promoted to Bundesliga in 2011. The new stadium (opened in July 2009) also hosted games of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.

The city is home to a DEL (first-division) ice hockey team, the Augsburger Panther. The original club, AEV, was formed in 1878, the oldest German ice sport club and regularly draws around 4000 spectators, quite reasonable for German ice hockey. Home games are played at the Curt Frenzel Stadion: a recently rebuilt (2012–2013) indoor rink and modern stadium. Also Augsburg is home to one of the most traditional German Baseball clubs, the Augsburg Gators.

For the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, a Lech River dam protective diversionary canal for river ice was converted into the world's first artificial whitewater slalom course: the Eiskanal and remains a world-class venue for whitewater competition and served as prototype for two dozen similar foreign courses.

Local city nicknames[edit]

While commonly called Fuggerstadt (Fuggers' city) due to the Fuggers residing there, within Swabia it is also often referred to as Datschiburg: which originated sometime in the 19th century refers to Augsburg's favorite sweet: the Datschi made from fruit, preferably prunes, and thin cake dough.^[25] The Datschiburger Kickers charity football team (founded in 1965) reflects this in its choice of team name.^[26][27]

Among younger people, the city is commonly called "Aux" for short.^{[citation needed]}

See also[edit]

• List of civic divisions of Augsburg
• League of Augsburg
• Augsburg University, a private Lutheran College in Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA) that takes its name from the Augsburg Confession
• List of mayors of Augsburg
• Synods of Augsburg

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

• Die Chroniken der schwäbischen Städte, Augsburg, (Leipzig, 1865–1896).
• Werner, Geschichte der Stadt Augsburg, (Augsburg, 1900).
• Lewis, "The Roman Antiquities of Augsburg and Ratisbon", in volume xlviii, Archæological Journal, (London, 1891).
• Michael Schulze, Augsburg in one day. A city tour Lehmstedt Verlag, Leipzig 2015, ISBN 978-3957970176.

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Augsburg.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Augsburg.

• Stadt Augsburg Official site (English version)
• Augsburg Region Tourism
• Fotosafari Augsburg An interactive set of pictures which allows you to explore Augsburg
• (in German) Augsburg City Plan
• (in German) District of Augsburg
• (in German) [1]