Regensburg
In the 15th century, Franz von Taxis (1459–1517) assured his place in history by setting up the first European postal system, which remained a monopoly…
Must-see attractions in Regensburg & the Danube
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Regensburg
It takes a few seconds for your eyes to adjust to the dim interior of Regensburg’s soaring landmark, the Dom St Peter, one of Bavaria’s grandest Gothic…
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Regensburg
Claiming to be Europe's best golf museum (not counting Scotland, home to the British Golf Museum), this fine repository of wooden clubs, ivory tees and…
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Passau
There's been a church on this spot since the late 5th century, but what you see today is much younger thanks to the fire of 1662, which ravaged much of…
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Regensburg & the Danube
A thickly wooded paradise for lovers of fresh air, the Bavarian Forest National Park extends for around 24,250 hectares along the Czech border, from…
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Regensburg & the Danube
The Altstadt’s crown jewel is the Asamkirche Maria de Victoria, a baroque masterpiece designed by brothers Cosmas Damian and Egid Quirin Asam between 1732…
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Passau
The very nib of the Altstadt peninsula, the point where the rivers merge, is known as the Dreiflusseck. From the north the little Ilz sluices brackish…
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Regensburg & the Danube
Ingolstadt is home to the famous Audi factory that sprawls to the north of the city centre. The two-hour 'Production in a Nutshell' tours of the plant…
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Internationales Keramik-Museum
Regensburg & the Danube
Weiden's top attraction is the International Ceramics Museum, housed in a spare baroque monastery building right in the town centre. The permanent…
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Regensburg & the Danube
Looming over the old town is the Domberg, a hub of religious power with the twin-towered Dom St Maria und St Korbinian as its focal point. The restored…
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Regensburg & the Danube
Modelled on the Parthenon in Athens, the Walhalla is a breathtaking Ludwig I monument dedicated to the giants of Germanic thought and deed. Marble steps…
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Regensburg & the Danube
Ingolstadt’s biggest church was established by Duke Ludwig the Bearded in 1425 and enlarged over the next century. This classic Gothic hall church has a…
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Regensburg
Excavations in the mid-1990s revealed remains of Regensburg's once-thriving 16th-century Jewish quarter, along with Roman buildings, gold coins and a Nazi…
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Regensburg & the Danube
The simple but pretty Bavarian home where Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) was born in 1927 and lived for the first two years of his life…
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Passau
A 13th-century defensive fortress, built by the prince-bishops, Veste Oberhaus towers over Passau with patriarchal pomp. Not surprisingly, views of the…
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Regensburg & the Danube
Roosting high above the Altstadt is Burg Trausnitz, Landshut’s star attraction. The 50-minute guided tour (in German with English text) takes you through…
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Regensburg
The sooty 12th-century main portal of the Schottenkirche St Jakob is considered one of the supreme examples of Romanesque architecture in Germany. Its…
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Regensburg
From 1663 to 1806, the Reichstag (imperial assembly) held its gatherings at Regensburg's old town, an important role commemorated by an exhibit in today's…
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Passau
Opened by Neil Armstrong, of all people, Passau's warren-like glass museum is filled with some 30,000 priceless pieces of glass and crystal from the…
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Regensburg & the Danube
On the southern edge of the Bavarian Forest is Tittling, home to this 20-hectare open-air museum displaying 150 typical Bavarian Forest timber cottages…
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Regensburg
South of the Dom, the humble exterior of the graceful Alte Kapelle belies the stunning interior with its rich rococo decorations. The core of the church,…
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Regensburg & the Danube
One of the more unusual sights along the Glass Route is the Gläserne Wald near the small town of Regen. Here glass artist Rudolf Schmid has created a…
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Regensburg
Just north of the Dom, the arched gate called Porta Praetoria is the most impressive reminder of Regensburg's Roman heritage. It was built in AD 179 by…
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Regensburg & the Danube
The excellent Audi Forum exhibits on three floors chart Audi's humble beginnings in 1899 to its latest dream machines such as the R8. Some 50 cars and 20…
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Regensburg & the Danube
This unique art museum showcases works and installations from the Concrete Movement, all of a bafflingly abstract nature and certainly an acquired taste…
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Regensburg
An incredible feat of engineering for its day, Regensburg’s 900-year-old Stone Bridge was at one time the only fortified crossing of the Danube. Damaged…
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Regensburg & the Danube
Rising in Gothic splendour at the southern end of the Altstadt is Landshut’s record-breaking St Martin Church: its spire is the tallest brick structure in…
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Regensburg & the Danube
The glass highlight of the small town of Bodenmais is JOSKA Bodenmais, a crystal theme park complete with crystal shops, public artworks, beer garden,…
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Regensburg & the Danube
The interior of the Ursulinenkirche was designed by the Asam brothers in their final collaboration. Its ceiling fresco depicts the martyrdom of St Ursula…
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Regensburg & the Danube
Frauenau's dazzlingly modern Glasmuseum covers four millennia of glass-making history, starting with the ancient Egyptians and ending with modern glass…
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Passau
Located in the Altes Rathaus, the Great Assembly Room has wonderful murals by local artist Ferdinand Wagner, showing scenes from Passau's history with a…
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Regensburg & the Danube
This intimate museum is one of Germany's most important repositories of Roman treasure. Displays include imposing armour and masks for both soldiers and…
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Regensburg & the Danube
This unusual art museum highlights works cast in steel, a medium that's more expressive than you might think. Exhibits are displayed in a striking glass…
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Regensburg & the Danube
St Jakobskirche is a late-Gothic hall church with original stained-glass windows, but also a recipient of a baroque makeover, courtesy of the frantically…
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Regensburg & the Danube
Housed in a former brewery, Zwiesel’s 'Forest Museum' has exhibitions on local customs, flora and fauna, glass-making and life in the forest.
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Regensburg & the Danube
The ostentatious Neues Schloss was built for Duke Ludwig the Bearded in 1418. Fresh from a trip to wealth-laden France, Ludwig borrowed heavily from…
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Deutsches Medizinhistorisches Museum
Regensburg & the Danube
Located in the stately Alte Anatomie (Old Anatomy) at the university, this sometimes rather gory museum chronicles the evolution of medical science as…
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Passau
An entrance in the side of the Altes Rathaus flanking Schrottgasse takes you to the Grosser Rathaussaal, where large-scale paintings by 19th-century local…
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Passau
Gothic architecture contrasts with 20th- and 21st-century artworks at Passau's Modern Art Museum. The rump of the permanent exhibition is made up of…
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Regensburg
The most tangible reminder of the ancient rectangular Castra Regina (Regen Fortress), where the name ‘Regensburg’ comes from, is the remaining Roman wall,…
