Augsburg Old Town

Augsburg was founded by the Romans and became one of the wealthiest cities of the Renaissance through the Fugger and Welser banking houses. Its water management was listed by UNESCO in 2019: from the fifteenth century the city separated drinking water from process water in parallel canal networks, built waterworks towers that pumped clean water to public fountains and private houses, and used the canals to drive mills and later hydroelectric plants; twenty-two elements make up the listing. The Golden Hall in the town hall, a room seventeen metres high, was destroyed in 1944 and rebuilt to its original scheme by 1985.

What's there

• The water system - separated canal networks and waterworks, UNESCO-listed.
• The Golden Hall - a 17-metre town hall room rebuilt after 1944.
• The monumental fountains - Renaissance bronzes on the main street.
• The Fugger houses - the banking family's palace and chapel.

When to go

April to October; the town hall closes for civic functions occasionally. The canal quarter is pleasant in summer. Christmas markets run in December.

Before you go

The water system is spread across the city in many separate elements, not one site. Much of the centre is postwar rebuilding. The Golden Hall is a reconstruction.

Nearby

The Fuggerei is in the same city; Munich lies southeast.

Key facts