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Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Regensburg 


A few weekends ago we decided to visit Regensburg, just to see it. I had heard it was a pretty town, but had never been there. It was a little over an hour to get there, and worth the drive. The city is situated on the northernmost point of the Danube river, and was founded by Marcus Aurelius in 179 A.D. There had been Celtic tribes there previously, but he made it official. At one point it was the capital of Bavaria, and then slowly faded into the background. There are portions of the Roman walls still visible, as well as an amazing cathedral, St. Peter. I had no idea they had such a huge cathedral there, it was built in the Gothic style. These are my favorite types of cathedrals in Europe, so interesting to look at all the details on the exterior. This church was begun in 1275, and not totally completed until the 1860's! We were also able to visit the treasury which is always fun to see all the ornate items they keep tucked away.


We also walked down to the Danube and saw the Steinerne Brucke, which was constructed between 1135 and 1146. This stone bridge still carries auto traffic, and our book said it is the oldest stone bridge in Germany. There is also a bratwurst restaurant next to the bridge that is one of the oldest places to eat in Germany. It was established as a kitchen for the workers of the bridge, and still serves wurst today.

Regensburg was also home to Johannes Kepler, an astronomer who died in the early 1600's. We didn't see the museum of his life, we saved that for another time. This trip was really just to see what Regensburg was like, and what was there. We were pleasantly surprised, and enjoyed just walking around and taking in the sights.

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