205
Above Magnificent coffered ceiling of the
Goldener Saal, Rathaus, Augsburg Below left
Baroque Rathaus, Friedberg Below right
Gardens at the rear of the Fuggerei, AugsburgEAT AND DRINK IN AUGSBURGAugust expensive
This gourmet restaurant holds two
Michelin stars. Try the Breton calamari
with black curry and Trompettes de mort
(black chanterelle mushrooms).
Reservations are recommended.
Frauentorstrasse 27, 86152; 0821 352
79; closed Mon, Tue & Sun
Die Ecke expensive
Situated down a flight of steps at the
side of the Rathaus, this gourmet rest au-
rant is an Augsburg favorite, serving
refined German cuisine with wines
from France, Italy, and Germany.
Elias-Holl-Platz 2, 86152; 0821 51 06
00; http://www.restaurantdieecke.de
Other options
König von Flandern (Karolinenstrasse
12, 86152; 0821 15 80 50), a micro-
brewery, serves excellent beers and
regio nal food. Also worth trying is the
Fuggerei Stube (Jakoberstrasse 26,
86152; 0821 308 70). The cheapest
meals in town are at the stand-up stalls
in the Stadtmarkt off Annastrasse – a
lunch time favorite with locals.DRIVE 19: The Southern Romantic Road
Detail on the balustrade,
Fugger Chapelgroup of alms houses is thought
to be the world’s oldest social
housing com plex. One of the
apartments is preserved in its
original condition as a museum.
Head back to the city
center along Jakobstrasse
and turn left into Oberer
Graben, on the far side of
which is the artisans’ quar-
ter, or Handwerkerviertel
8 , a charm ing district of
winding lanes. It was in one of the
houses in this dis trict, at Vorderer
Lech, that Hans Holbein the Younger
was born; the house was destroyed
in World War II. In its place stands the
Kunstverein Augsburg (closed Mon),
which hosts temporary exhibi tions of
modern art. Continue along Vorderer
Lech into Bäckergasse; at the end,
turn right up Milchberg to St. Ulrich
und Afra 9 , a late-Gothic church
which domi nates the south ern part
of the Altstadt. Begun in 1474, it
was not completed until 1603 and
contains the tombs of St. Ulrich,
St. Afra and St. Simpert. North from
here stret ches Maximilianstrasse,
lined with mansions and cafés.
Among the grand est man sions is the
Schaezlerpalais 0 , built in 1765 as
the town palace of the banker Liebert
von Liebenhofen and now a museum
of German Baroque art (closed Mon).
The former palace’s Rococo ballroom
is the venue for con certs during the
summer. In front of the Schaezlerpalais
stands the Herkulesbrunnen, or
Hercules Fountain, one of the three
Renaissance fountains by Adriaen
de Vries, com ple ted around 1600.
Go north along Maximilianstrasse,
past the Fugger City Palace, or
Fugger-Stadtpalast q, to see the
foun tains, Merkurbrunnen and
Augustusbrunnen, which stand in
front of the Rathaus. Con ti nue on
the same road to the parking lot.
ª Take the B2/Friedberger
Strasse to Friedberg. Paid park-
ing is next to the Rathaus.The Fuggers
In three generations, the Fugger
family went from being weav ers to
bankers to the mighty Habsburgs.
The greatest of the dynasty was
Jakob Fugger the Rich, the wealth-
iest businessman of his day, who
funded Charles V’s ascent to the
throne of the Holy Roman Empire.
His town palace in Augsburg hosted
the meeting between Martin Luther
and Cardinal Cajetan and is to this
day home to the Fugger Privat bank.
However, his most famous memorial
is the Fuggerei, the world’s first
social housing complex.2 Friedberg
Bavaria; 86316
Founded by King Ludwig
II in 1264, Friedberg is an
impressive sight, snug behind well-
preserved town walls. The town’s hill-
top Altstadt is rather over-restored, but
there is a fine 17th-cen tury Rathaus
designed in the style of architect Elias
Holl. Just beyond the fortifica tions is
the Wittelsbacher Schloss, rebuilt in
1559 in Renaissance style, which is
now a museum (closed Mon & hols).
Its collections include beau tiful
watches and faïence, or tin-glazed
pottery, for which Friedberg was
known in the 18th century.
ª Return along Augsburger Strasse
and take the B300/ Haunstetter Strasse
south from the city. This joins the B17
to Landsberg am Lech where there is
limited parking on the main square.