Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. It is a university town and the regional seat of the Swabia with a well preserved Altstadt (historical city centre). 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 Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

), with a population of 304,000 and 885,000 in its metropolitan area. After

Neuss Neuss (; written ''Neuß'' until 1968; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It is primarily known for its ...

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

and

Xanten Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel. Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the ...

, Augsburg is one of Germany's oldest cities, founded in 15 BC by the Romans as Augusta Vindelicorum and named after the Roman emperor

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

. 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. According to Behringer, in the sixteenth century it became "the dominant centre of early capitalism", having benefited from being part of the Kaiserliche Reichspost system as "the location of the most important post office within the Holy Roman Empire" and the city's close connection to Maximilian I. The city played a leading role in the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

as the site of the 1530 Augsburg Confession and the 1555 Peace of Augsburg. The Fuggerei, the oldest social housing complex in the world, was founded in 1513 by Jakob Fugger. In 2019,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

recognised the Water Management System of Augsburg as a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

because of its unique medieval canals and water towers and its testimony to the development of hydraulic engineering.

Geography

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 has 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 An outwash plain, also called a sandur (plural: ''sandurs''), sandr or sandar, is a plain formed of glaciofluvial deposits due to meltwater outwash at the glacier terminus, terminus of a glacier. As it flows, the glacier grinds the underlying r ...

of the post

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

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. Augsburg borders the nature park Augsburg Western Woods, a large forestland. The city itself is also heavily verdant. 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.

Suburbs and neighbouring municipalities

Augsburg is surrounded by the counties Landkreis Augsburg in the west and Aichach-Friedberg in the east. The suburbs of Augsburg are Friedberg, Königsbrunn, Stadtbergen, Neusäß, Gersthofen, Diedorf. Neighbouring municipalities: Rehling, Affing, Kissing, Mering, Merching, Bobingen, Gessertshausen.

History

Early history

Nuremberg chronicles - Augusta vendilicorum

The city of Augsburg was founded in 15 BC on the orders of

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

. Emperor Augustus conducted extensive military campaigns and established administrative settlements. The

Roman colony A Roman (: ) was originally a settlement of Roman citizens, establishing a Roman outpost in federated or conquered territory, for the purpose of securing it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of a Roman city. It ...

that became Augsburg was known as ''Augusta Vindelicorum'', meaning "the Augustan city of the Vindelici". The settlement was established at the convergence of the Alpine rivers Lech and Wertach. In 120 AD Augsburg became the administrative capital of the Roman province of Raetia. Augsburg was sacked by the Huns in the fifth century AD, by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

in the eighth century and by

Welf I, Duke of Bavaria Welf I ( 1035/10406 November 1101) was Duke of Bavaria from 1070 to 1077 and from 1096 to his death. He was the first member of the Welf branch of the House of Este. In the genealogy of the Elder House of Welf, he is counted as Welf IV. Bio ...

in the 11th century.

Augsburg Confession

Augsburg was granted the status of a Free Imperial City on 9 March 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 Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

and curtailed the rights and freedoms of Catholics. With its strategic location at an intersection of trade routes to Italy, the Free Imperial City of Augsburg became a major trading centre. 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 The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

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''.

Leading European centre of capitalism of the sixteenth century

Seld Joerg Vogelschauplan von Westen Augsburg

Augsburg's economic boom years occurred during the 15th and 16th centuries thanks to the

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

and

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

businesses of the merchant families Fugger, Welser and Hochstetter. These families held a near total monopoly in important industries. Monopolies were considered criminal in contemporary laws and these families' practices were criticised by

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

himself, but as Emperor Charles V needed their financial assistance, he cancelled the charge in the 1530s. In the 16th century Augsburg became one of Germany's largest cities. Augsburg was a major

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

centre for

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

armor Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

, scientific instruments, as well as gold- and silver-smithing. The prolific printers of Augsburg also made the city the largest producer of German-language

books A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...

in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. Like other free imperial cities, Augsburg was an independent entity, and had authority over its

tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

policies. Augsburg's wealth attracted artists seeking patrons. The city rapidly became a creative centre for

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

s and

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

s. Augsburg became the base of the Holbein family, starting with Hans Holbein the Elder. The composer

Leopold Mozart Johann Georg Leopold Mozart (November 14, 1719 – May 28, 1787) was a German composer, violinist, and music theorist. He is best known today as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for his violin textbook ''Versuch einer grün ...

was born and educated in Augsburg.

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

became so prevalent that it became known as "Augsburg style" throughout Germany. Augsburg benefitted majorly from the establishment and expansion of the Kaiserliche Reichspost in the late 15th and early 16th century. This postal system, which was the first modern postal service in the world, was created through negotiations and agreements between the Taxis family represented by and the early Habsburgs monarches, notably Maximilian I, his son Philip the Handsome and grandson Charles V. Even when the Habsburg empire began to extend to other parts of Europe, Maximilian's loyalty to Augsburg, where he conducted a lot of his endeavours, meant that the imperial city became "the dominant centre of early capitalism" of the sixteenth century, and "the location of the most important post office within the Holy Roman Empire". From Maximilian's time, as the "terminuses of the first transcontinental post lines" began to shift from

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and from

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, in these cities, the communication system and the news market started to converge. As the Fuggers as well as other trading companies based their most important branches in these cities, these traders gained access to these systems as well (despite a widely circulated theory which holds that the Fuggers themselves operated their own communication system, in reality they relied upon the imperial posts, presumably from the 1490s onwards, as official members of the court of Maximilian I).

Witch hunts

Several witch hunts occurred in Augsburg in the late 16th century. Following the 1585–1588 plague epidemic, southeast Germany was shattered by the 1589–1591 witch hunts. Following the 1592–1593 plague epidemic, cities in southeast Germany entered a period of

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...

, marked by brutal witch hunts in urban areas.

Thirty Years' War

Religious peace in the city was largely maintained despite increasing tensions up to the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

(1618–1648). In 1629, the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II issued the Edict of Restitution, which restored the legal situation of 1552. However, the edict was revoked in April 1632, when

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus (9 December ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 19 December15946 November ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 16 November1632), also known in English as Gustav II Adolf or Gustav II Adolph, was King of Sweden from 1611 t ...

occupied Augsburg. In 1634, the Swedish army was defeated at the nearby Battle of Nördlingen. By October 1634, Catholic troops had surrounded Augsburg. The Swedish army refused to surrender and a

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

ensued through the winter of 1634/35 and thousands died from hunger and disease. During the Swedish occupation and the siege by Catholic troops, the population of the city was reduced from about 70,000 to about 16,000. Diseases such as

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

and the plague ravaged the city.

Guilds

In the first half of the 17th century Augsburg was pivotal in the European network of

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

s. Augsburg attracted goldsmith journeymen from all over Europe and in the 18th century a large number of silversmiths and goldsmiths became

master craftsman Historically, a master craftsman or master tradesman (sometimes called only master or grandmaster) was a member of a guild. The title survives as the highest professional qualification in craft industries. In the European guild#organization, gui ...

in Augsburg.

Nine Years' War

In 1686 the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I formed the ''League of Augsburg'', also known as the "Grand Alliance" after England joined in 1689. The

coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

consisted at various times of Austria,

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

, England, the

, the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a Imperial State, constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy ...

, Portugal,

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, Spain, Sweden, and the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

. The coalition was formed to defend the Electorate of the Palatinate and fought against France in the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

End of Free Imperial City status

The

Reichsdeputationshauptschluss The ' (formally the ', or "Principal Conclusion of the Extraordinary Imperial Delegation"), sometimes referred to in English as the Final Recess or the Imperial Recess of 1803, was a resolution passed by the ' (Imperial Diet) of the Holy Roman Em ...

or the Final Recess of 1803, saw the annexation of nearly all of the 51 Free Imperial Cities, excepting Augsburg and five others. However, when the

was dissolved in 1806, Napoleon encouraged his German allies to annex their smaller neighbours, and Augsburg lost its independence. It 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.

Industrial revolution

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

Second World War and Cold War

A-Polish-woman-weeps-as-she-tells-her-story-to-US-troops-142365089506

Augsburg was historically a militarily important city due to its strategic location. During the German re-armament before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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. The

MAN A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...

factory at Augsburg was the largest German manufacturer of engines for U-boats in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and became the target of the Augsburg Raid. When the Avro Lancaster bomber was new in service, the RAF sent 12 at low level to bomb the factory in daylight, on 17 April 1942. The bombers were intercepted en route and only five returned, all damaged. The factory was damaged but production continued; the factory was repeatedly bombed later. A subcamp of the Dachau concentration camp outside Augsburg supplied approximately 1,300 forced labourers to local military-related industry, especially the Messerschmitt AG military aircraft firm, headquartered in Augsburg. In 1941

Rudolf Hess Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician, Nuremberg trials, convicted war criminal and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer ( ...

, without

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

's permission, secretly took off from a local Augsburg airport and flew to Scotland, crashing in

Eaglesham Eaglesham ( or , or ; ; ) is a village in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, situated about south of Glasgow, southeast of Newton Mearns and south of Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, Clarkston, and southwest of East Kilbride. The 2011 census reveal ...

, to the south of Glasgow. His objective was to meet the

Duke of Hamilton Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage (except for the Duke of Rothesay, Dukedom of Rothesay held by the sovereign's eldest son), and as such its holder is the pr ...

in an attempt to mediate the end of the European front of

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 on 28 April 1945 when the U.S. Army occupied the city. The city and its Messerschmitt works were bombed on three occasions during the war. Collateral damage included the destruction of just under 25% of all homes in the city and the deaths of several hundred people. Following the war the three Kasernen changed hands confusingly between the American and Germans, finally ending up in US hands for the duration of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. They 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 The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

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

Municipality

From 1266 until 1548, the terms ''Stadtpfleger'' (head of town council) and ''

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

'' 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

in 1806, Augsburg was ruled by a

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

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.

Mayor

The mayor of Augsburg has been Eva Weber of the Christian Social Union (CSU) since 2020. The most recent mayoral election was held on 15 March 2020, with a runoff held on 29 March, and the results were as follows: ! rowspan=2 colspan=2, Candidate ! rowspan=2, Party ! colspan=2, First round ! colspan=2, Second round , - ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Eva Weber , align=left, Christian Social Union , 41,534 , 43.1 , 63,762 , 62.3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Dirk Wurm , align=left, Social Democratic Party , 18,116 , 18.8 , 38,532 , 37.7 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Martina Wild , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens , 17,851 , 18.5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Andreas Jurca , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

, 4,673 , 4.8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Peter Hummel , align=left, Free Voters of Bavaria , 3,053 , 3.2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Frederik Hintermayr , align=left, The Left , 2,564 , 2.7 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Lisa McQueen , align=left,

Die PARTEI (''Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Democratic Initiative''), or Die PARTEI (''The PARTY''), is a German political party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of the German satirical magazine ...

, 1,896 , 2.0 , - , , align=left, Bruno Marcon , align=left, Augsburg in the Citizens' Hands , 1,478 , 1.5 , - , , align=left, Anna Tabak , align=left, We are Augsburg , 1,261 , 1.3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Lars Vollmar , align=left, Free Democratic Party , 1,249 , 1.3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Pettinger , align=left, Ecological Democratic Party , 1,183 , 1.2 , - , , align=left, Claudia Eberle , align=left, Pro Augsburg , 941 , 1.0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Florian Betz , align=left, V-Partei³ , 678 , 0.7 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 96,477 ! 99.4 ! 102,294 ! 99.4 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 578 ! 0.6 ! 661 ! 0.6 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 97,055 ! 100.0 ! 102,955 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 214,110 ! 45.3 ! 213,982 ! 48.1 , - , colspan=7, Source: City of Augsburg (first round, second round)

City council

The Augsburg city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 15 March 2020, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Social Union (CSU) , 1,653,781 , 32.3 , 5.4 , 20 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) , 1,198,090 , 23.4 , 11.0 , 14 , 7 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Social Democratic Party (SPD) , 734,066 , 14.3 , 8.1 , 9 , 4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(AfD) , 337,834 , 6.6 , 0.7 , 4 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=#007E82, , align=left, Free Voters of Bavaria (FW) , 230,952 , 4.5 , 0.9 , 3 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 189,034 , 3.7 , 0.5 , 2 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 117,201 , 2.3 , 0.7 , 1 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP) , 114,119 , 2.2 , 0.3 , 1 , ±0 , - , , align=left, Generation AUX (GenAUX) , 108,956 , 2.1 , New , 1 , New , - , , align=left, Augsburg in the Citizens' Hands (AiB) , 96,690 , 1.9 , New , 1 , New , - , , align=left, Pro Augsburg (PRO A) , 94,346 , 1.8 , 3.3 , 1 , 2 , - , , align=left, We are Augsburg (WSA) , 77,189 , 1.5 , New , 1 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

, 76,557 , 1.5 , New , 1 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, V-Partei³ , 69,643 , 1.4 , New , 1 , New , - , colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , , align=left, Political Voters' Association/ Democracy in Motion (Polit-WG/DiB) , 29,149 , 0.6 , 2.5 , 0 , 1 , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 5,127,607 ! 100.0 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 2,079 ! 2.1 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 97,013 ! 100.0 ! ! 60 ! ±0 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 214,110 ! 45.3 ! 4.1 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
City of Augsburg

Members of the Bundestag

Augsburg is located in the ''Wahlkreis 251 Augsburg-Stadt'' constituency. Until the 2021 elections the ''Wahlkreis'' of Augsburg included Königsbrunn and parts of the District of Augsburg ( Landkreis Augsburg). Volker Ullrich of the CSU was directly elected to the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

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.

Climate

Augsburg has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''Cfb'') or, following the 0 °C isotherm, a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dfb'').

Main historic sights

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

, built in 1620 in the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

style with the Goldener Saal *

Perlachturm The 70-metre-tall Perlachturm is a belltower in front of the church of St. Peter am Perlach in the central district of Augsburg, Germany. It originated as a watchtower in the 10th century. The existing Renaissance structure was built in the 1610s ...

, a bell tower built in 989 * Fuggerei, the oldest social housing estate in the world, inhabited since 1523 * Fuggerhäuser (Fugger houses), 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 A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

, founded in the ninth century * St Anne's Church, medieval church building that was originally part of a monastery built in 1321 * St Mary's Syriac Orthodox Church on the Zusamstraße in Lechhausen, built 1998 by ( Assyrians) * Augsburg Synagogue, one of the few German synagogues to survive the war, now restored and open with a Jewish museum inside * Augsburg textile and industry museum (stylized as "tim" for short) organises its displays under headings Mensch-Maschine-Muster-Mode. * Schaezlerpalais, a Rococo mansion (1765) now housing a major art museum * St Ulrich and St Afra – of these neighboring churches, one is Roman Catholic, the other is

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

, the duality being a result of the Peace of Augsburg concluded in 1555 between Catholics and Protestants * Mozart Haus Augsburg (where the composer's father

was born and

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

visited several times) * Augsburger Puppenkiste, a puppet theatre * Luther Stiege, museum located in a church that showing Martin Luther's life and various rooms. (free admission) * Eiskanal, the world's first artificial

whitewater Whitewater forms in the context of rapids, in particular, when a river's Stream gradient, gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that foam, froths, making t ...

course (venue for the whitewater events of the 1972 Munich Olympics) * Dorint Hotel Tower * Childhood home of

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

* The Augsburg

Botanical Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

s ( Botanischer Garten Augsburg) * Maximillian Museum, decorative arts * Bahnpark Augsburg home of 29 historic locomotives, blacksmith, historic roundhouse * 3 magnificent renaissance fountains, the Augustus Fountain, Mercury Fountain and Hercules Fountain from the 15th century, built for the 1500th anniversary of the foundation of the city * Walter Art Museum at the ''Glas Palast'' ("Glas-Palace") * Roman Museum in the former Monastery of St Magdalena. In December 2012 the church was closed owing to the risk of collapse. In 2015 an exhibition opened in the Zeughaus, which will replace the museum for an indefinite period. Renovation work is ongoing and the Church will remain closed until further notice. * Medieval canals, used to run numerous industries, medieval arms production, silver art, sanitation and water pumping * Kulturhaus Abraxas Fuenfgratturm1.JPG, ''Fünfgratturm'' tower Germany Augsburg Dom-St-Maria Door Handle.jpg, Ring of Mercy on the Dom (Cathedral) St Maria Augsburg Synagoge.jpg, Augsburg Synagogue Augsburg - st ulrich u afra.jpg, St. Ulrich and St. Afra Cathedral Rechtfertigungslehre St.-Anna Augsburg rectified.jpg, Plaque commemorating the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification at St. Anne's Church

Water Management System

The water systems of Augsburg have been the site of innovations in hydraulic engineering for centuries. Augsburg was built on top of an aquifer fed by the Lech and Wertach rivers, which provided purified groundwater that ran through the city through springs and streams. The canals were first mentioned in 1276, and by 1416 waterworks, pumps and water towers were added to distribute this water effectively. In 1545 Augsburg was one of the first European towns to separate drinking water from water used for industry, effectively preventing water-borne diseases. The pumps and waterwheels also generated power for fountains and food processing, such as a 17th-century butcher's hall that still stands today. In the 19th and 20th centuries hydroelectic power plants were also installed. These power plants were some of the first in the world to generate electricity from water and they are still in use today. On 6 July 2019 the Water Management System of Augsburg was designated as a

Incorporations

Population

Augsburg has a population of about 300,000. It is the third largest city in

and the largest city in the Swabia region. In the 16th century, Augsburg was one of the largest cities in

, with a population of about 30,000. This put it on a level with cities like

and

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. Augsburg passed 100,000 residents in 1909 and the population has grown steadily since then. In 2015, the Diocese of Augsburg had 1,325,316 Catholics, which was 57.2% of the total population. Bavaria is the largest Catholic religious group in Germany, with Catholics making up 57% of the population.

Twin towns – sister cities

Augsburg is twinned with: * Amagasaki, Japan (1959) *

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

, France (1963) *

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, United States (1964) * Inverness, Scotland, UK (1956) *

Jinan Jinan is the capital of the province of Shandong in East China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is one of the largest cities in Shandong in terms of population. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of ...

, China (2004) *

Liberec Liberec (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 108,000 inhabitants, making it the fifth largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse River, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preserved and is pr ...

, Czech Republic (2001) * Nagahama, Japan (1959)

Transport

Roads

The main road link is

autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...

A 8 between

and

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

Public transport

Public transport is very well catered for. It is controlled by the Augsburger Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund (Augsburg transport and tariff association, AVV) extended over central Swabia. There are seven rail

Regionalbahn The ''Regionalbahn'' (; lit. Regional train; abbreviated ''RB'') is a train categories in Europe, type of Regional rail, local passenger train (stopping train) in Germany. It is similar to the Regionalzug (R) and Regio (Swiss railway train), R ...

lines, five

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

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 A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

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. In December 2021, tram line 3 was extended southward to the neighboring city of Königsbrunn.

Intercity bus

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

Railway

Augsburg has seven stations, the Central Station (''Hauptbahnhof''), Hochzoll,

Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

, 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 modernised and an underground tram station is built underneath it. Hauptbahnhof is on the Munich–Augsburg and Ulm–Augsburg lines and is connected by

ICE Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally oc ...

and IC services to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

and

. As of December 2007, the French TGV connected Augsburg with a direct High Speed Connection to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In addition EC and night train services connect to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and connections will be substantially improved by the creation of the planned Magistrale for Europe. The AVV operates seven

lines from the main station to: * Mammendorf * Schmiechen (direction to

Ammersee Ammersee (; English: Lake Ammer) is a '' Zungenbecken'' lake in Upper Bavaria, Germany, southwest of Munich between the towns of Herrsching and Dießen am Ammersee. With a surface area of approximately , it is the sixth largest lake in Germany ...

) * Aichach/ Radersdorf * Meitingen/ Donauwörth * Dinkelscherben * Schwabmünchen * Klosterlechfeld Starting in 2008, the regional services are planned to be altered to

S-Bahn The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...

frequencies and developed long term as integrated into the Augsburg S-Bahn.

Air transport

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.

Economy

BMW Leipzig MEDIA 050719 Download Karosseriebau max

Augsburg is a vibrant industrial city. Many global market leaders namely

, EADS or KUKA produce high technology products like printing systems, large diesel engines, industrial robots or components for the

Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a very large wide-body airliner, developed and produced by Airbus until 2021. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and the only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the pr ...

and the Ariane carrier rocket. After

, Augsburg is considered the high-tech centre for

information and communications technology Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computer ...

in Bavaria and takes advantage of its lower operating costs, yet close proximity to Munich and potential customers. In 2018 the Bavarian State Government recognised this fact.

Major companies

*Boewe Systec * Faurecia * Fujitsu Technology Solutions * KUKA *

MAN SE MAN SE (abbreviation of ''Maschinenfabrik Augsburg- Nürnberg'', ) was a manufacturing and engineering company based in Munich, Germany. Its primary output was commercial vehicles and diesel engines through its MAN Truck & Bus and MAN Latin ...

* MAN Roland * MT Aerospace * NCR * Premium AEROTEC * Renk * Siemens * UPM-Kymmene * WashTec * Synlab Group * Cancom * Check24 *

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

* Patrizia Immobilien

Education

Augsburg is home to the following universities and colleges: * University of Augsburg, founded in 1970 * Technische Hochschule Augsburg (University of Applied Sciences, formerly Fachhochschule Augsburg)

Media

The local newspaper is the '' Augsburger Allgemeine'' first published in 1807.

Notable people

* Saint Afra, (died 304), patron Saint of Augsburg, martyr * Simpert, (died 807), abbot, bishop and confessor * Saint Ulrich (–973), Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg * Saint Wolfhard (1070–1127), Swabian artisan, trader and hermit * Jakob Fugger the Elder (1398–1469), master weaver, town councillor and merchant * Erhard Ratdolt (1442–1528), Printer, famous for having produced the first known printers type specimen book * Jakob Fugger (1459–1525), Noted banker and financial broker. An area within the city, called the Fuggerei, was set aside for the poor and needy in 1519. * Hans Holbein the Elder (1460–1524), pioneer in the transformation of German art from the Gothic to the

style *

Konrad Peutinger Konrad Peutinger (; 14 October 1465 – 28 December 1547) was a German Humanism, humanist, jurist, diplomat, politician, economist and archaeologist, serving as Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor Maximilian I's chief archaeological adviser. ...

(1465–1547), humanist, jurist, diplomat, politician, economist and archaeologist * Hans Burgkmair (1473–1531), painter and woodcut printmaker * Caspar Aquila (1488–1560), Lutheran theologian and reformer *

Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; ; – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a German-Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He ...

(1497–1543), portrait and religious painter * Matthäus Schwarz (1497–), accountant and author * Paulus Hector Mair (1517–1579), martial artist * Wilhelm Xylander (1532–1576), classical scholar and humanist * Elias Holl (1573–1646), architect * Philipp Hainhofer (1578–1647), merchant, banker, diplomat and art collector * Julius Schiller (1580–1627), lawyer and astronomer * Johann Georg Wirsung (1589–1643), anatomist * Johann Jakob Brucker (1696–1770), German historian of philosophy * Andreas Christoph Graf (1701–1776), German teacher, author and poet * Johann Jakob Haid (1704–1767), engraver *

(1719–1787), violinist-composer, father of

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

* Christoph Christian Sturm (1740–1786), preacher and author * Gerhard Adam Neuhofer (1773–1816), deacon and historian * Eduard Bayer (1822–1908), composer and classical guitarist * Emil Schürer (1844–1910), Protestant theologian. He studied the history of the Jews. * Johann Most (1846–1906), Social Democratic and then anarchist politician, newspaper editor and orator *

Rudolf Diesel Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel (, ; 18 March 1858 – 29 September 1913) was a German inventor and mechanical engineer who invented the Diesel engine, which burns Diesel fuel; both are named after him. Early life and education Diesel was born on 1 ...

(1858–1913), inventor of the diesel engine * Albert Rehm (1871–1949), philologist who first understood the significance of the

Antikythera mechanism The Antikythera mechanism ( , ) is an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek hand-powered orrery (model of the Solar System). It is the oldest known example of an Analog computer, analogue computer. It could be used to predict astronomy, astronomical ...

* Hans von Euler-Chelpin (1873–1964), co-recipient of 1929 Nobel Prize in Chemistry * Karl Haberstock (1878–1956), art dealer to the Nazis * Artur Lauinger (1879–1961), German journalist * Julius Streicher (1885–1946), prominent Nazi prior to World War II, founder and publisher of anti-Semitic '' Der Stürmer'' newspaper, executed for war crimes * Julius Schaxel (1887–1943), biologist * Hans Loritz (1895–1946), Nazi SS concentration camp commandant *

(1898–1956), writer and theater director * August Schmidhuber (1901–1947), Nazi SS officer, executed for war crimes * Wilhelm Gerstenmeier (1908–1944), SS concentration camp officer, executed for war crimes * Josef Priller (1915–1961),

ace * Mietek Pemper (1920–2011), Polish-born Jew. He compiled and typed Oskar Schindler's list, which saved 1,200 Jewish prisoners from the Holocaust. * Günther Schneider-Siemssen (1926–2015), scenic designer * Hans Henning Atrott (1944–2018), German author and theorist * Wolf Blitzer (born 1948), American journalist and CNN reporter * Francis T. McAndrew (born 1953), American Psychologist, Professor, and Author (U.S. military parents) * Günther K.H. Zupanc (born 1958), neurobiologist, researcher, university teacher, book author, journal editor and educational reformer * Sheryl Lee (born 1967), actress, poet and activist * Alexander Wesselsky (born 1968), lead singer of the German band Eisbrecher * Florian Hecker (born 1975), experimental electronic music composer * Marisa Olson (born 1977), artist * Benny Greb (born 1980), solo drum artist * Andreas Bourani (born 1983), singer-songwriter * Bianca Voitek (born 1985), female bodybuilder * Maximilian Hornung (born 1986), cellist

Sport

* Werner Haas (1927–1956), Grand Prix motorcycle road racer * Ulrich Biesinger (1933–2011), former German footballer, part of the team that won the

1954 FIFA World Cup The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the 5th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June ...

* Helmut Haller (1939–2012), footballer who represented

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

at three World Cups * Bernhard Langer (born 1957), professional golfer * Bernd Schuster (born 1959), football coach and former player * Armin Veh (born 1961), football coach * Alexander Grau (born 1973), racing driver * Philipp Kohlschreiber (born 1983), former tennis player * Thomas Holzer (born 1985), racing driver * Stefan Bradl (born 1989), motorcycle racer * Johnny Cecotto Jr. (born 1989), racing driver * Phoenix Sanders (born 1995), American baseball pitcher in the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

organisation * Nico Sturm (born 1995), ice hockey player * Georg Zimmermann (born 1997), professional cyclist * Justin Butler (born 2001), footballer * Marco Brenner (born 2002), professional cyclist

Sports

FC Augsburg is a football team based in Augsburg and plays in the WWK ARENA to the south of the city centre. FC Augsburg secured promotion to

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

in 2011 and have remained there ever since, qualifying for the Europa League for the first time in 2015 and securing mid-table finishes across the last few seasons. The club, nicknamed the Fuggerstädter or simply as FCA, reached the last 32 in the 2015–16 Europa League with a 1–0 aggregate defeat to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. The WWK ARENA, nicknamed the "Anfield of the B17 Highway" following the Liverpool UEL match, opened in July 2009 and also hosted games of the

2011 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for List of women's national association football teams, women's national association football, football teams. It was held from 26 June to ...

. The 30,660 capacity arena is easily accessible from the city centre or the adjacent B17 dual carriageway. The city is home to a DEL (first-division) ice hockey team, the

Augsburger Panther The Augsburger Panther are a professional ice hockey team in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, DEL. The team is based in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. They play their home games at the Curt Frenzel Stadion. Founded in 1878, the team's name was Augsburge ...

. The original club, AEV, was formed in 1878, the oldest German ice sport club and regularly draws around 4,000 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 and the club reached the 2018/19 DEL semi finals, eventually losing in the winner-takes-all game 7 to EHC Red Bull München (4–3 series defeat). Consequently, the Panthers qualified for the Champions Hockey League. Augsburg is also home to one of the most traditional German Baseball clubs, the Augsburg Gators and 2 American Football Clubs, the Raptors and Augsburg Storm, and in nearby Königsbrunn there is the Königsbrunn Ants. For the 1972 Olympic Games in

, a protective diversion channel of the Lech dam for river ice was transformed into the world's first artificial whitewater slalom course: the Eiskanal, which remains a world-class competition venue and has served as a prototype for two dozen similar courses abroad.

Local city nicknames

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. The ''Datschiburger Kickers'' charity football team (founded in 1965) reflects this in its choice of team name.Augsburger Stadtlexikon – ''Datschiburger Kickers''
accessed: 18 November 2008 Among younger people, the city is commonly called "Aux" for short.

References

Bibliography

External links

Augsburg Tourism
Official tourism portal for Augsburg region {{Authority control Roman towns and cities in Germany 15 BC establishments Venues of the 1972 Summer Olympics Displaced persons camps in the aftermath of World War II 1270s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1276 establishments in Europe 1803 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire Free imperial cities States and territories established in 1276 States and territories disestablished in 1803 World Heritage Sites in Germany Urban districts of Bavaria Swabia (Bavaria)