SHORT CITY TOUR PART 2!

You enjoyed the first part of the city walk so much that we will of course continue it. This city walk also includes a bit of art. In 2019, the city of Regensburg got an art addition in the form of an 870 kg Waller on the Donaumarkt. The artwork divides Regensburg into two camps: some find the golden freshwater fish hideous, others like it. Be that as it may, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I took another look at the Waller and put together a little walk for you.

STROLL THROUGH REGENSBURG:

This time, the city tour starts at the indoor swimming pool at Gabelsbergerstraße 8, where you can see “Die Ruhende”, a cubic bronze figure made by the artist Seff Weidl in 1955. I find that the figure actually has something calming about it. Nevertheless, we continue along Gabelsbergerstraße and cross Adolf-Schmetzer-Straße at the traffic lights.

On the left we see the East Gate. The five-storey gate, which was built from 1284, is one of the best-preserved Gothic city gates in Germany and was once erected to protect the so-called “eastern suburb”. The former city fortifications had a total of six gate towers. The Ostentor used to be the city gate through which the emperors coming from Vienna entered the city. The exit road behind the old city gate used to be the eastern route into the Austrian capital.

Königliche Villa

Villapark Regensburg

Straight ahead is the entrance to the Villa Park. There you will find the royal villa, which was built from 1854 to 1856 by order of the Bavarian King Maximilian II, together with a park. The villa served as a summer residence for the king. The villa is in a really beautiful location and is lovely to look at, so it’s certainly a good place to spend time in summer.
We cross the villa park to the Danube and walk left along the Marc Aurel embankment to the Bavarian Museum on Donaumarkt. Here we find the 870 kg “Golden Waller“, which was ceremonially beached in front of the Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte on October 18, 2019. The Berlin-based artist team stoebo, consisting of Cisca Bogman and Oliver Störmer, designed the 8-metre-long work of art for Regensburg. How do you like it?

Around the corner is the museum’s large cathedral window, which opens towards the old town and is so called because the cathedral towers are reflected in the 80 m² window. From opposite, you can see the alternating texts in the window. In neon letters are words like: Grüß Gott, O’zapft ist, or Ois Chicago, a saying from the TV series Münchner Gschichten.

Continue along the banks of the Danube towards the Historische Wurstkuchl. On the right are two museum ships, the Freudenau and the Ruthof. The latter ship has an eventful history: it was built in 1922/1923 at the Ruthof shipyard in Regensburg, after which the ship was named, and then operated as a train ship on the Danube. In 1944, the Ruthof ran aground on a mine near the town of Érsekcsanád in southern Hungary and sank. The wreck was raised and reconstructed in 1956. From then on, the ship sailed under the Hungarian flag under the name Érsekcsanád and repeatedly returned to Regensburg as a steam tug. In 1979, it was acquired by the Regensburg Maritime Museum Working Group and converted into a museum ship. To be honest, it’s the only museum in Regensburg that I’ve never been to. As soon as it’s open again, I’ll make up for it. I promise.

You can already see the bridge tower and the Stone Bridge in front. It is the oldest preserved bridge in Germany. Here at the Wurstkuchl it is usually always crowded, no wonder, you can see the bridge well from here. Count the arches of the bridge 😉 How many can you see? → The Stone Bridge has 16 arches, but only 14 of them can be seen.

Incidentally, you will find a cool model of the city of Regensburg in front of the Wurstkuchl. The Historische Wurstkuchl originated as a small building leaning against the city wall, which served as a building office during the construction of the stone bridge from 1135 to 1146. When the building, which was celebrated as the eighth wonder of the world at the time, was completed, the construction office moved out and the small building became the “Garküche auf dem Kranchen”. The customers of the Garküche were port and construction workers, hence the name “Kranchen”, the word for cranes at the time. Incidentally, there were no sausages there at the time, only boiled meat. It wasn’t until around 1800 that the well-known sausages were put on the grill.

The Historische Wurstkuchl has been flooded time and again. You can see the flood marks on the side. Quite a sight. Behind the Wurstkuchl you can see a section of the old city wall. Next to it is the Salzstadel. Salt was stored here before being transported to Regensburg via the Salzach, the Inn and finally the Danube, where it was unloaded using cranes. Some of the heavy ships used to be pulled by horses. Some of the old cobblestones here still have grooves so that the horses had a better grip when pulling the ships.

Pass the Salzstadel and turn right to the Stone Bridge. The bridge tower virtually formed the border to Regensburg, as the bridge was the connection between the free imperial city of Regensburg and the Bavarian town of Stadtamhof, which only became part of Regensburg and was incorporated on April 1, 1924.
There used to be three towers on the Stone Bridge, this one here, a central tower and the black tower at the northern end of the bridge near the town of Stadtamhof. The bridge tower is the only surviving one of these three towers. Incidentally, debtors used to be locked up here in the past. They begged for coins with a fishing rod, which they lowered from the tower window, to collect their debts. Hard to imagine, isn’t it?

If you continue over the bridge, you will see a cockerel and a hen on the right at about mid-height. They are carved in stone here because of a legend from the Middle Ages. Allegedly, the master bridge builder made a bet with the master cathedral builder as to who would complete his construction first. However, as the cathedral construction progressed faster, the master bridge builder made a pact with the devil to help him. In return, the devil wanted the first three souls to cross the bridge. From then on, bridge building proceeded apace and the bridge was completed first. The devil demanded the three souls, but the master bridge builder was no fool: at the opening ceremony, he first chased a rooster, then a hen and a dog across the bridge. Enraged, the devil tried to destroy the bridge, which is why, according to legend, it has a hump. However, the bridge had actually been finished for a long time when construction of the cathedral began in 1273.

From here you can see the so-called Gareisinsel. The Spitz, the mill wheel and the gardens on Gareisinsel have existed since 1734. The island, which is separated from the houses on Wöhrdstraße by a mill canal, has hardly changed since then.

So, our last stop is the Bruckmandl at the highest point of the Stone Bridge. It is not known why the Bruckmandl is here, some people think it is a south-facing wise man who looks south and holds his hand to his forehead to protect himself from the sun. Others believe in the legend of the devil and the master bridge builder. According to this, the Bruckmandl represents the master bridge builder looking anxiously at the progress of the cathedral’s construction. However, we love the Bruckmandl! A couple of years ago, some firecracker frog broke off the poor Bruckmandl’s arm. Fortunately, it was restored and is back again, looking undauntedly south towards the cathedral.

Have fun strolling through the city
Your Annette

(Photos: Annette Ebmeier)

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