SHORT CITY TOUR PART 1!

STROLL THROUGH THE STREETS OF REGENSBURG:

We recently took a leisurely stroll through the old town again and kept our eyes peeled for beautiful street names. As we know, the old town has plenty of them. But hardly anyone knows where these names come from. So we did a little research and put together a short walk for you. We start in Schwarzen-Bären-Straße, on the corner of Am Brixener Hof. Like many of Regensburg’s streets, Schwarze-Bären-Straße is named after a former pub, namely the “Zum Schwarzen Bären” inn. There is a bear’s paw in the ground at the beginning and end of the street.

If you continue along Schwarze-Bären-Strasse towards Kaufhof, you will come to Pfauengasse on the right-hand side. It is named after the former inn “Zum Goldenen Pfau”, which was once located where Galeria Kaufhof is now. Pfauengasse leads directly to Domplatz.

Opposite the cathedral, at the Krauterermarkt, gardeners from the eastern quarter used to sell their vegetables and sauerkraut. Many of the farmers used to live on the eastern edge of the old town, in Krauterergasse, now Von-der-Thann-Straße. Until around the year 2000, the Radi farmers from Weichs traditionally offered their famous Regensburger Radi. Krauterermarkt no. 3 is the address of the Bischofshof, the former residence of the bishops, which is now the Hotel and Restaurant Bischofshof. But we turn into Kramgasse first.

For once, Kramgasse and Tändlergasse are not named after an inn but, as you can guess, after professions. These two intersecting lanes were home to grocers and traders, small merchants with their stores and all kinds of “stuff and trinkets”. Kramgasse leads into Wahlenstraße. It is worth taking a look back at the cathedral before continuing to the right to Kohlenmarkt. There used to be several markets in Regensburg, including this one. In the Middle Ages, all sorts of things were sold here, but from the 18th century onwards it was mainly coal.

Continue straight ahead towards the narrow Blaue-Liliengasse. At number 4, there used to be a pub called “Zur blauen Lilie”. A sign with a lily can still be seen there. Blaue-Lilien-Gasse leads into one of my favorite streets, Goldene-Bären-Straße.

Unsurprisingly, there was also an inn here, at number 6 was the “Zum Goldenen Bären” inn. I like Goldene-Bären-Straße so much because I lived here for 12 years.

To the left is the fish market. The name used to say it all, as the Danube is only a stone’s throw away, so of course fish was sold here. The stone benches on which the fish was presented are still there. There is also one of my favorite fountains here: the Fortitudo Fountain. The fountain from 1610 stands for fortitude and strength. In the middle of the rectangular pedestal fountain stands a young man leaning on the Regensburg city coat of arms and holding a fish in his hand. He has placed his left foot on a dolphin. Incidentally, water can still be pumped out of the fountain from the two pipes on the left and right.

If you walk a little further left up Silberne-Kranz-Gasse (also named after an inn, of course), you come to the Roter Herzfleck – no wonder: also named after an inn. “Zum Roten Herzen” was also a brothel for a time. The term “Fleck” comes from the fact that the section is so short that “Gasse” would be too long.

We walk through the passageway to Rathausplatz. On the right above the entrance to the Old Town Hall with its late Gothic pointed arch portal are the two journeymen Schutz and Trutz, symbolizing the defensive nature of the town.

View of the town hall square from the red heart spot

Next to the gate to the Old Town Hall are the old town measurements. There, buyers could check whether the dimensions of the goods were correct. For example, the town shoe or a fathom can be found there. Today, the fathom is still used as a measure for firewood. From here you can see the Hofbräuhaus with the stag above the door. If you now turn right into Neue-Waag-Gasse, you come to Haidplatz. This red building at Haidplatz 1 was the weighing house of the Free Imperial City of Regensburg. The goods were weighed here before being sold.

Incidentally, a small mouse sits inconspicuously at the corner window of the patrician castle “Neue Waag” on Haidplatz. It is said that if you stroke it, you will never be as poor as a church mouse or you will return to Regensburg at least once. The little mouse is still quite young by Regensburg standards. After the Second World War, the Neue Waag was renovated. The then master cathedral builder Richard Triebe renewed the cross ribs of the former chapel of the building (now Musikhaus Wittl). He decorated the console with a stone mouse. To this day, stories circulate about this mouse and how it came to be. It is said to be medieval. But it is not. The original, which was created in the 1950s, disappeared in private rooms during renovations in the 1990s. The stone relief of the mouse, which now sits on the corner window of Musikhaus Wittl, is a replica.

Mouse Regensburg — City mouse Regensburg

Have fun strolling through the city!

Your city – your blog!

(unpaid advertising due to naming and shaming)

Our excursion tips on Facebook:

Do you already know our Facebook group “Excursion tips in and around Regensburg plus Upper Palatinate” with more than 22,000 members? Click here for the group.