REGENSBURG ORIGINALS & SPECIAL FEATURES.

A declaration of love.

A few years ago, if you told people that you were from Regensburg, they would often ask “Where is that?”. In the meantime, the level of awareness of our city has increased significantly. After all, the entire Old Town including Stadtamhof was awarded the UNESCO World Heritage title in 2006. In Germany, only the old towns of Bamberg, Goslar, Lübeck, Weimar, Stralsund and Wismar have achieved this for the entire old town. Of course, everyone knows St. Peter’s Cathedral as the city’s landmark. Or the Stone Bridge, which was celebrated as the eighth wonder of the world when it was completed in the Middle Ages and is the oldest surviving bridge in Germany. The Charles Bridge in Prague was modeled on our bridge and while there are several saints immortalized on the bridge, we have the unique Bruckmandl and its legend.

Right next to the Stone Bridge is another original: the Historische Wurstkuchl, which is said to be the oldest sausage roasting house in the world. What initially served as a construction office during the building of the Stone Bridge from 1135 to 1146 quickly developed into a cookshop for dockers and construction workers. Incidentally, sausages have only been cooked there since around 1800, before that boiled meat was served.

Speaking of records: Germany’s first coffee house was of course also established in Regensburg, the Café Prinzess, not far from the Old Town Hall, where the perpetual Reichstag met. Even the oldest pretzel in the world was found in our city: in 2015, a historical snack in the form of charred remains of bread rolls, a pretzel and a croissant from the 18th century were found during excavations at Donaumarkt. Oh Regensburg, you are known for so many things: from Thurn und Taxis Castle to Händlmaier mustard, the Hat King and Bürsten Ernst. Even a pope once lived here. Regensburg is also the largest medieval town north of the Alps, we have the largest free-hanging organ in the world and the Röhrl restaurant in the district is the oldest pub in the world. Phew, quite a lot for one city… But we don’t love Regensburg for its celebrities and superlatives, but for the many small, lesser-known things. For example, the many stone statues on the houses in the old town. The stag above the Hofbräuhaus. Or the young man on the north side of the Gumprecht House (Neue-Waag-Gasse 1), who sticks his bare bottom out at you.

A few steps further on at Haidplatz, there is another special feature. Where jousting tournaments used to take place, there is a small animal lucky charm. Berlin has its bear, Regensburg has a little mouse. It sits at the corner window of the patrician castle “Neue Waag”. 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.

Another favorite place and also a symbol for a lucky charm in the form of a toadstool can be found at the Fürst-Anselm-Alee: “der Schwammerl” has been standing there since the 1950s and has been a listed building since 2003. Today’s stand-up café was a so-called “Milchpilze”, where young people once drank milkshakes and ate ice cream. Only eight of these Milchpilze are still in operation in Europe.

Milk mushroom Regensburg — Milchpilz Regensburg

It is precisely these charming little things that we love so much about Regensburg. What other city has alleyways that bear the name “Zur schönen Gelegenheit”? Or a “Goldene-Bären-Straße”? You should visit the “Einhorngässchen”, where you can really feel the Middle Ages… Of course, we could think of many other things, but that’s enough for today. More soon.

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