19 AUG 18 Regensburg

 

This post is based primarily on Don's notes, occasionally supplemented with MT's notes from our cruise in 2018. When information from other sources is added—for further explanation to readers or to satisfy our own curiosity—that is set off in a text box (as this one).

Most of the photos that accompany this post are from Don’s camera (with a caption indicating the time it was taken); those from MT’s iPhone are indicated by “MT” placed at the beginning of the photo caption. Photos from any other source (such as the public domain Wikimedia Commons), occasionally used for clarification, indicate that source in the caption.

The forecast in the Viking Daily newsletter was for 61-88° F and Mostly Sunny.

We woke at 6:60 am (MT) and 7:00 am (Don) and went to breakfast on the Viking Bragi (docked at Passau) at 8:00.

At 8:45, we boarded a bus for the 1.5-hour ride back to Regensburg, the stop we had missed on the way to Passau.

We arrived in Regensburg around 10:30.

Regensburg: Map provided by Viking; after we left the ship, we got Program Director Joey to show us on the map where the buses waited and the restaurant for lunch, so we could go to Mass at noon (Don's copy of this map has the "Busterminal Stadtamhof" at the top center circled (see red circle here), as the place where our walking tour began and to which we were to return); we would eat lunch at the Gravenreuter restaurant on Hinter dem Grieb street (see green circle).

Regensburg (pop. 152,270) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab, and Regen rivers. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate (Oberpfalz) subregion of Bavaria. From its foundation as an imperial Roman river fort, the city has been the political, economic, and cultural center of the surrounding region. It is still known in the Romance languages by a cognate of its Latin name “Ratisbona” (the version “Ratisbon” was long current in English).

The first settlements in area of Regensburg date from the Stone Age. The oldest Celtic name given to the settlement was Radasbona, a site where a Roman fort was built around 90 AD. In 179, a major new Roman fort, called Castra Regina (fortress by the river Regen) was built as a campsite for the Roman legions. It was an important camp at the most northerly point of the Danube and corresponded to what is today the core of Regensburg’s Old City (Altstadt). It is believed that as early as in late Roman times the city was the seat of a bishopric, and St. Boniface re-established the Bishopric of Regensburg in 739. From the 6th century, Regensburg was the seat of the noble family known as Agilofings, which ruled the Duchy of Bavaria from 550-788. From about 539 to the first half of the 13th century, it was the capital of Bavaria. In 788, Charlemagne put an end to the Agilofings, and the town became a residence of the Carolingian rulers.

In 1135-46, the Stone Bridge (Steinerne Brücke) across the Danube was built at Regensburg. This bridge opened major international trade routes between northern Europe and Venice, and this began Regensburg’s golden age as a residence of wealthy trading families. In 1245, Regensburg became a Free Imperial City and was a major trade center before the shifting of trade routes in the late Middle Ages and the rise of Augsburg and Nürnberg. Most of the surviving architecture originates from the glory days of the Imperial City between the 13th and 16th centuries, when it was rich from trade with Europe, the Balkans, and the Orient. Under the rule of the Holy Roman Empire, it hosted the Perpetual Imperial Diet of Regensburg from 1663 to 1806. In 1748, the Princes of Thurn and Taxis took up residence in Regensburg as the permanent commissioners of the Diet, and they are still resident here today. In 1803, Regensburg lost its status as an Imperial City and was incorporated into the Principality of Regensburg until it was ceded to the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1810.

During WWII, Regensburg was home to both a Messerschmitt factory and an oil refinery, which were bombed by the Allies in 1943. However, the older quarters of the city remained nearly unscathed, except for the Romanesque Obermünster church, which was destroyed in a 1945 air raid and was not rebuilt. Also, Regensburg’s slow economic recovery after the war ensured that historic buildings were not torn down and replaced by newer ones. When the upswing in restoration reached Regensburg in the late 1960s, the prevailing mindset had turned in favor of preserving the city’s heritage. The medieval center of the city has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2006 and is among the top sights and travel attractions in Germany.

Sunday, 19 August, 2018, 10:33 AM - Regensburg: houses near Danube near where our bus stopped.

MT 10:30 AM - Regensburg: houses near Danube near where our bus stopped.

10:36 AM - Regensburg: St. Katharinen-Spital, on the other side of the river; on the ground floor are a lotto-tobacco-newspaper store (at left) and a shoemaker's store (at right); next to the portal to an inner courtyard is a sign for "Spital Brauerei Gaststätte" (Hospital Brewery Restaurant).

The St. Katharinen-Spital (St. Catherine’s Hospital) is located on the Stadtamhof island north of the Old Town, between the north arm of the Danube and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal. The Johannesspital (St. John’s Hospital), already documented in the 12th century, was relocated to today’s location in Stadtamhof around 1213/14, and is still governed by hospital statutes issued in 1226.

Our guide said it was once a hospital to keep sick people out of the town and is now a nursing home. It also houses the Brauerei-Gaststätte Spitalgarten (Brewery-Restaurant Hospital Garden).

The UNESCO World Heritage Site officially named “Old Town of Regensburg with Stadtamhof,” encompasses the Old Town on the south side of the Danube and Stadtamhof, a tiny island in the river that was once a separate medieval village. The island is connected to the Old Town by the Stone Bridge. The Rhine-Main-Danube Canal forms the northern boundary of Stadtamhof, which was incorporated into the city of Regensburg only in 1924. It was used as a gathering point for prisoners during WWII.

Then we began our shore excursion "Regensburg Walking Tour."

The Viking Cruise Documents book described the 1.5-hour excursion “Regensburg Walking Tour” as follows:
“The Spellbinding City of Marcus Aurelius

“Witness a true medieval city untouched by World War II bombing and rich in architectural splendor. Regensburg is one of Germany’s best preserved cities and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To get acquainted with this gem, you’ll explore it on foot with a local guide, who will share a personal view of the city he knows so well. See some of the Roman walls erected by Marcus Aurelius upon its founding. You will walk past the Old Town Hall and see the 12th-century Old Stone Bridge, a 16-arch marvel of medieval engineering that still carries traffic today. See the famous Alte Wurstküche (Old Sausage Kitchen), Germany’s oldest restaurant, and admire idyllic courtyards. At the Gothic St. Peter’s Cathedral, gaze up at the Donkey Tower, a remnant of the old cathedral that was left to support this one. The stained-glass windows are superb. Return to your ship at your leisure.” [In our case, we would return to our bus.]

We began our tour by walking across the Steinerne Brücke (Stone Bridge) toward the Old Town.

10:38 AM - Regensburg: Sign for "Instandsetzung der Steinerne Brücke" (Repair of the Stone Bridge).

 

Regensburg: aerial view of Steinerne Brücke, from Stadtamhof at left, across two other islands to the Old City at right (By SimonWaldherr - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=94628414).

The Steinerne Brücke (Stone Bridge) is a 12th-century bridge across the Danube linking the Old Town with Stadtamhof. For more than 800 years, until the 1930s, it was the city’s only bridge across the river. It is a masterpiece of medieval construction and an emblem of the city.

Charlemagne had a wooden bridge built about 100 m east of the present bridge. Because it was inadequate for traffic and vulnerable to floods, it was replaced by the Stone Bridge in 1135-46. It served as a model for other stone bridges built in Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries, including the London Bridge and the Charles Bridge in Prague.

Regensburg: Historical site from engraving dated 1594 (By Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg - Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=493714). 

This engraving, dated 1594, is from Civitates orbis terrarium (Cities of the World), a famous collection of town map engravings primarily by Franz Hogenberg (1535-1590), edited and annotated by theologian and publisher Georg Braun (1541-1622), and published in six volumes between 1572 and 1617. Braun’s Latin commentary translates: “There is also a world-famous stone bridge to be seen in Regensburg, which was built of very large dressed stones and which links the city with the suburb [Stadtamhof …]. It is said that the bridge and the Regensburg cathedral were built at the same time, but by two architects of different abilities, who strove to outdo each other […]. Regensburg has very well-built private and public buildings, and also churches; this can be seen particularly in the case of the great cathedral.” The city is viewed from the north, from a hilltop of the Winzerer heights overlooking a wide stretch of countryside in the foreground, the suburb of Stadtamhof, and the two islands of Upper and Lower Wöhrde in the Danube. The draftsman included himself in the right-hand foreground and signed and dated his work “Jacobus Houfnaglius Geor: fil … Anno 1594.” Jacob Hoefnagel (1573-ca. 1632) was the son of Joris Hoefnagel (1542-1601). Joris had provided designs for the fifth volume of Civitates orbis terrarium, largely engraved by Hogenberg. In 1617, Jacob reworked his father’s designs for the sixth volume, published in 1618.

The bridge originally had three towers, of which only the south tower, a gate tower to the Old City, survives. The early 16th-century Amberg Salzstadel (Salt Store) and the early 17th-century Regensburg Salt Store were built against it. At the south end, the first arch and first pier were incorporated into the Regensburg Salt Store when it was built in 1616-20.

The Regensburg Wurstküche (Sausage Kitchen) east of the Salt Store was built against the city wall in the 14th century; an earlier building on the same site probably served as a canteen for the workers building the bridge.

The bridge historically caused problems for traffic on the Danube, as was observed by Napoleon in 1809. It causes strong currents that required upstream shipping with insufficient power to be towed past it until 1916, when an electric system was installed to pull ships under the bridge. This was removed in 1964. Since modern barge traffic requires more clearance than the arches of the bridge provide, this stretch of the river is now used only by recreational and excursion shipping. Larger watercraft bypass it to the north on the Regensburg Regen-Danube Canal, which forms part of the European Water Route between Rotterdam at the mouth of the Rhine and Constance on the Black Sea.

Late in WWII, in 1945, German troops dynamited the second and eleventh piers of the bridge to slow the advance of American troops. The damage was not fully repaired until 1967.

The bridge has been seriously damaged by heavy traffic in recent decades and by water and salt damage. For over a decade, it was closed to private traffic, and in 2008 it was also closed to buses and taxis and became a pedestrian and bicycles only bridge. It has been under restoration since 2010, but even after restoration it will remain closed to motor vehicles.

10:41 AM - Regensburg: our tour group crossing Steinerne Brücke toward Old City.

10:40 AM - Regensburg: view of north side of Cathedral (backlit) from Steinerne Brücke toward Old City (telephoto 119 mm).

10:41 AM - Regensburg: MT taking photo from Steinerne Brücke toward Old City while she stands near the Bruckmandl statue on the railing.

Regensburg: Bruckmandl or Brückenmännchen (By Karsten Dörre (grizurgbg) - Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1030086).

At the highest point of the bridge is a stone carving called the Bruckmandl (in Fränkish dialect) or Brückenmännchen (Little Bridge Man), a largely naked young man shielding his eyes with one hand and with the inscription reading “Schuck wie heiß” (Schuck how hot [it is]), likely a reference to the hot summer when the bridge was begun. He is also said to symbolize the city’s freedoms and its emancipation from the control of the Bishop. He is also said to represent the bridge builder, as another figure on the cathedral represents the cathedral builder. The figure was originally seated on the roof of a mill near the bridge and now sits on the bridge itself on the gable roof of a miniature toll-house. This is the third version of the statue. The first two were on the east side of the bridge, while today’s (from 1854) is on the west railing, looking south. The first existed from the 15th century (first mentioned in 1446) to 1579, when it was destroyed and a new one made. The second, identical in appearance, was on the bridge until 1826; this version was originally on the east side of the bridge, but in 1791 it was transferred to a stone customs house on the west side of the bridge. Following makeshift repairs after being damaged during fighting between Napoleon and Austrians on the bridge in 1809, the second version was put back on the customs house until it was demolished in 1826 and the remains of the statue were moved to the Regensburg Museum of History. The present version, created in 1854, looks different but is also in a different place, atop a pillar on the west railing.

Regensburg: Historical site from engraving by Hoefnagel dated 1594 from Civitates orbis terrarium (Cropped) (By Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg - Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=493714 CROPPED). For emphasis, the engraver has moved the Bruckmandl statue onto the hill in the left foreground; with a banner reading “Schuck wie heiss,” he sits atop a gatehouse (or tollhouse) with “1446 Renoviert” (Renovated in 1446) above its arch. This is the oldest image of the statue, created only a few years after the sculpture in the museum was made. Between the two towers at the near (north) end of the Stone Bridge is E. Hosptiall [St. Katharinen-Spital].

MT  10:37 AM - Regensburg: view of Old City from Steinerne Brücke, with tower of Altes Rathaus in center and Goldener Turm to left  (mild telephoto 53 mm).

Since this was apparently our only photo of the Goldener Turm, it is worthy of a note here.

Regensburg: view from the west of Goldener Turm and Dom St. Peter (Von S.Fischer - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=978815).

The Goldener Turm (Golden Tower) on Wahlenstraße is one of the so-called Geschlechtstürme (family or ancestral towers) that were built by wealthy patrician families in the Middle Ages as status symbols. Originally, it was called the Haymo or Waller Haus, named for the families that owned it. Until the 18th century was the tallest house tower north of the Alps, 50 m tall with 9 stories. Along with St. Peter’s Cathedral, it became a symbol of Regensburg. The lower four floors of the early Gothic tower were built around 1250, along with a four-story residential wing. In a second construction phase after 1300, the remaining floor were supplemented with battlements. The top of the tower, with its pyramidal roof was added around 1600. In the 17th century, there was a restaurant in the building, which gave it its name. After the market tower burned down and was demolished in 1706, the Golden Tower became the city’s watchtower. Since renovation in 1985, the building has been used as a student residence with 43 units.

10:42 AM - Regensburg: view from Steinerne Brücke to southwest toward Old City with the narrow Jahninsel island, at the west end of the Upper Wöhrde, in the foreground.

10:42 AM - Regensburg: our tour group still crossing the Steinerne Brücke (after the Bruckmandl statue) toward Old City.

MT 10:38 AM - Regensburg: view from the Steinerne Brücke toward Old City, with the Cathedral behind the Salzstadel (mild telephoto 53 mm).

10:43 AM - Regensburg: approaching the Brückturm (Bridge Tower) at the south end of the Steinerne Brücke.

Regensburg: Brückturm, flanked by the Salzstadel (with Cathedral towers behind it) to its left and to the right by the Schwibbogen archway and then by the Amberger Salzstadel (Von Maksym Kozlenko - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=107280863).

The Brückturm (Bridge Tower), at the south end of the Steinerne Brücke, is the only one of the bridge’s three original towers that still survives. With the Brückentor (Bridge Gate) at its base, it guards the entrance to the Old City. The original south tower was built sometime between the middle of the 13th century and the middle of the 14th, when the city fortifications were built; beside it stood the chapel of St. Margaret. In the mid-16th century, this was converted into a debtors’ prison, and the tower became known as the Schuldturm (Debt Tower). The tower was destroyed by fire in the Thirty Years’ War (1618-48) and was rebuilt in 1648, adding a clock at that time. The chapel was removed and replaced by a tollhouse in 1829. In the early 20th century, buildings to the west of the tower were removed, widening the street approaching the bridge, and a wide arch called Schwibbögen was built over it beside the tower.

The seven-story building, with steeply-pitched roof, that adjoins the Brückturm to the east is the Salzstadel (Salt Warehouse) built between 1616 and 1620. To the west of the 20th-century arch is the Amberger Salzstadel (Amberger Salt Warehouse) built in 1487 and rebuilt and enlarged in 1551. The latter was built to enable salt to be transported to the northern Bavarian regions of Amberg and the Upper Palatinate.

10:45 AM - Regensburg: sign, in German and English, for  "Brückturm-Aussicht - Museum  über der Steinerne Brücke / View from the Bridge Tower - Museum above the Stone Bridge"; the English text reads:
"The little museum inside the Bridge Tower entices you with a unique view. Located in the last of the originally three towers at the Stone Bridge, interesting aspects about the history of the bridge, the tower, and the city on the river await you on four storeys.

"When you reach the uppermost storey you are rewarded with an incomparable panorama in all four directions over the Danube and the roofs of the Old City as far as the Walhalla, and across the bridge in its entire length up to Stadtamhof."

10:45 AM - Regensburg: view from near the Bridge Tower over the Steinerne Brücke toward Stadtamhof. 

MT 10:44 AM - Regensburg: view from near the Bridge Tower over the Steinerne Brücke toward Stadtamhof (mild telephoto 52 mm). 

10:48 AM - Regensburg: wider view from near the Bridge Tower over the Steinerne Brücke toward Stadtamhof. 

Once across the bridge, our guide Ulrika gave us a long talk on the history of Regensburg using a 2-meter-long carpenter's ruler to trace nearly 2,000 years.

10:54 AM - Regensburg: our guide Ulrika giving talk just east of the Steinerne Brücke, with view toward Stadtamhof. 

10:56 AM - Regensburg: Salzstadel - east end, with entrance to "Besucherzentrum Welterbe" (Visitor Center World Heritage) and Historische Wurstküche in left foreground.

10:56 AM - Regensburg: near Salzstadel - our guide Ulrika pointing to a salt boat "Siebnerin" (used for tours); sign in right foreground translates: "Closed during Snow and Slick Ice - No Winter Service."

The Siebnerin Biergarten ship, which can carry up to 150 persons, is the largest replica of a medieval salt ship in Europe. The salt ship was a half-Viking wooden longboat that was able to slice water at considerable speeds.

10:56 AM - Regensburg: Historische Wurstküche with east end of Salzstadel in right background.

Regensburg: Historische Wurstküche (By Manuel Strehl - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=804637).

The Historische Wurstküche (Historic Sausage Kitchen, Wurstkuchel or Wurstkuchl in Fränkish dialect) is leaning on the city wall next to the Steinerne Brücke and immediately behind the Salzstadel. It has probably occupied this site since as early as the 12th century and may have served as a canteen for workers building the Steinerne Brücke. This is perhaps the oldest continually open public restaurant in the world.

In 1135, a building was erected here as the construction office for the Steinerne Brücke. When the bridge was finished in 1146, the building became a restaurant named “Garkeuche auf dem Kranchen” (Kitchen near the Crane), since it was situated near the then river port, and dockers, sailors, construction workers, and the staff of the nearby cathedral workshop were the regulars for centuries to come. The present building at this location dates from the 17th century, although archaeological evidence has confirmed the existence of a previous building from the 12th century with about the same dimensions. As a watermark on the outside wall shows, the building was almost washed away in 1988.

Until around 1800, the specialty was “gesottenes Fleisch” (boiled meat). But when the Schricker family that currently owns the restaurant took over in 1806, charcoal grilled sausages were introduced as the main dish offered. The kitchen still operates today and serves 6,000 sausages to guests daily. During the summer tourist season, most of the guests are served outside on wooden benches and tables, since the tiny building seats only 35 inside. Today, its menu is abbreviated, essentially consisting of potato soup and homemade Regensburger sausages. The latter, which are traditionally served with sweet mustard and sauerkraut, are regarded by many aficionados (particularly the local residents) as the ultimate German Wurst and the best sausages in the world—though that is not an opinion shared by the rival sausage metropolis of Nürnberg. The Regensburger Wurst is made from pork, usually finely ground without fat, then mixed with spices, salt, and small chunks of pork.

Historische Wurstküche – Regensburger Bratwürste with sauerkraut (By Traveler100 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32380046).

Today the Historische Wurstküche is, next to the Dom (Cathedral) and the Steinerne Brücke. A little part of guides’ compulsory tour program for visitors to Regensburg.

11:06 AM - Regensburg: near Salzstadel - salt boat "Siebnerin" moving past us, as our guide Ulrika continued her talk.

11:11 AM - Regensburg: inside of Brückturm and arch, with Amberger Salzstadel on left and Salzstadel on right.

11:06 AM - Regensburg: house with oriels (bay windows) as we started out tour into the Old City; blue street sign says this is "Weiße-Lamm-Gasse" (White Lamb Street), just to the east inside the Brückturm; the plaque in German below the lower oriel translates: "Here, in the former White Lamb Inn, GOETHE lived on 4 Sept. 1786"; the brown sign partially hidden behind the traffic light lists other famous persons who lived here (the composers Mozart and Haydn and the poet Eichendorff).

11:10 AM - Regensburg: south side of Historische Wurstküche on Thundorferstraße (which continues the Weiße-Lamm-Gasse to the east); the plaque in German translates: "Old City Wall built after 1320"; in the left background is the east side of the Salzstadel.

11:11 AM - Regensburg: south side of Historische Wurstküche on Thundorferstraße (which continues the Weiße-Lamm-Gasse to the east); the plaque in German translates: "Old City Wall built after 1320."

11:11 AM - Regensburg: view up Unter dem Schwibbögen (Under the Schwibbögen arch next to the Brückturm) street to building with old lower part known as Porta Pretoria, as we turned toward the Old City.

Regensburg: Porta Praetoria (Von Rosa-Maria Rinkl - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62153838).

The Porta Praetoria (Praetorian Gate) in Regensburg, along with the larger Porta Nigra (Black Port) in Trier, are the only surviving largely preserved Roman gates north of the Alps. In their military camps, the Romans designated the main gate, normally on the side of the camp facing the enemy, as the praetorian gate.

Regensburg: Porta Praetoria – model of construction site (179 AD), with western tower incomplete, in German historical Museum, Berlin (Von Wolfgang Sauber - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20166906).

The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius founded the legion camp Castra Regina, completed in 179 AD. Like most Roman legionary camps, it had four gates. The main gate, the Porta Pretoria, faced north toward the Danube. The city of Regensburg grew from the legionary camp. In 932, the gate was known as Porta Aquarum (Water Gate). The gate system lost its importance when the via praetoria (praetorian road, leading to the main gate) was built over in the High Middle Ages (about 1050-1250), and parts of the gate masonry ended up below street level, with the arches no longer having sufficient clearance for traffic. The people of Regensburg finally forgot the existence of the gate when a new gate system for the city was built in 1649. During the construction of the episcopal brewery in the mid-17th century, parts of the old building were destroyed, and the rest was incorporated in the new building and disappeared from the streetscape. It was not until about 240 years later that the remains of the Roman gate system were surprisingly rediscovered in 1885 when the former sleeping quarters of the brewery boys were demolished. In 1887, the remains of the wall were exposed to the extent visible today. Retained are a 12-m tall piece of the tower on the gate’s eastern flank, as well as the entire western gateway arch. (The gate originally had two gateway arches.) In the first upper story (second floor) of the tower are five windows with rounded tops, which were for defensive purposes.

11:13 AM - Regensburg: Strudelei bakery with Strudel, on corner of Brückstraße (Bridge Street) and Goldene-Bären-Straße (Golden Bears Street).

MT 11:09 AM - Regensburg: Strudelei bakery with Strudel.

11:16 AM - Regensburg: Goliathhaus, viewed from Brückstraße.

11:16 AM - Regensburg: historical marker shield, in German, for Goliathhaus (telephoto 93 mm), which translates:
"Goliath House
"Built after the middle of the 13th century. Originally in the possession of the Thundorfer family. Bishop Leo Thundorfer at the beginning of the Cathedral in 1275. The house tower around 1270, reaches from the Goliath Street to the Watmarkt (former main side). Fresco of David and Goliath by Melchior Bocksberger 1573 repeated and renewed."

 

Regensburg: Goliathhaus – mural of David and Goliath (Von Paep56 - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51825043).

The Goliathahaus (Goliath House) in the merchants’ quarter west of the Cathedral takes its name from the huge, retouched 16th-century mural of an appropriately gargantuan Goliath about to face David in combat. It is an imposing, crenellated, early Gothic house castle from the period 1220/30. It is located in a north-south direction between Goliathstraße on the north and Watmarkt on the south. The north façade is the well-known front of the house with the painting of David and Goliath, which has been renewed several times since 1573, the latest version from 1900. The house offers its impressive north façade to all the visitors who cross the Steinerne Brücke and use the Brückstraße to reach the city center.

The name of the house probably comes from the 12th century and referred to a previous building that served as a hostel for vagabonds, the so-called Goliards. This hostel could have been called Golias or Goliathhaus back then, a name that was transferred to the new house castle built around 1260.

Since 1290, the Goliathhaus had been the ancestral seat of the patrician family Thundorfer, after whom an important east-west street in the Old City is named. A member of that family, Leo Thundorfer was Bishop of Regensburg in 1262-77, and the construction of the Regensburg Cathedral began during his reign. From the early 14th century, the Thundofers were followed by other wealthy and influential patrician families. In 1573, the house name “zum Goliath” appeared in a document for the first time.

A monumental mural resembling today’s was probably created around 1573-74 or 1585-97, when the painter Melchior Bocksberger was present in Regensburg to paint the façades of the City Hall and some other houses. Since the original Goliath picture has been completely lost as a result of several later radical renovations, the façade’s appearance from the first traditional restoration in 1683 has been preserved in a watercolor pen drawing that is now in a museum.

Oskar Schindler, of "Schindler's List" fame, lived here for a time in 1945.

11:21 AM - Regensburg: Altes Rathaus tower, viewed from Brückstraße down Goliathstraße.

11:16 AM - Regensburg: Altes Rathaus tower, viewed from Brückstraße down Goliathstraße (telephoto 93 mm).

However, our tour group was not ready to go to the Altes Rathaus yet.

MT 11:13 AM - Regensburg: view down street toward Porta Praetoria (mild telephoto 56 mm).

11:17 AM - Regensburg: view down street to Porta Praetoria (telephoto 156 mm).

11:18 AM - Regensburg: our guide Ulrika, by historical marker shield in front of Goliathhaus, with drawing of how Porta Praetoria originally looked.

11:22 AM - Regensburg: Baumburger Turm - our guide Ulrika said this tower was built for prestige by an Italian architect to be like the famous (13th and 14th-century) towers in San Gimignano in Italy.  The large sign at the base of the tower is for "Altbayerische Schmankerl-Küche beim Dampf Nudel-Uli—Warme Süßspeisen Cafe" (Old Bavarian Delicacies Kitchen with Steamed Noodles-Uli—Warm Sweets Cafe), which helped Don identify the tower. The smaller sign to the right is the menu.

Regensburg”: Baumburger Turm – bottom two floors (Von © Túrelio (via Wikimedia-Commons), CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3737213). What had appeared to be just a sign on the ground floor is actually shutters that open to reveal the entrance to "Dampf-Nudel-Uli Cafe" or "Altbayerische Schmankerl-Küche beim Dampf Nudel-Uli—Warme Süßspeisen Cafe," on the other side of the shutters. The store must have been closed on Sunday morning. The window next to the entrance door says "Erste Bayerische Dampfnudel-Bäckerei" (First Bavarian Steamed Noodle Bakery), "Dampfnudelküche" (Steamed Noodle Kitchen," and at the bottom "Uli Seutzer mit seinen Original Bayrischen Dampfnudeln" (Uli Deutzer with His Original Steamed Noodles." The historical marker shield in German above the ground-floor arch translates: “Baumburger Tower—Built around 1260. Characteristic tower of a patrician house with chapel on ground floor and former open arbor in the upper floor. In Middle Ages in possession of the merchant families Ingolstetten and Baumburger.”

The Baumburger Turm (Baumburger Tower) at Watmarkt 4 is one of the so-called Geschlechtertürme (family/generational/ancestral towers) that were built by rich patrician families in the Middle Ages as status symbols. Some 20 of the original 60 of these towers built in Regensburg have survived. This unchanged tower is considered to be the most beautiful of the 20 towers preserved in Regensburg and is a tourist attraction. The 28-meter-high, seven-story tower adorned with a crenellated roofline was built at the end of the 13th century by the Ingolstetten, one of the wealthy Regensburg patrician families. The ground floor was used as a house chapel. In the 14th century, the house castle came into the possession of the Baumberger family. The late Gothic eastern extension of the residential wing was extended to Krammgasse in the 15th century. On the 1st (US 2nd) floor is a round arched arbor with parapet and a recessed rear wall pierced by three windows. This arbor was later enclosed for climatic reasons, In the 16thth century, the arbor was even completely walled up and replaced by a normal window, similar to the Gothic window above the arbor today. It was not until 1914 that the arched arbor and the window groups were exposed again. The upper floors are attractively structured with different groups of Gothic windows. The northern façade of the tower, facing the Goliathstraße, is very impressive. The three other façades of the tower are designed in a similar way but cannot be seen from the Goliathstraße.

The Altbayerische Schmankerl-Küche beim Dampf Nudel-Uli--Warme Süßspeisen Cafe (Old Bavarian Delicacies Kitchen with Steamed Noodle-Uli—Warm Sweets Cafe), opened by chef Uli Deutzer in 1975, is located in former chapel of the Baumburger Turm (Baumburger Tower) at Watmarkt 4. Uli (short for Ulrich), known as Dampfnudel-Uli, makes the gastronomically rare steamed noodles here. Other “non-sweet” delicacies can also be found on the Bavarian menu.

11:28 AM - Regensburg: Goldener Turm (Golden Tower), at  Wahlenstraße 14 [see earlier note]; down the street (the La femme boutique in the foreground is on the north-south Wahlenstraße).

11:29 AM - Regensburg: Altes Rathaus - Ratsturm behind Baroque Rathaus.

The Altes Rathaus (Old City Hall) on the Rathausplatz (City Hall Square) is a complex consisting of three buildings that were built at different times: in the south the Reichssaal (Imperial Hall) building on Neue Waag-Gasse with bay window, followed by the Portalbau (Portal Building) with staircase and gate passage, and east of the passage the actual Altes Rathaus.

The oldest part of the building complex is the actual Altes Rathaus with the 8-story, 55-meter- high Ratsturm (City Council Tower) and the 4-story extensions. It was built in the middle of the 13th century in the style of the patrician house castles, after Emperor Friedrich II elevated Regensburg to a free imperial city in 1245. The imposing tower, which defined the city skyline, burned down in 1360 but was restored by 1363. On the ground floor of the tower, a large arched gate provides access to a gate hall and the adjoining inner courtyard.

The two-story Reichssaal (Imperial Hall), which is connected to the southwest of the Rathaus-Gate-Tower building, was built around 1320/30, originally as a free-standing assembly building. The hall on the upper floor, now known as the Reichssaal, was intended as a municipal dance and festival hall and was originally accessible only via an external staircase. From 1594 to 1806, the upper floor was also the meeting place for ambassadors of the imperial states of the Holy Roman Empire at the Reichstag (Imperial Diet). When the Emperor was present during the Reichstag, he used the high-Gothic 2-story oriel (by window) on the front of the Reichssaal to show himself to the citizens and receive homage.

The Portalbau (Portal Building), with staircase and vestibule to the Reichssaal, was built round 1408 and was structurally changed in 1564. Only since then has the Reichssaal building been structurally connected to the Altes Rathaus. The upper floor of the Altes Rathaus is reached via the staircase in the Portalbau, the entrance to which is a late Gothic pointed arch portal with the keys to the city and two armored half-figures of Schutz and Trutz (Protection and Defiance), who symbolize the defensibility of the city.

The Baroque Rathaus is now attached to the east of the earlier 3-building Altes Rathaus complex. The east wing of the Baroque Rathaus was built in 1660/62 and its south wing was added in 1706, with a portal to today’s Ratskeller framed by Tuscan columns. Above the portals on the two wings are the dated 1661 and 1722, corresponding to the respective times of construction, and allegorical female figures of the virtues Faith (monstrance), Peace (palm branch), Justice, and Prudence.

Ratskeller (Council Cellar) is a name in German-speaking countries for a bar or restaurant located in the basement of a city hall or nearby.

The Baroque Rathaus is sometimes erroneously called the "New City Hall," although the actual Neues Rathaus is a much more modern 20th-century on Dachauplatz, approx. 500 m to the east. That is where the offices of the city administration are now located.

MT 11:25 AM - Regensburg: Altes Rathaus - Baroque Rathaus, with portal to Ratskeller.

11:29 AM - Regensburg: Altes Rathaus - our guide Ulrika pointing at portal to Ratskeller in Baroque Rathaus, with "Ratskeller" sign over door.

11:29 AM (Cropped) - Regensburg: Altes Rathaus - our guide Ulrika pointing at portal to Ratskeller in Baroque Rathaus, with "Ratskeller" sign over door.

11:30 AM - Regensburg: Altes Rathaus - south end of Baroque Rathaus, with our guide Ulrika in foreground with red paddle for "Viking Bragi 13C" tour group, heading toward Portalbau and Reichssaal at left.

MT 11:25 AM - Regensburg: Altes Rathaus - south end of Baroque Rathaus, with Ratsturm behind it.

11:30 AM - Regensburg: Altes Rathaus - Reichssaal and Portalbau, with MT (in red) and our guide Ulrika in foreground with red paddle for "Viking Bragi 13C" tour group.

11:30 AM - Regensburg: Altes Rathaus - portal of Portalbau (telephoto 119 mm).

Regensburg: armored half-figures of Schutz and Trutz above keys to the city atop portal of Portalbau (Von Rosa-Maria Rinkl - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62153731).

11:30 AM - Regensburg: Altes Rathaus - oriel (bay window) of Reichssaal (telephoto 119 mm).

11:31 AM - Regensburg: Altes Rathaus - Reichssaal, Portalbau, and larger, open portal to inner courtyard of Altes Rathaus.

MT 11:27 AM - Regensburg: Altes Rathaus - Ratsturm and southeast corner of Altes Rathaus.

Regensburg: Altes Rathaus with Ratsturm and southeast corner of Baroque Rathaus, view from south-southwest (Von Hansj?Lipp, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10551114).

Note the plastered-up arch to left of tower base (see red circle added, below).

Regensburg: Altes Rathaus with Ratsturm and southeast corner of Baroque Rathaus, view from south-southwest (Von Hansj?Lipp, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10551114 [CROPPED]).

11:32 AM - Regensburg: Altes Rathaus - plastered-over arch and possible window ledge to left of Ratsturm base (telephoto 156 mm).

11:32 AM - Regensburg: Altes Rathaus - plastered-over arch and possible window ledge to left of Ratsturm base (telephoto 156 mm).

11:31 AM - Regensburg: Altes Rathaus - base of Ratsturm (left) and  Baroque Rathaus.

11:40 AM - Regensburg: near Altes Rathaus - What are these people looking at by store window?

11:40 AM (Cropped) - Regensburg: near Altes Rathaus - referring to the mouse beside the window, the sign on the window glass, in German and English, for "Regensburger Stadtmaus / The Regensburg City-Mouse" says: "Available as Souvenir at the Tourist Information at Rathausplatz"; our guide said that, if you touch the mouse, you will return.

MT 11:41 AM - Regensburg: view from east over Haidplatz, west of Altes Rathaus – in the center of the square is the Justitiabrunnen (Justice Fountain); Kaiseherberge Goldenes Kreuz with tower; the building at far right is the Thon-Dittmer-Palais.

The name of the Haidplatz square goes back to the Old High German name Haida for an area overgrown with bushes that had formed outside the Roman legion camp Castra Regina west of the camp wall. The name Haida can also be traced back to the Middle Ages, when the square was characterized by grass growth for a long time. In the Middle Ages and the early modern period, the square gained prestige as a place of residence and accommodation for high-ranking visitors and as a place for meetings, events, and tournaments. In 1982-85, Haidplatz was redesigned and is now accessible only by three traffic-calmed streets and four pedestrian passages. On its periphery are many restaurants and cafes, along with some medieval house castles.

Regensburg: Justitiabrunnen on Haidplatz (Von Rufus46 - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21048727).

The Justitiabrunnen (Justice Fountain), from 1656-59, is an octagonal well with an allegorical figure of Justice surrounded by an iron grille from 1592 that previously belonged to a wooden fountain from 1551.

Regensburg: Kaiserherberge Goldenes Kreuz (Von High Contrast - Selbst fotografiert, CC BY 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22243216).

The former Kaiseherberge Goldenes Kreuz (Imperial Inn Golden Cross) is the defining building at the northwest end of the Haidplatz. The early Gothic patrician house castle Goldenes Kreuz was built round 1250 and only got its present form in 1862. Before that, the house consisted of a crenellated tower with a residential extension two stories lower. To the west was a residential building with a staggered gable bay window. During the renovation of 1862, the two unequal buildings to the west were tied together to form a common front. As early as the 16th century, the house with its crenellated tower and house chapel was an inn and served as an inn for numerous princes and emperors. At the beginning of the 19th century, the square became a grain market, but, because of the Kaiserherberge Goldenes Kreuz, it always remained an attraction for emperors and kings. Today the building still serves as a hotel and café.

Regensburg: Thon-Dittmer-Palais (Von User:Mattes - Eigenes Werk, Gemeinfrei, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16656033).

The Thon-Dittmer-Palais (Thon-Dittmer Palace), on Haidplatz, with its classical façade, was built in two phases (1781-85 and 1808-09) by structurally combining two medieval Gothic patrician house castles. The client was Georg Friedrich von Dittmer, a successful Regensburg businessman. His children and grandchildren were known as Thon-Dittmer. In 1856, the city of Regensburg bought the palace from the Thon-Dittmer heirs for se as a municipal cultural center. Today, the building houses the cultural office, an adult education center, and the Regensburg city library. The Theater Regensburg is also represented there with the Theater am Haidplatz.

MT 11:43 AM - Regensburg: building with two towers with courtyard in foreground.

Then we headed back to the east.

11:51 AM - Regensburg: MT (in red in foreground) taking photo down narrow pedestrianized street Untere Bachgasse (Lower Bach Street, identified by Kunstkabinett art gallery on left).

MT 11:51 AM - Regensburg: view down narrow pedestrianized street Untere Bachgasse (Lower Bach Street).

11:52 AM - Regensburg: another tower, with wooden house below.

At 11:55 am, we left the tour group and hurried to the Cathedral for mass at noon.

MT 11:50 AM - Regensburg: flower boxes on building of "Haareszeit" (Hair Time) hairdresser; small blue sign left of door says this is at "12 Wahlenstrasse."

11:56 AM - Regensburg: MT in left foreground taking photo down narrow Krammgasse (Small Wares Street) toward Cathedral tower, with signs in right foreground for pedestrian zone, free for bicycles, and historical marker shield for "Enslin-Haus," which translates:
"Gothic house with early classicist façade and decoration. In 15th century, possession of the Peringer family; at end of 18th century remodeled by the master confectioner Johann Caspar Enslin in late Rococo style."

Since we here in a hurry to get to the Cathedral, we didn't have time to take in the Eslin-Haus. So Don checked it out on the Internet.

Regensburg: Enslin-Haus (By High Contrast Self-photographed at  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wahlenstra%C3%9Fe_3_-_Regensburg.jpg).

The Enslin-Haus (Enslin House), on Wahlenstraße at corner of Krammgasse, was an early Gothic house with classicist façade and furnishings. In the 15th century, it was owned by the Peringer family. Toward the end of the 18th century, it was remodeled in Rococo style by the spice dealer and master confectioner Johann Caspar Enslin (hence the current name of the property). It has richly profiled window frames, wide fluted corner pilasters, rosettes on the parapets, garlands of leaves on bows and rosettes on the lintels of the 1st (US 2nd floor), and at the top a huge spiral volute on both sides of the attic. On the corner, an old coat of arms of the Peringer family from the first half of the 15th century is recessed in the fluted corner pilasters.

MT 11:52 AM - Regensburg: view down narrow Krammgasse (Small Wares Street) toward Cathedral tower.

12:00 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - apse with main altar, before mass. 

After communion, at 12:30, we hurried to the Gravenreuter restaurant to rejoin multiple Viking tour groups for lunch. We got there as most of the others were finishing the salad course. (When we had time on our own after the guided tour, we would come back to the Cathedral.)

1:32 PM - Regensburg: Gravenreuter restaurant dining room.

MT 1:33 PM - Regensburg: Gravenreuter restaurant - our two servings of Strudel, with sauce, for dessert.

1:37 PM - Regensburg: Gravenreuter Strudel for dessert; our guide said Strudel means whirlpool.

1:59 PM - Regensburg: Gravenreuter restaurant - exterior, ground floor with old-style shop sign for "Gravenreuther" with "Arcobräu" beer by entrance and "Gravenreuter" above windows.

The Gravenreuter restaurant (also spelled Gravenreuther on their old-style sign and on their web site) is located on the short Hinter der Grieb street, about two short blocks west of Wahlenstraße and southeast of Haidplatz. Here one will find traditional, regional cuisine with modern accents. Many Bavarian delicacies and regional specialties are on the menu, along with all types of beer from the Arcobräu brewery. 

Hinter der Grieb (meaning behind the mine pit, cave, or grave) is one of the most picturesque alleys in the Old City. The family “in der Grub” was probably the first owner of this mighty patrician house castle. Already in 1156, an “Ulrich de Gruba” was named, and in 1327 a “Johannes von der Grub” appears in documents. In 1381, the “Konrad Gravenreuther” family appears. Classicism covered the centuries-old walls of the house with a fine façade decoration. Bust reliefs with leaf hangings and flower garlands give the house front an almost festive character. The restaurant is also a museum for long-dead Regensburg originals. The tranquil 19th century was particularly rich in such idiosyncratic figures. In the house are originals such as carved support figures under all the beams of the ceiling.

1:59 PM - Regensburg: Gravenreuter restaurant - exterior, showing all three stories, with ornate decoration on the upper two.

After lunch, we headed back to the Cathedral on our own.

MT 1:49 PM - Regensburg: man opening door with sign for "Vorsicht bissiger Hund!" (Danger biting dog!).

2:00 PM - Regensburg: Löblturm, another of those 23 surviving patrician towers in Regensburg.

2:00 PM (Cropped) - Regensburg: Sign, in German, for "Löblturm" that translates: 
"Gothic patrician tower from the Middle of the 13th century.

On the ground floor [is] the former house chapel St. Simon and Juda.

In the inner courtyard [is] a Jewish gravestone that on the occasion of the expulsion of Jews in 1519 was walled in by the then owner Kaspar Amann."

The Löblturm (Löbl Tower) is located on Hinter der Grieb. The 7-story tower, built around 1270, is one of the best preserved of the 23 patrician towers surviving in Regensburg. Friedrich Löbl was named in 1284 as the builder of the high Gothic tower.

2:05 PM - Regensburg: Stiftskirche St. Johann (Collegiate Church of St. John) with a statue of John the Baptist on its west façade and top of its tower behind it to left; west façade of Cathedral behind it to the right (mild telephoto 34 mm).

Regensburg: Stiftskirche St. Johann, viewed from southwest, with top of its tower behind it (Von Szeder László - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3825160).

The Stiftskirche St. Johann (Collegiate Church of St. John) is small church just northwest of the cathedral's west façade. It is the spiritual center of the St. Johann Collegiate Foundation, which was founded in 1127. It is dedicated to St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist. It is located in the immediate vicinity of St. Peter’s Cathedral at Krautermarkt 5, between the Domplatz to the south and the Bischofshof to the south. It stands out due to the yellow-gray color of its façade and neo-Baroque style elements. Due to the dense development in the Old Town, only the south and west sides are free of additional buildings.

The roots of this church go back to a building that served as a baptistry for the Cathedral, since there are records of baptisms here as early as the year 845. Archaeological excavations revealed construction here at the beginning of the 11th century, coinciding with the expansion of the west façade of the Carolingian Cathedral. As early as the middle of the 11th century, St. Johann was no longer a baptistry but possibly a cathedral parish church. The large fires in Regensburg in 1152 and 1176 are likely to have affected not only the cathedral but also the old collegiate church.

New construction of the cathedral, which began around the middle of the 13th century, greatly expanded it to the west, and the original Ottonian (Pre-Romanesque) collegiate church had to make way, and it was demolished in 1380. The new Gothic building of the collegiate church, already on the site of the present church, was probably largely completed as early as 1381.

In 1766-69, the Gothic building underwent a radical transformation in a Baroque style, although still without the ornamental gable. After a fire in 1887, the church tower was rebuilt in its old Gothic state of the 14th century, although it is topped by a lantern placed on a pyramidal roof in the Baroque period. However, the church interior was rebuilt in neo-Baroque form, and a showy gable with a statue of John the Baptist was placed on the west façade. Above the door on that façade is the coat of arms of Pope Urban III, who placed the St. Johann collegiate monastery under his protection in 1186. The south façade is much simpler; over its simpler portal is the coat of arms of the St. Johann collegiate monastery.

2:05 PM - Regensburg: St. Peter's Cathedral - west façade, with façade of Collegiate Church of St. John in left foreground.

Regensburg: St. Peter’s Cathedral, from the northeast, with the Danube in the foreground (By I, Omnidom 999, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7465202).

The Dom St. Peter (St. Peter’s Cathedral) or Regensburger Dom (Regensburg Cathedral) is an important example of Gothic architecture in Bavaria. The architect modeled his design on French examples (the Rayonnant style). It towers over the city on the site of the former Roman military camp Castra Regina.

The original church, called Niedermünster (Lower Cathedral) was built around the year 700 west of the current cathedral. At first, it was a chapel for a ducal family. The Niedermünster burned down in 1273. The only part of that Romanesque cathedral that remains aboveground is the Eselturm (Donkey Tower) on the north side of the current cathedral. This tower takes its name from the fact that donkeys were used to carry building materials up the ramp inside to the upper levels; it is still used for that purpose. A pulley remains in the west loft, and with it materials were lifted through an opening in the ceiling near the west portal.

The architect who supervised the building of the new cathedral was trained in France. Therefore, the building incorporated French Gothic architectural themes, including a central nave that divides into three sections, buttresses, vaulting, and two towers over the façade. By 1320, the three choirs (apses) with their stained-glass windows were ready for use, and between 1385 and 1415, the main entrance to the west was completed. Most of the edifice was finished around 1520, which was the opening year of the cathedral. The Dom was still incomplete in 1525, when work was suspended as a result of the Reformation, with the city council eventually going over to the Lutheran side, while the bishopric (and its cathedral) remained Catholic.

In the 17th century, the cupola at the crossing of the transepts, along with other parts of the cathedral, were renovated in a Baroque style. Between 1828 and 1841, the cathedral underwent a Neo-Gothic renovation in which the cupola was demolished and replaced by a quadripartite ribbed vault. Between 1859 and 1869, the towers of the western façade were completed, along with their distinctively Germanic openwork spires. By 1872, the cathedral was fully completed.

2:06 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - entrance on left side of west façade.

2:06 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - figure of a king sitting on a wild beast (lion?) just to left of entrance on left side of west façade (telephoto 93 mm).

2:06 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - figure of that king and another to the right of the entrance sitting on a wild beast (lion?); below that second king is a relief of Abraham and Isaac; in the tympanum above the entrance door is a relief of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments.

Modern restorations have more clearly revealed several small-scale exterior sculptures, which are iconographically highly unusual. Sculptures of the west façade include representations of four of the great rulers of the ancient world riding on wild beasts.

Regensburg: Cathedral – relief of an angel preventing Abraham from sacrificing his son Isaac (By Weigand13 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49096151).

Regensburg: Cathedral – relief of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments (By Bkmd - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6627699).

2:08 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - triptych altarpiece in side altar toward rear, with captions for St Rupert and St. Bonifatius on left wing and St. Emmeram and St. Erhard on right wing.

2:08 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - altarpiece in side altar on left side, with sword-wielding saint.

Regensburg: Cathedral - altarpiece in side altar, with sword-wielding saint (By Rufus46 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41067773).

2:09 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - Statue of [St. Christopher carrying Christ child? or possibly Jesus the Good Shepherd carrying a sheep?] on pillar.

Regensburg: Cathedral - Statue identified as St. Christopher, from around 1380  (By Rufus46 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41067849).

2:11 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - apse with main altar.

MT 2:04 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - stained-glass windows in apse behind main altar (mild telephoto 56 mm).

MT  2:06 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - lectionary near main altar (in background), open to gospel reading for 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B (John 6: 51-58, of which this page ends with verse 55), part of Jesus' Discourse on the Bread of Life, in which he says "I am the bread of life" in v. 51 and "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day" in v. 54.

MT  2:07 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - stained-glass windows near the apse.

2:12 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - statues (part of Annunciation Group) on column to right of apse.

The most outstanding of the sculptures inside the Cathedral are the expressive late 13th-century Verkündigungsgruppe (Annunciation Group), with Mary (the Erminoldmaria) and the Laughing Angel (Gabriel), in the transept. Both figures were made by the cathedral builder Ludwig (the so-called Ermionold-Meister) around 1280 and are masterpieces in terms of their expression and design. This master, one of the leading sculptors of the 13th century in Germany, had already created the figures on the west portal of the Basel Cathedral. The two figures correspond to each other on the two western pillars.

Regensburg: Cathedral – Annunciation Group – statue of Mary with book (By Rufus46 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41068001).

Regensburg: Cathedral – Annunciation Group – close-up of Mary with book (By Bischöfliche Pressestelle Regensburg - Auf Anfrage bekommen von Bischöfliche Pressestelle Regensburg, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=101756334).

Mary raises her right hand in a slightly defensive gesture in greeting; in the Middle Ages, this was a sign of a vassal’s oath of allegiance to his master. In her left hand, she holds a book in which she in marking a place with her index finger; this was a sign that Mary, the daughter of a good house, was reading when interrupted by the angel.

Regensburg: Cathedral – Annunciation Group – Laughing Angel statue (By Dguendel - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=106114059).

Regensburg: Cathedral – Annunciation Group – close-up of Laughing Angel, with  banner that reads: “Ave Maria Gratia p[lena]” (Hail Mary Full of Grace), the words of the Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation (By Bischöfliche Pressestelle Regensburg - Auf Anfrage bekommen von Bischöfliche Pressestelle Regensburg, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=101756336).

Another statue in this group is described as “Laughing Angel” or “Angel of Regensburg,”,” but must be the Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation. The large feet of the angel, with which the builder wanted to express his visible landing on earth, are striking. The laughter that gave the statue its name is also particularly noticeable. While in the Middle Ages laughter initially could be considered sinful, the angel’s laughter can be considered an expression of the view that was being changed through scholastic philosophy which accepted the view of Aristotle that the ability to laugh made the difference between humans and animals. Mary replies to the angel’s greeting with a smile. This representation of the figures, with their deep, humanized intimacy, was a novelty for the time.

The statue on the same column with Mary appears to be the following:

Regensburg: Cathedral – statue of man with book, on column (By Rufus46 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41067864).

2:12 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - inside of south door on right side of nave.

2:13 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - Nativity Altar at front of right aisle of nave.

Regensburg: Cathedral – Nativity Altar (Von NoRud - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37401626).

The canopied Geburt-Christi-Altar (Nativity Altar) in south (right) side choir (apse), also known as Sailerkapelle (Sailer Chapel), is from around 1410/1420. It is one of the Cathedral’s five Gothic baldachin (canopy) or Ciborium (tabernacle) altars. It takes its name from the altarpiece painting, by Joseph Kranzberger in 1838, that shows Joseph and Mary flanking the Child in the manger, with a “choir” of three angels hovering above. Above the altarpiece is a huge, canopied tabernacle with statues of Joachim and Anna (Mary’s parents) and two bishops. The altar architecture and tabernacle come from the workshop that was also working on the main portal of the Cathedral. In front of the tabernacle, there has been a celebration altar since 2004.

Regensburg: Cathedral – Nativity Altar painting (Von Rufus46 - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41067753).

2:13 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - statues on pillar on right aisle of nave.

 

Regensburg: Cathedral – statues of man and woman on pillar (Von Rufus46 - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41068054).

2:14 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - Annunciation Altar.

Regensburg: Cathedral – Annunciation Altar (Von NoRud - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37401628).

The Annunciation Altar in the second yoke of the south aisle was built around 1330. It is another of the five Gothic baldachin (canopy) or Ciborium (tabernacle) altars in the Cathedral. There is a depiction of the Annunciation under the corner canopies. In the altarpiece with a halo, created in 1938, there is a small stone figure of the Madonna and Child, from around 1420, in the so-called soft style, typically used for figures of the Virgin Mary in the late Gothic period.

2:14 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - stained-glass window on south (right) side.

2:15 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - statue of St. Peter on south (right) side.

Regensburg: Cathedral – statue of St. Peter on pedestal with slot for contributions “Zum Dombau” (To Cathedral Construction) (Von Rufus46 - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41068033).

Stone figures of St. Peter (on left) and St. Paul (on right), which were made around 1330 and 1360/70 respectively, are located on the eastern pillars of the crossing.

2:15 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - another stained-glass window, above statue of St. Peter, on south (right) side.

2:16 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - equestrian statue of St. George on inner wall of west façade (mild telephoto 38 mm).

Also of special note are equestrian statues of St. George and St. Martin , from around 1325, on the inner wall of the west façade.

Regensburg: Cathedral - equestrian statue of St. George, with dragon under horse’s hoofs and “Sanctus Georgius” at to of pedestal, on inner wall of west façade (Von Rufus46 - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41067677).

2:17 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - equestrian statue of St. Martin on inner wall of west façade (mild telephoto 38 mm).

Regensburg: Cathedral - equestrian statue of St. Martin, sharing his cloak with a poor man, on inner wall of west façade (Von Rufus46 - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41067720).

2:17 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - statue of Madonna and Child on pillar at left rear of nave (mild telephoto 38 mm).

The statue of Our Lady with Child, from around 1325/30, is on the north side of the central nave, on the first free pillar from the west.

Regensburg: Cathedral – statue of Our Lady and Child (Von Rufus46 - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41067667).

2:18 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - stained-glass window at left rear of nave (mild telephoto 49 mm).

Leaving the Cathedral, we next went about two blocks southwest to the Neupfarrkirche.

2:26 PM - Regensburg: Neupfarrkirche - north side and towers on west.

Regensburg: Neupfarrkirche – north tower and part of west façade [for some reason, neither Don nor Wikimedia Commons had a photo of the full façade] (Von Paep56 - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43845396).

Regensburg: Neupfarrkirche – south tower and part of west façade [for some reason, neither Don nor Wikimedia Commons had a photo of the full façade] (Von Paep56 - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51836991).

The Neupfarrkirche (New Parish Church), in the southern part of the Old City, is in the center of the pedestrianized Neupfarrplatz, occupying the site of a former synagogue. With its construction begun soon after the destruction of the city’s Jewish quarter in 1519, it was intended to be a vast pilgrimage church, called the Marienkirche, dedicated to the Virgin Mary as thanksgiving for deliverance from the “Jewish peril.” The stone pilgrimage church was designed on a grand scale.

Regensburg: design of the Neue Kirche der Schönen Maria (New Church of the Beautiful Mary) from around 1521 (Von Michael Ostendorfer - http://www.zeno.org/Kunstwerke/B/Ostendorfer,+Michael%3A+Neue+Kirche+der+Sch%C3%B6nen+Maria+in+Regensburg, Gemeinfrei, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37655407).

However, the city council’s cynical attempt to foster the bogus cult met with such apathy that the project was hastily dropped. Therefore, construction of the church had to be stopped as early as 1528, since construction costs could no linger be covered by the contributions of pilgrims visiting the temporary wooden church establisher nearby. When construction stopped, only the two towers and the choir (apse) were completed on a foundation made from the rubble of the destroyed Jewish houses. This “Torso Church” was temporarily enclosed with a wall in the west, and this building was consecrated in 1540.

When the council decided to adopt the Protestant Reformation a few years later, the church was completed in a much reduced form to serve as the city’s Protestant flagship and was renamed the Neupfarrkirche. It was not until 1860 that the church building with the provisional west façade was finally completed with the heightening of the south tower and construction of the five-sided choir (apse) that is in harmony with the west façade. The church is a single-nave Renaissance building with late Gothic elements.

Despite its unfortunate history, it is a dapper little building with an unusual hexagonal nave (apse?). The interior is quite plain.

2:29 PM - Regensburg: Neupfarrkirche - choir (apse) on east end and north tower on west façade [this is the side most photographed].

From the Neupfarrkirche, we headed back north toward the Stone Bridge leading to the bus terminal on Stadtamhof island. On the way, we passed places we had seen before.

2:46 PM - Regensburg: Cathedral - south side, with south tower of west façade at left and apse at right.

2:51 PM - Regensburg: Goliathhaus - mural of David and Goliath.

2:51 PM - Regensburg:  Brückturm from south, with large arch to its left.

2:53 PM - Regensburg:  MT by back wall of Historische Wurstküche.

MT 2:50 PM - Regensburg:  Don by back wall of Historische Wurstküche.

2:54 PM - Regensburg:  MT by back wall of Historische Wurstküche (mild telephoto 30 mm).

2:59 PM - Regensburg: Historische Wurstküche - Regensburger Bratwurst, two sausages in bun with sweet mustard, which we split.

MT 2:55 PM - Regensburg: Historische Wurstküche - Don preparing to eat Regensburger Bratwurst.

3:03 PM - Regensburg: Historische Wurstküche - people eating outside, with spire of Cathedral in background (south).

3:04 PM - Regensburg: near Historische Wurstküche - MT with Mike, Marilyn, and Alice from Kansas.

Then we boarded our bus for the 1.5-hour ride back to Passau.

4:57 PM - Passau: first sight of Old City through windshield of bus on bridge.

4:58 PM - Passau: view of Old City through window of bus on bridge, with green-domed Cathedral of St. Stephen right of center and St. Paul Church in left foreground (telephoto 72 mm).

MT 5:04 PM - Passau: view through window of bus of colorful houses on other side of Danube (mild telephoto 42 mm).

Then we re-boarded the Viking Bragi.

8:58 PM - Viking Bragi -photos of crew leaders, including Program Director Joey, who had continued with us from the Viking Skadi.