Date: 24-25th August 2023
Travelled: 90 kms from Zwiesel to Regensburg
Visited: Regensburg
Stayed: Stellplatz Private, โฌ15, N49.02860, E12.10390
Budget: 93 days @ โฌ91 per day
We go for an early walk around Zwiesel before getting ready for the road once again.
It was a coin toss between Passau and Regensburg, we decide on the later. The first half of the journey is through the Bavarian countryside which is a real pleasure, the second half on the A3 motorway is much less so.
Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany
Regensburg has no stellplatz and lots of paid parking. We found a small private parking place on P4N with limited services, relatively close to the centrum. I book a spot via SMS and itโs done. Itโs just a gravel carpark surrounded by buildings but they provide some shade and it proves to be very quiet.
Regensburg was once the capital of Bavaria and the seat of the Prince Thurn und Taxis. Hence the Palace of Thurn und Taxis. These days itโs renowned for its well preserved medieval centrum. Probably the highlight being the 12th century,16 arch stone bridge that crosses the Danube leading to the centrum.
The Danube forms a series of islands and channels here in Regensburg. The main canal is another 300 metre further north. The stone bridge also pictured above crosses three of those channels.
Pictures below the old city gates as you cross the stone bridge. Note the cross keys Regensburg City Symbol.
Pictured below, the Rathaus or Town Hall, we pop in and book a spot on tomorrowโs English speaking tour.
Itโs hard to miss the Cathedral of Saint Peter. A cathedral was built on the site of an existing church in the 10-11th centuries. That burnt to the ground in 1273 and the decision was made to build again, but even larger in the French style according to the blurb. Work continued for the next 250 years with the spires incomplete it came to a standstill in 1520. 350 years later work restarts and spires where completed in 1872.
Some street scenes, thereโs always another laneway or a small square to explore.
Pictured below Saint Emmeramโs Church. It was formally part of the Palace of Thurn und Taxis, having a passageway that links the two. The scaffolding around the outside of the church makes a half decent photo impractical. Inside itโs all high rococo, cherubs, angels and other mythical creatures all in gold leaf. The ceiling is a work of art itself.
Wandering next door to the formally named Prince of Thurn und Taxis Museum, the full escorted tour of the Palace takes 90 minutes so we opt for an abridged tour of the treasury and coach house โฌ4.50 pp. It comes with a free audio guide which was pretty good.
Just to be clear, the Prince did not invent Taxis or even own a fleet of them, in fact the Prince was the Holy Roman Empire of Germanyโs Postmaster until the dissolution of the Empire.
Pam was mesmerised by the snuff boxes, I found the gun and ammo more interesting personally.
Having finished at the Palace we scooter back to the Hymer for lunch and a bit of a rest. Then back into the Old Town for our English speaking tour at 2 pm,which was excellent.
The Town Hall also served as the meeting place for the regional government and occasionally the Emperor. Itโs an amazing labyrinth of spaces with the grand hall serving the full council when in session
As the story is told when the Emperor would get bored listening to his council he would walk over to the window, sit down and throw coins to his subjects, hence comes the term โto thrown money out the windowโ or down the drain ..
The Town Hall also served as the centre for law enforcement. So we get a tour of the cells and the torture chamber as well. It was a very interesting hour.
Weโve done Regensburg as best we can in a couple of days. The Old Town is lovely and there seems to be something interesting around every corner. We take a long walk back giving into temptation and have an ice cream, before finding the Danube and making our way to the stone bridge and the scooter back to the Hymer.
Michael + Pam
2 thoughts on “Regensburg, Germany ๐ฉ๐ช 2023”
As usual a great report we never made it to Regensburg,so great to get a glimpse of it.
Safe travels
Johannes
Loved all the beautiful churches/cathedrals Did you two stop in and get tattoos?!