Augsburg

Augsburg is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, Germany, located in the southwest of the state in the Swabian region. It sits on the Lech river at its confluence with the Wertach. With about 300,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Bavaria after Munich and Nuremberg, and serves as a major urban center in Swabia, lying roughly 50 kilometers west of Munich.

The city traces its origins to the Roman settlement of Augusta Vindelicorum, founded in 15 BCE. In the Middle Ages and early modern era it developed into a major commercial and crafts hub. As a Free Imperial City, Augsburg enjoyed extensive self-government within the Holy Roman Empire from 1276 until its mediatisation in 1806, when it was incorporated into Bavaria. The Fugger banking and mercantile dynasty helped link Augsburg to European trade networks.

Key sights include Augsburg Cathedral (Dom St. Maria), the St. Ulrich and Afra church complex, and the Renaissance Town Hall (Rathaus) with the Golden Hall designed by Elias Holl. Other landmarks are the Perlach Tower and the Fuggerei, the world’s oldest still-operating social housing complex, founded in 1516. The city also hosts the Maximilianmuseum and the Roman Museum, and is home to the University of Augsburg and the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences.

Augsburg has a diversified economy with manufacturing, engineering, services, and research institutions. It functions as a transportation hub in Swabia, served by rail and connected by motorways to Munich and Stuttgart. Culturally, the city is known for its museums, theaters, and festivals, and for its historical association with the Augsburg Confession, presented at the 1530 Diet of Augsburg, a foundational document of Lutheranism.