Now that we’ve decided to follow the Romantic Road from beginning to end, we’re moving further north and staying for 4 nights in Dinkelsbühl. On the way, we stop off for lunch at Augsburg. We park outside the historical centre so we can cycle into the city which proves to be a good plan. We easily find free parking in Lützowstrasse on the other side of the Lech in the north east. That way we can follow the red dotted line on the map at the top and follow it south and then east.
Our first stop, as always, is the tourist office to get a map and list of places of interest. We learn there are three fountains on Maximilian strees, also known as the Imperial Road, erected in about 1600. Unfortunately, the Rathaus (Town Hall) is being renovated but the sumptuous Gold Room, restored in 1985, is open and we are the only visitors.
We have a picnic lunch in the cathedral square (it’s an intermittent fast day) and visit the Romanesque crypt and the oldest series of stained glass windows in the world.
We have coffee just opposite the second fountain, that of Mercury.
Next on our list is the beautiful Renaissance Damenhof, part of the Fugger family’s houses and business premises built from 1512 to 1515. The courtyard with its Tuscan columns supporting arcades and painted arches, was a family garden for the female members of the family. Today it contains a very romantic café. What a pity we didn’t know about it ten minutes earlier!
We then see the third fountain, that of Hercules.
The two churches of St Ulrich and Saint Afra are built up against each other.
The late gothic Catholic basilica of St Ulrich is a combination of Renaissance and baroque.
The protestant church of St Ulrich with its beautiful stucco ceilings, is most unusual.
On the way out, we go by the Fuggerei, 67 houses built for the Catholic poor by Jacob Fugger. The annual rent is less than a euro.
Next stop: the beautifully preserved mediaeval village of Dinkelsbühl.
OTHER POSTS ABOUT CYCLING IN GERMANY
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