City peculiarities
Augsburger Puppenkiste
Probably the most famous puppet theater in Germany was housed in the Heilig-Geist-Spital and is located in the old town of Augsburg, Germany as featured on petsinclude. It has been performing fairy tales since 1948, but also more serious plays. Incidentally, the doll box was ennobled with the Golden Camera in 2004.
FC Augsburg
The soccer club “FC Augsburg” has a special tradition. At home games, no pennants are presented, as is usually the case, but puppets from the Augsburger Puppenkiste.
Augsburger Garbage Hill
The garbage heap, also known as Augsburger Schuttberg, is a 55 m high garbage dump that can be seen very well from the A8 motorway. The rubble is jokingly mentioned as Augsburg’s landmark.
The landfill, which has been in use since the Second World War, was provided with a layer of clay between 1988 and 1996 due to an increased health risk.
There was also a layer of soil about two meters thick. In addition, the mountain was planted with poor meadows and enriched with dry and gravel soil. The landfill, where biotope structures have also been created, should be available to the public as a recreation area after all renaturation measures have been completed.
Zwetschgendatschi
This sheet cake made from shortbread and yeast is topped with halved plums. Since it was invented in Augsburg, the townspeople are also often referred to as “Datschiburger”.
Weißwurst
Weißwurst is widespread throughout Bavaria, but has found a second home in Augsburg – after Munich, of course. This is also proven by the application of the Bavarian Butchers’ Association, which wants to enforce the right at the Trademark and Patent Office to grant Augsburg butchers the privilege of being able to call their sausages “Original Munich White Sausage”.
Spaetzle
The inevitable Swabian spaetzle is served as a typical accompaniment to Augsburg dishes. This pasta made from eggs, flour and salt can also be ordered in a slightly different form as a separate dish: Mention should be made of the Kässpatzen, which are usually served with fried onions and salad.
Augsburg and its public holidays
Augsburg has more public holidays than any region or city in Germany. The city also has its own public holiday – which is unique in Germany, by the way. This is the Augsburg High Peace Festival, which is celebrated every year on August 8th.
Floor lights
To protect pedestrians who use their cell phones etc. are busy, “floor traffic lights” were set up by the city administration at a number of crossings in April 2016.
Cannabis plantation
To remove a cannabis plantation consisting of 25 flower pots in a tree at a height of 25 m, the fire brigade dispatched some height rescuers in July 2017.
The “Fugger city”
Besides Weißenhorn – a town in the district of Neu-Ulm in Bavaria – Augsburg is the only city in the world that calls itself “Fugger city”. The Fuggers were a Swabian family.
This had been based in Augsburg since 1367 and was able to achieve world renown with the Fuggerische Handelsgesellschaft founded by Jakob the Elder. The beginning of the Fugger in Augsburg was laid by the weaver Hans Fugger, who was able to become the first Augsburg guild master of weavers in 1386.
His sons – founders of two Fugger lines – were Jakob the Elder and Andreas. While Jakob remained loyal to the weaving mill, Andreas became a businessman and quickly became very wealthy.
But with his son Lukas all wealth was lost again. As for Jacob, he did not leave his sons so much wealth, but he did leave a stable weaving company with modest trading opportunities.
It was only through the settlement of the Roman indulgence trade in 1476 and the support of Emperor Maximilian I (1483 in Holland) that the Fuggers were able to open up two enormous branches of business for themselves.
Celebrations and events
Augsburg has more public holidays than any of the regions and cities in Germany. The city also has its own public holiday – which is unique in Germany, by the way. This is the Augsburg High Peace Festival, which is celebrated every year on August 8th and is presented in more detail below on this page.
Augsburger Christkindlesmarkt
The Christkindlesmarkt, one of the oldest Christmas markets in Germany, dates back to the 15th century. It usually starts on the Thursday before the 1st Advent on the Rathausplatz and closes its doors on Christmas Eve. On the Advent weekends, at the opening and at the end, you can watch the “angel game” at 6 pm, when 24 angels appear on the balcony and in the windows of the Augsburg town hall to Christmas music and present themselves to the crowd in Holbein’s costumes.
Augsburger Dult
This large folk festival impresses with an almost 1,000 meter long Budengasse, which connects the Jakob Gate with the Vogeltor and runs along the old city wall. The dulten take place twice a year: around Easter there is the spring or Easter dult and at the end of September there is the autumn or Michaelidult. The last dult also includes the unique opportunity to see the Turamichele, a mechanically moved Archangel Michael who appears in the lowest west window of the Perlach Tower to torture the devil with stings.
Augsburg Peace Prize
The city of Augsburg has awarded the Augsburg Peace Prize every three years since 1985. The winner of the prize will always be named on August 8th.
Augsburg High
Peace Festival Every year on August 8th, the High Peace Festival is celebrated. This goes back to the Augsburg Protestants, who marked the end of the Thirty Years War and their oppression by the Catholics. Today’s festival is a public holiday that is limited to the city of Augsburg and gives the city two superlatives: on the one hand, having the most public holidays of all regions and cities in Germany and, on the other, the world’s only state-protected public holiday.
Augsburger Lechflimmern
For this festival, which is celebrated every summer, films of all kinds are shown on large screens at different locations.
Augsburg Plärrer
Bavaria’s third largest folk festival is celebrated twice a year, once from Easter Sunday and another time at the end of August or beginning of September. It lasts two weeks and takes place on the small parade ground. Then a lot of showmen meet there, mainly from southern Germany.
Augsburg backwards
run This inverted race has been held in Augsburg since 2000. It always takes place on Shrove Tuesday.
Augsburg City Run
The city’s largest sporting event attracts thousands of professional and amateur athletes to Augsburg every summer. You can then measure yourself against each other in four disciplines.
Women’s World Cup 2011
In 2009 the Augsburg Impulse Arena should be completed. Several games of the 2011 women’s soccer world championship will then be played there.
International Film Days Augsburg
Every year in March, the International Film Days take place in Augsburg. They are divided into the Augsburg Children’s Film Festival, the Augsburg Short Film Weekend, the Days of Independent Film and the international symposium “Cinema of Tomorrow”, which is aimed at young filmmakers and students.
Max
This large open-air street festival takes place on Augsburger Maximilianstraße and attracts tens of thousands of visitors to the city that weekend.
Perlachturm-Lauf
The Perlachturm-Lauf, which takes place every year, is one of the most famous tower races in Germany. Every two minutes the competitors then start their run, which leads them to the viewing platform of the Perlach Tower, where they conquer 70 meters in altitude in up to 48 seconds.
RT.1 Skate Night Augsburg
Every summer up to 4,000 more or less talented inline skaters sweep over streets and squares in Augsburg that have been closed off especially for them.
Snowboard-Railbattles
Every year shortly before Christmas, Willy-Brandt-Platz becomes the scene of the snowboard railbattles. The festival is then attended by up to 15,000 spectators, some of whom come from North America especially for the occasion.
