Regensburg is a city in Bavaria (Bayern), south-east Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube.
The first settlements in Regensburg date to the Stone Ages. The Celtic name Radasbona was the oldest name given to a settlement near the present city. Around AD 90 the Romans built a small "cohort-fort" in what would now be the suburbs.
In 179 the Roman fort Castra Regina ("fortress by the river Regen") was built for Legio III Italica during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. It was an important camp on what was then the northern fringe of the empire. It is believed that even in late Roman times it was the seat of a bishop, and St. Boniface re-established a bishopric there in 739.
From about 530 to the first half of the 13th century, it was the capital of Bavaria. Throughout the early Middle Ages, Regensburg was the cultural center of southern Germany and was celebrated for gold work and fabrics. In 1245, it became a Imperial Free City and was a trade center before the shifting of trade routes in the late Middle Ages.
Historic Buildings:
The Cathedral, though small, is a very interesting example of pure German Gothic. It was founded in 1275, and completed in 1634, with the exception of the towers, which were finished in 1869.
The church of St. James also called Schottenkirche, a plain Romanesque basilica of the 12th century.
Examples of the Romanesque basilica style are the church of Obermünster, dating from 1010, and the abbey church of St. Emmeran, built in the 13th century, and remarkable as one of the few German churches with a detached belfry.
The town hall, dating in part from the 14th century, contains the rooms occupied by the imperial diet from 1663 to 1806.
The Gothic villa of the king of Bavaria on the bank of the Danube and many historic cities more.