Augsburg was a Roman town, a medieval free imperial city and the home of the fabulously rich Fugger banking family, but the thing that held it all together was water. Over the centuries, the city built an intricate network of canals fed by the Lech and Wertach rivers, water towers, pumping stations and fountains, supplying clean drinking water to the citizens and power to mills and workshops. The system was so advanced that UNESCO inscribed it in 2019, recognising twenty-two sites, from the water towers at the Red Gate, dating back to the fifteenth century, to the great Renaissance fountains dedicated to Augustus, Mercury and Hercules on the main street.
Walking through the old town, you constantly cross canals, some running openly between houses, others hidden under streets. The Lech quarter, with its narrow lanes and old craftsmen's houses, is especially charming, and the Fuggerei, the world's oldest social housing settlement, founded by Jakob Fugger in 1516, still houses residents for an annual rent of less than one euro, along with a few prayers for the founder. The Eiskanal, built for the canoe slalom events of the 1972 Olympic Games, is also part of the water story.
Riding into Augsburg means dealing with city traffic, trams and cobbles in the old town, so it is best to park on the edge and walk. The surrounding countryside offers much more pleasant riding. To the west, the Westliche Wälder nature park has quiet roads through forests and small villages, with gentle hills and curves. To the south, the Lech valley leads toward the Alps, and on clear days you can see the mountains from the higher ground. The roads are generally excellent, but traffic can be heavy around the city.
Augsburg is a city of over a quarter of a million people, with fuel, cafés, beer gardens and restaurants of every kind. Try Swabian specialities like Spätzle and Maultaschen, or a Weißwurst breakfast if you are early enough. Walk along the canals, look at the water towers at the Red Gate, and stand by one of the great bronze fountains on Maximilianstrasse. It is a city that wears its history lightly, and the water is what makes it come alive.