Regensburg Old Town Guided Walking Tour

Town Hall Square and the Old Town Hall

The tour starts on the Rathausplatz in front of the Old Town Hall, a complex of buildings that grew from a thirteenth-century merchants' hall into the political centre of the Holy Roman Empire. From 1663 to 1806 the Perpetual Imperial Diet met in the Imperial Hall here, with envoys from every German state debating under the same wooden ceiling, which is why Regensburg calls itself the city of the Diet. The Gothic tower, the ornate balcony and the inner courtyard are seen from outside, and the guide explains how the city ran its affairs as a free imperial city.

From the square the walk sets the scene for everything that follows: the Roman fortress plan beneath the streets, the medieval trade that financed the towers and the rare survival of the whole ensemble. A Regensburg Old Town Hall tour inside the Imperial Hall and the dungeons is a separate ticket for after the walk.

The Stone Bridge over the Danube

The walk then leads north to the Stone Bridge, the landmark of Regensburg and for centuries the only fixed crossing of the Danube between Ulm and Vienna. Built between 1135 and 1146 with sixteen arches and a length of more than three hundred metres, it was considered a wonder of engineering, and the crusaders, pilgrims and merchants who crossed it made the city rich. On the bridge stands the small stone figure of the Bruckmandl looking towards the cathedral, and from the middle you get the classic view of the old town skyline with its spires and towers.

The bridge is pedestrian only, so it is the best photo stop of the Regensburg walking tour. Next to its city gate the guide points out the salt warehouse and the small historic sausage kitchen that has fed bridge workers and travellers for generations, a good lunch tip for after the tour.

Porta Praetoria and Roman Regensburg

A few steps from the bridge the route reaches the Porta Praetoria, the north gate of the Roman legionary fortress Castra Regina founded in 179 AD. Huge limestone blocks of the gate tower and part of the arch still stand, built into the wall of a later building, making this the oldest structure in the city and the most visible trace of the fortress that housed a Roman legion for more than two centuries. The guide shows how the modern street grid still follows the Roman walls and where other remains, including sections of the fortress wall, appear in cellars and courtyards.

Regensburg's Roman origins explain why it is the oldest city on the Danube in Germany and why the medieval town grew exactly where it did. Visitors who want to see more Roman finds can continue to the museum after the tour; the walk itself concentrates on the gate and the story it tells.

St Peter's Cathedral

The high point of the route is St Peter's Cathedral, the most important Gothic church in Bavaria. Begun around 1275 after a fire destroyed its Romanesque predecessor, it took centuries to complete: the two filigree spires reaching 105 metres were only finished in 1869. The west facade with its triangular porch, the stone sculptures and the famous smiling angel inside, the medieval stained glass and the cathedral's boys' choir with a thousand-year tradition are all part of the story your guide tells on Domplatz. The tour views the cathedral from outside; you can enter afterwards during St Peter's Cathedral opening hours.

Around the cathedral lie the old cloister, the bishop's court and the alleys of the cathedral quarter. Many ask if Regensburg Cathedral is worth visiting inside: it is, and allowing half an hour after the tour for the nave and the glass is time well spent.

Patrician Towers and the Medieval Lanes

The last part of the walk winds through the lanes between Haidplatz, Watmarkt and Neupfarrplatz, where the merchant families of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries built tall residential towers in the Italian manner to show their status. The Golden Tower rises nine storeys, the Baumburger Tower has delicate Gothic windows, and the arcades and courtyards behind them once held warehouses for goods traded between Venice and the north. The guide explains how the patrician families competed, feuded and governed from these houses.

On Neupfarrplatz the route touches the history of the medieval Jewish quarter that stood here until 1519, marked today by a memorial in the pavement, and the old market squares where the city still holds its markets. The walk ends in the old town, leaving you in the middle of its cafes, bakeries and shops with a clear mental map of Regensburg.