Early history from Roman times The first settlements in the Regensburg area date from the
Stone Age. The oldest
Celtic name given to a settlement near Regensburg was
Radasbona, a site where a
Roman fort was built around AD 90. In 179, a major new Roman fort, called
Castra Regina ("fortress by the river Regen"), was built for
Legio III Italica during the reign of Emperor
Marcus Aurelius. It was an essential camp at the most northerly point of the Danube; it corresponds to what is today the core of Regensburg's Old City or
Altstadt east of the Obere and Untere Bachgasse and west of the Schwanenplatz. It is believed that as early as the late Roman period, the city was the seat of a bishop. From the early 6th century, Regensburg was the seat of the ruling family, the
Agilolfings. From about 530 to the first half of the 13th century, it was the capital of Bavaria. The bishopric established by the Romans was re-established by
St Boniface as the
Bishopric of Regensburg in 739. In the late 8th century, Regensburg remained an important city during the reign of
Charlemagne. In 792, Regensburg hosted the ecclesiastical section of Charlemagne's General Assembly, the bishops in council who condemned the heresy of the
nontrinitarian adoptionism doctrine taught by their Spanish counterparts,
Elipandus of
Toledo and
Felix of Urgell. After the partition of the
Carolingian Empire in 843, the city became the seat of the Eastern
Frankish ruler,
Louis the German. Two years later, 14
Bohemian princes came to Regensburg to receive
baptism there. This was the starting point of the
Christianization of the
Czechs, and the diocese of Regensburg became the mother diocese of that of
Prague. These events had a wide impact on the cultural history of the Czech lands, as they were consequently part of the Roman Catholic and not the
Slavic-Orthodox world. On 8 December 899,
Arnulf of Carinthia, a descendant of
Charlemagne, died at Regensburg. By the
High Middle Ages in the year 1000, the population increased to 40,000 from 23,000 inhabitants in 800. In 1096, on the way to the
First Crusade,
Peter the Hermit led a mob of
crusaders who attempted to force the mass conversion of
Jews in Regensburg. They then killed all those who resisted. Between 1135 and 1146, the
Stone Bridge across the
Danube was built at Regensburg. This bridge opened major international trade routes between northern Europe and
Venice, thereby beginning Regensburg's golden age as a residence of wealthy trading families. Regensburg became the
cultural centre of southern Germany and was celebrated for its gold work and fabrics.
Late Middle Ages and early modern period In 1245, Regensburg became a
Free Imperial City and was a trade centre before the shifting of
trade routes in the late Middle Ages. Regensburg has always been a place where international meetings were held. This was also the case in 1471 when a war against the Turks was to be decided. In 1486, Regensburg became part of the
Duchy of Bavaria, but its independence was restored by the
Holy Roman Emperor ten years later. In 1519, the medieval
Jewish community of Regensburg - one of the largest and most significant in southern Germany - was expelled following the death of Emperor
Maximilian I, who had previously protected the city’s Jews. Without imperial oversight, the city council and local guilds moved quickly to remove the community, citing economic grievances and long-standing religious hostility. About 500 Jews were forced to leave the city, their property was confiscated, and the
centuries-old synagogue and much of the Jewish quarter were demolished. The medieval Jewish cemetery, one of the oldest in the region, was also destroyed; many of its gravestones were removed, broken, or reused in construction around the city
. The 1519 expulsion marked the end of Jewish life in Regensburg for several centuries, until Jews were permitted to resettle in the city in the early modern period. The first
Diet of Regensburg took place in 1541. The city adopted the
Protestant Reformation in 1542, and its Town Council remained entirely
Lutheran. From 1663 to 1806, the city was the permanent seat of the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire, which became known as the
Perpetual Diet of Regensburg. Thus, Regensburg was one of the Empire's central towns, attracting large numbers of visitors. A minority of the population remained
Roman Catholic, and Roman Catholics were denied civic rights ('
). Although the Imperial city had adopted the Reformation, the town remained the seat of a Roman Catholic bishop and several abbeys. Three of these, St. Emmeram, Niedermünster and Obermünster, were free imperial estates within the Holy Roman Empire, meaning that they were granted a seat and a vote at the Imperial Diet ('). So there was the unique situation in which the town of Regensburg comprised five independent "states" (in the Holy Roman Empire): the Protestant city itself, the Roman Catholic bishopric, and the three
monasteries. In addition, it was seen as the traditional capital of the region of Bavaria (not the state) and served as a functional co-capital of the Empire (second to the Emperor's court at Vienna) due to the presence of the Perpetual Diet. It was the residence of the Emperor's Commissary-Principal to the same diet, who, with one very brief exception, was a prince himself (for many years the Prince of
Thurn and Taxis, still resident in the town).
Late modern period at Regensburg in 1809 In 1803, the city lost its status as an imperial city following its incorporation into the
Principality of Regensburg. It was handed over to the
Archbishop-Elector of Mainz and Archchancellor of the Holy Roman Empire
Carl von Dalberg in compensation for the territory of the Electorate of Mainz located on the left bank of the Rhine which had been annexed by France under the terms of the
Treaty of Lunéville in 1801. The Archbishopric of Mainz was formally transferred to Regensburg. Dalberg united the bishopric, the monasteries, and the town itself, making up the
Principality of Regensburg (
Fürstentum Regensburg). Dalberg strictly modernized public life. Most importantly, he awarded equal rights to Protestants and Roman Catholics alike. In 1810, Dalberg ceded Regensburg to the
Kingdom of Bavaria, and he himself was compensated by the award of
Fulda and
Hanau under the title of "
Grand Duke of Frankfurt". Between 19 and 23 April 1809, Regensburg was the scene of the
Battle of Ratisbon between forces commanded by
Henri Gatien Bertrand and
Napoleon himself and the retreating
Austrian forces. The city was eventually overrun, after supplies and
ammunition ran out. The city suffered severe damage during the fight, with about 150 houses being burnt and others being looted.
Robert Browning's poem
Incident at the French Camp describes the battle from the French perspective, but is filled with historical errors.
Nazism and World War II The Jewish community was persecuted after the
Nazi Party came to power in Germany in 1933, many Jews fled in the following years, and some were also expelled to
Poland; thanks, however, to a Polish-German agreement they were allowed to return to the city. On 9 November 1938, during the
Kristallnacht, the
Regensburg Synagogue and several Jewish homes and stores were destroyed, and around 220 Jews were arrested, some were also deported to the
Dachau concentration camp. In the final months of World War II, in March and April 1945, the
Regensburg subcamp of the
Flossenbürg concentration camp was located in the city, with 460
forced laborers of various nationalities, 40 of whom died. Regensburg was home to both a
Messerschmitt Bf 109 aircraft factory and an oil refinery, which were bombed by the Allies on 17 August 1943, in the
Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission, and on 5 February 1945, during the
Oil Campaign of World War II. Although both targets were severely damaged, Regensburg itself suffered minor damage from the Allied
strategic bombing campaign, and the nearly intact medieval city centre is listed as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city's most important cultural loss was the
Romanesque church of
Obermünster, which was destroyed in a March 1945 air raid and not rebuilt (the
belfry survived). Also, Regensburg's slow economic recovery after the war ensured that historic buildings were not torn down and replaced by newer ones. When the upswing in restoration reached Regensburg in the late 1960s, the prevailing mindset had turned in favour of preserving the city's heritage.
History after 1945 by the Ukrainian Camp Post at Regensburg DP Camp Between 1945 and 1949, Regensburg was the site of the largest
displaced persons (DP) camp in Germany. At its peak in 1946–1947, the workers' district of Ganghofersiedlung housed almost 5,000
Ukrainian and 1,000 non-Ukrainian refugees and displaced persons. With the approval of the U.S. Military Government in the American
Allied Occupation Zone, Regensburg and other DP camps organised their own camp postal service. In Regensburg, the camp postal service began operation on 11 December 1946. At the beginning of the 1960s, Regensburg invested heavily in technical and social
infrastructure to attract industry.
Siemens was the first multinational company to establish a presence in Regensburg, a significant step in the city's post-World War II development. In 1965,
Regensburg University was founded;
Regensburg University of Applied Sciences was established in 1971. The second multinational company,
BMW, arrived in 1986 and set up a large production plant. Since the 1990s, several well-known
high-tech companies have been based in Regensburg, including
Infineon and
OSRAM, contributing to the city's current wealth. In 1997, Regensburg was awarded the
Europe Prize for its outstanding achievements in
European integration. The
World Heritage Committee listed Regensburg's Old Town as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2006. ==Geography==