Germany Guide
Central Bavaria
Maximilianstrasse
Running south from Rathausplatz, stately Maximilianstrasse is, in its entirety, the clearest possible expression of Augsburg's Renaissance wealth, lined with the town palaces of the wealthy. Nowadays the "Maximilian" referred to in the street's name is the Habsburg Emperor Maximilian I, whose fondness for the city led to him being dubbed "Mayor of Augsburg", but it previously referred to another, less popular "Max" – the Bavarian Elector Maximilian Joseph. Its historical importance aside, Maximilianstrasse is a visually impressive link between the Rathaus and the church of St Ulrich und Afra in the south – and it's also the centre of Augsburg's nightlife.
One of Augsburg's trio of splendid Renaissance fountains, the Merkurbrunnen, stands opposite the fourteenth-century Weberhaus, or weavers' guild house, at Moritzplatz, a little way south of the Rathaus. The richly coloured paintings on its facade were originally done by Johann Matthias Kager in 1605 but were renewed after World War II. They depict the history of the cloth trade – once very important in Augsburg – and the Battle of Lechfeld in 955 AD, in which the German King Otto held back the Magyar advance into western Europe south of the city.
To the south, the 68-metre-long sgraffito facade of the Fuggerhäuser dominates the midsection of Maximilianstrasse. Originally built in 1512 to 1515 as a town palace for Jakob Fugger the Rich, the complex was badly damaged during World War II and rebuilt in simplified form afterwards.