Bayern or Bavaria in English,  is the biggest  state   in Germany. For me, it is also the most beautiful  of all the 16 states  in this country.  There are a lot of  fantastic  sights and events  that take  place in Bavaria every year. Here are some of the  best in the region!


Oktoberfest in Munich

If you  want to witness  the biggest festival in the world, I would suggest that you start booking  now for your flights and hotels in  Munich. Bavaria's capital city is always flooded with locals and tourists from around the world during the Oktoberfest celebration.  This event is a very important part of Bavarian culture having been held since 1810. Around six million people are visiting this  festival every year.


Also take the chance to explore Munich city and its  surroundings. For sure, you will love it there and will enjoy your visit to one of the best destinations in Europe.

Neuschwanstein Castle

This fairy-tale castle  commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria has been a magnet  to tourists around the world. Neuschwanstein Castle was the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle. It is considered to be one of the most-photographed buildings in Germany. This palace has a Romanesque Revival architecture and is located on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria.



The Residence in Würzburg

It is listed in the the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981, including its Court Gardens and Residence Square. The Residence in Würzburg has one of the finest Baroque architecture in Europe. No wonder it was dubbed  by Napoleon as  the "nicest parsonage in Europe".

The old city  of Wuerzburg is also  worth to explore. Don't miss the Old Main  Bridge and Fortress Marienberg in your sights to see.

Let's visit this time the south-west part of Bavaria, Germany. It's been a year now since we visited Augsburg. We only had a day-trip that time which is not really enough to see everything. At least, we saw some of its main sights like the Augsburg Rathaus (City Hall), Schaetzlerpalais, Jacob Gate, Church of St. Jacob, St. Ulrich Church and other sights and monuments in this city.

Augburg is known to be a university town. It is Germany's third oldest city, after Neuss and Trier.



Jacob Fugger: March 6, 1459 – December 30, 1525

Born into a prominent Augsburg merchant family, in his time he was Europe’s wealthiest merchant and banker. Through the clever exploitation of mineral rights, his firm held a monopoly on the European copper market and thus laid the groundwork for the prosperity and international standing of the Fugger family business. In 1511, he was elevated to the nobility.

As a banker, Jakob Fugger served members of the nobility, the European royal families and the Catholic Church. He financed wars and ascents to the monarchy and consequently achieved rapid growth and considerable political influence for his business. Even by today’s standards, his wealth was unfathomably immense—thus earning for himself the sobriquet of “Jakob the Rich”. Largely due to him, during that time Augsburg stood in the center of world affairs. augsburg.de

The Perlach Tower also called in German as Perlachturm is a 70-meter tower located in the central district of Augsburg in Bavaria, Germany. It is located near the Augsburger Rathaus or City Hall of Augsburg. It is originally built as a watchtower in the 10th century. In around 1200, the lower part was built and the middle in 1350. Elias Holl constructed the open bell story and crowned it with an Augsburg "onion tower" and a pine cone.
The 70-metre-tall Perlachturm is a tower in the central district of Augsburg, Germany. I took this photo during our visit last July 18, 2010.

St. Jacob's gate is one of the old gates in Augsburg. It is a city in the south-west of Bavaria in Germany. It is known to be a called as a College town. It is also the second oldest city of Germany after Trier.

St. Jacob's gate is located some meters from the Fuggerei which is the world's oldest social housing complex still in work. It is a walled enclave within the city of Augsburg, Bavaria. It takes it name from the Fugger family and was founded in 1516 by Jacob Fugger the Younger (known as "Jacob Fugger the Rich") as a place where the needy citizens of Augsburg could be housed. By 1523, 52 houses had been built, and in the coming years the area expanded with various streets, small squares and a church. The gates were locked at night, so the Fuggerei was, in its own right, very similar to a small independent medieval town. It is still inhabited today, affording it the status of being the oldest social housing project in the world.

Below is an image taken during our visit last July 18, 2010. More images to be posted later on.

Augsburg is the only German city with its own legal holiday, the Peace of Augsburg, celebrated on August 8 of every year. This gives Augsburg more legal holidays than any other region or city in Germany.