The Augsburg Water Management System is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bavarian Swabia. Its 22 elements form a functionally connected group of interdependent components. This perspective on a shared system can be combined with a wide variety of discoveries, from historic buildings and puppet theatre to routes through the countryside.
Experience World Heritage and history
The Fuggerei was founded by Jakob Fugger in 1521 and is considered the world’s oldest social housing complex. For decades, the Augsburg Puppet Theatre has presented puppet shows; the puppet theatre museum “Die Kiste” is located on the floor above. Official guided tours of Harburg Castle bring 900 years of history to life. Stops include the castle church, the battlements, the prison towers and the courtroom.
Holzen Abbey also tells the story of the region: it is a former Benedictine convent in the northern part of the Augsburg–Western Woods Nature Park. The abbey church features magnificent Baroque furnishings. The region’s cultural attractions range from a historic social housing complex and a theatre with its own museum to an abbey church and a castle with guided tours.
Crater landscape and nature park
In the north of Bavarian Swabia lies the Nördlinger Ries, a 25-kilometre-wide crater formed by a meteorite impact around 15 million years ago. The Ries Panorama Trail is a seven-day hiking route around the crater in the UNESCO Global Geopark Ries. For specific tour planning, it is advisable to check the latest information on the stages.
The Augsburg–Western Woods Nature Park covers 1,225 km² and is the only nature park in Bavarian Swabia. This brings together two very different landscapes: the crater landscape of the Ries and the extensive nature park. The right route also depends on whether you are looking for a multi-day hike or shorter trails that follow different routes.
Comparing hiking and cycling trails
The DonAUwald hiking trail stretches for just under 60 kilometres between Günzburg and Schwenningen and is connected to the region’s rail services. It is the first hiking trail in Bavarian Swabia to be classified as a premium hiking trail. The Ries Panorama Trail, by contrast, centres on a seven-day hiking route around the meteorite crater.
The cycle routes can also be distinguished by their described itineraries. The DonauTäler cycle route covers around 300 kilometres and takes in a total of 14 tributary valleys of the Danube; check the route details before making specific plans. The Danube Cycle Path runs for 100 kilometres between Neu-Ulm and Donauwörth through the Swabian Danube Valley. Along with the Via Claudia Augusta, these three routes in Bavarian Swabia are classified as ADFC quality cycle routes, each with four stars.
Regional specialities and getting around
A speciality from the Nördlinger Ries is Rieser Bauerntorte, a covered yeast cake filled with apples, a tradition dating back to the 16th century. Swabian Maultaschen are also a speciality of Bavarian Swabia. These pasta pockets typically have a filling of meat or vegetable mixture, with a distinctive proportion of spinach.
The Bavarian Swabia tourism region comprises the districts of Aichach-Friedberg, Augsburg, Dillingen, Donau-Ries, GĂĽnzburg and Neu-Ulm, as well as the independent city of Augsburg. It is located at the A7/A8 motorway junction and can be reached by car or train. The Bayern-Takt provides hourly train services every day from morning until late at night, including Saturdays and Sundays. Check the current timetables before travelling. For independent exploration, the Lauschtour audio guide app offers 23 free audio tours through Bavarian Swabia, which can be used flexibly without booking in advance.
Discover more destinations: Miesbach, Kulmbach, Ammersee, Altötting, Regen, Cham, Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen, Schwandorf.
For the full travel overview: Bavaria.
