The best dog-friendly hikes and walks around Günzburg

The Lower Gate with its clock tower is one of Günzburg's landmarks. However, it is far more than just a striking, representative feature. It was once one of the most important entrances to the city. The tower keeper lived at the top and had to ring the bells hourly, day and night, so that the citizens knew someone was on watch. The many windows were not decorative, but provided a panoramic view. From here, the watchmen kept a lookout for enemies and fires.

To gain more living space along the city wall, the facades on the upper floors were designed to project forward by the width of a beam. Beneath the plaster lies a simple timber-framed structure, its panels filled with wattle and daub. The same construction method can still be observed in Münzgasse (behind the southern city wall). What, after successful renovation (and equipped with all the amenities of modern living technology), is now a beautiful residential location in the city center, was anything but a comfortable home without running water, sewage systems, electric lighting, and proper heating. In stark contrast are the tall, solidly built stone houses along the market square. Source: https://pages.et4.de/de/guenzburg/streaming/detail/POI/p_100047484/frauengaesschen-12

The Lower Gate was built in the Gothic style in the 14th century. More precise information about the builders and the date of construction is unavailable. Dendrochronological analysis dates the oak logs above the first upper story to the autumn or winter of 1436. This provides a clue as to the construction period of the final gate structure. In its original form, the tower, with its square base and octagonal spire, can be seen in the city view in the "Mirror of Honor of the House of Austria." There, it already bears the name "Das under Thor" (The Lower Gate). The tower keepers and their families used to live in the tower keeper's room. The fifth and sixth floors served as both work and living quarters. The tower keeper was also a music teacher. To supplement his meager wages, he gave music lessons to the students of the neighboring Piarist college. On clear nights, the Piarists are said to have practiced astronomy in the uppermost tower room. In 1817, the Lower Gate was fitted with its first clock. The clock mechanism originally came from the old town hall (demolished in 1809) and displayed the hours and zodiac signs on a large dial, the quarter hours on a smaller one, and the phases of the moon in between. Source: https://www.altstadtfreunde-guenzburg.de/

The court church, preserved as a late Renaissance building, is Mannerist and remains the true jewel of the square. It was built in 1579/80. Details of this elegant architectural style, such as Ionic columns and Corinthian capitals, are clearly visible inside the church. The sgraffito plasterwork on the west side of the church has been restored. The narrow, single-nave church, facing south and rising steeply, is directly attached to the palace and therefore has no separate facade. The church can be entered either through an entrance in the archway of the original palace or directly on the east side via a simple and unadorned entrance. Source: https://winckelmannakademie.wordpress.com/2020/06/23/das-schloss-und-die-hofkirche-in-guenzburg-an-der-donau/

Günzburg Castle, together with the former court church of St. Trinitatis and the present-day town hall, forms a monumental focal point in the urban fabric of the Bavarian town of Günzburg. The castle is the only Habsburg residence still located in Germany. Today, large parts of the building are used as a tax office. Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markgrafenschloss_G%C3%BCnzburg

A residential area where people lived in "their own three walls." For cost reasons, poorer citizens built their houses directly along the city wall (the fourth wall), and they were content with small plots of land.

The court church was built in 1579/80 and is one of the few remaining late Renaissance churches in southern Germany. Details of this architectural style, such as Ionic columns and Corinthian capitals, are clearly visible inside. In 1755, Joseph Dossenberger the Younger added a Rococo-style side chapel, commissioned by the neighboring Piarist college, for which the building served as a school church. It is dedicated to the founder of the order, Blessed Joseph of Calasanz. The church is now deconsecrated; however, a sensitive restoration between 2004 and 2006 has restored much of its former splendor.

full of frogs in mid-April