Regensburg Old Town & Stone Bridge

Founded as the Roman fort Castra Regina in 179 AD, Regensburg became a great medieval trading city on the Danube and the seat of the Perpetual Imperial Diet from 1663 to 1806. Its 300-metre Stone Bridge, completed around 1146, was for centuries the only bridge across the Danube for miles and a marvel of engineering that inspired crusaders' routes and other great bridges. Because it escaped the bombing that flattened so many German cities, Regensburg preserves the largest intact medieval old town north of the Alps — over 1,500 listed buildings, patrician tower-houses, and Roman gates still standing. The whole ensemble became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006.