Straubing

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Straubing
View of Straubing.
View of Straubing.
Coat of arms Location
Coat of arms of Straubing
Straubing (Germany)
Straubing
Administration
Country Flag of Germany Germany
State Bavaria
Admin. region Lower Bavaria
District Urban district
Mayor Markus Pannermayr (CSU)
Basic statistics
Area 67.58 km² (26.1 sq mi)
Elevation 322 m  (1056 ft)
Population 44,633  (31/12/2005)
 - Density 660 /km² (1,711 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate SR
Postal codes 94301–94315
Area code 09421
Website www.straubing.de

Coordinates: 48°53′00″N 12°34′00″E / 48.883333, 12.566667

Straubing is an independent city in Lower Bavaria, southern Germany. It is seat of the district Straubing-Bogen. Annually in August the Gäubodenvolksfest, the second largest fair in Bavaria, is held.

The city is located on the Danube forming the center of the Gäuboden.

Contents

[edit] History

Gäubodenvolksfest, Straubing
Gäubodenvolksfest, Straubing

The area of Straubing is continuously settled since the Neolithic. The conquest by the Romans in 16-14 BC had a dramatic impact on the whole region. Even today a lot of traces of the 400 year lasting Roman occupation can be found (for example the famous 'Römerschatz' (roman treasure) which is shown in the Gäubodenmuseum). Sorviodurum, as the Romans called it, was an important military support base.

After the fall of the Roman Empire Straubing became a center of settlement of the Bavarii, mostly around the church St. Peter (built in the 9th century) between Allachbach and Danube. According to the customs of the Bavarii the settlement was named after their leader Strupinga, which later evolved into the name Straubing.

1218 a new part of the city (called 'new town') was founded by Louis I Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria. Straubing became the capital of Bavaria-Straubing under the dukes of Bavaria-Straubing-Holland under Duke William I when Bavaria was divided among the sons of Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor in 1349. In 1429 Straubing passed to Ernest, Duke of Bavaria-Munich, who ordered to murder Agnes Bernauer in Straubing. The grave of Agnes Bernauer can't be found. But in the graveyard of St. Peter church is a chapel built by Duke Ernest.

This new town is nowadays the center of Straubing with many shops, offices, restaurants and a pedestrian area. Most buildings there still have medieval style. The nightlife of Straubing, with many pubs and discotheques, is concentrated in this area.

A must is the beautiful gothic cathedral-like Basilika St. Jakob, the romanesque St. Peter's Church, the Carmelite Monastery with its baroque Church and library, St. Vitus (see picture), where you can find a life-size personifciation of "state and church" joined in holy matrimony.

Straubing also has many industrial areas and a port at the river Danube with access to the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal, a connection from the North Sea to the Black Sea. It is the center of the Bavarian high tech offensive in biotechnology.

[edit] Main sights

  • City tower [1]
  • Herzogsschloss [2]
  • Romanesque Church of St. Peter[3]
  • Basilica of St. Jacob [4]
  • Church St. Vitus (St. Veit) - home of the oldest still existing Confraternity in Germany, the St. Salvator-Confraternity [5]
  • Carmelite Monastery and Church (since 1368 - the only monastery which survived the dissolution of 1802) The monks support especially Palestinian Christians [6]

[edit] Festivals and main cultural events

  • Straubinger Frühlingsfest - a spring festival(annual)
  • Gäubodenvolksfest and Ostbayernschau - most people prefer this instead of the "Oktoberfest" in munich (annual)
  • Museum containing Roman artifacts.
  • Agnes-Bernauer-Festspiele - a historical play to remind of the murdered Agnes Bernauer
  • Straubinger Zoo
  • A Jazz festival - Jazz an der Donau - one of the greatest jazz-festivals in Europe with specialguests like Seal, Aretha Franklin or Mousse T. (annual)

[edit] Historical residents

[edit] Sports

[edit] Twin towns

Straubing is twinned with:


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