AUGSBURG, a city and episcopal see, Bavaria, Germany, chief town of the district of Swabia. Pop. (1933) 176,631. Lying on a plateau 1,5oof t. above sea, between the rivers Wertach and Lech, which unite below the city, it consists of an upper and a lower town, the old Jakob suburb and various modern suburbs.
Augsburg (Augusta Vindelicorum) is named after Augustus, who established a Roman colony here about 14 B.C. Sacked by the Huns in the 5th century it afterwards came under the power of the Frankish kings. It suffered in the war of Charlemagne against Tassilo III., duke of Bavaria; and later became part of the dukedom of Swabia, when it became important as a manufac turing and commercial town, becoming, after Nurnberg, the centre of the trade between Italy and North Europe; its merchant princes, the Fuggers and Welsers, rivalled the Medici of Florence; but with the discoveries of the 15th and i6th centuries trade de clined. In 1276 it was made a free imperial city, until its annexa tion (18o6) to the kingdom of Bavaria. It was besieged and taken by Gustavus Adolphus in 1632, and in 1635 surrendered to the imperial forces ; in 1703 it was bombarded by the electoral prince of Bavaria, and also suffered severely in the war of 1803. The Augsburg confession (1 S3o) and the Augsburg alliance (1686) were decided here. Its fortifications, dismantled in i 703, are public promenades. Maximilian street is remarkable for its breadth and for the Fugger Haus, of which the entire front is painted in fresco. The Renaissance town-hall (1616-162o) is one of the finest in Germany, and contains the "Golden Hall," I13ft. long, 59ft. broad and 53ft. high. The cathedral, with two Romanesque towers, dates from the loth century. The church of St. Ulrich is Late Gothic (1474-1500), finely proportioned, with a high tower (3ooft.). The church contains, besides fine ironwork, the monu ments of the Fuggers. The newer buildings, in the west quarter of the city, include law courts, a theatre, and a municipal library. The "Fuggerei," built in 1519 by the brothers Fugger, is a miniature town, with six streets or alleys, three gates and a church, and consists of io6 small houses let to indigent Roman Catholic citizens.
Augsburg, the chief seat of the textile industry in south Ger many, produces woollen, linen and cotton goods and has bleaching and dye works. Its production of agricultural and industrial ma chinery and its chemical works are important.