BAVAEIA. 241 



Franconia, to tlie north of Dinkehhuhl (5,113 inhabitants), there lies another 

 city famous in the annals of war. This is Nordlingen (7,223 inhabitants), still 

 quite mediaeval in its aspect. Situated in the fertile plain of the Hies, this 

 town commands the roads which separate the Swabian Jura from the hills of 

 Franconia. 



An accumulation of gravel and the errant course of the Lech have prevented 

 the foundation of a city at the exact spot where that river enters the Danube, but 

 some distance up the Lech there stands one of the great historical cities of Europe. 

 This is Augsburg (57,213 inhabitants), the ancient Augusta Vindelicorum. The 

 town occupies a ridge commanding the Lech and its affluent the Wertach. 

 Several old Roman roads, now partly superseded by railways, converge upon it. 

 The most important of these old roads followed the valley of the Lech up to the 

 Fern Pass, which it crossed into the valley of the Inn. Another road, for centuries 

 known as the " Salzstrasse," led to Salzburg and the salt works near it. It was 

 beneath the walls of Augsburg that the united strength of all Germany put a stop 

 to the incursions of the Magyars, who fled back to the plains of the Carpathians, 

 which they have not quitted since. 



Augsburg, however, is glorious rather on account of the triumphs it achieved 

 in the arts of peace than because of its military history. As early as 1368 the 

 trade guilds had sufficient power to upset the government of the patricians, and 

 from that time dates the prosperity of the Swabian city. In 1372 the citizens 

 repulsed a Bavarian army, and for more than a century and a half afterwards they 

 maintained their independence. Augsburg, being in alliance with the Italian 

 republics, carried on commerce with the Mediterranean countries, and, as a member 

 of the Confederation of Swabian towns, it exercised much influence in Germany. 

 At the beginning of the sixteenth century the merchants of Augsburg extended 

 their commercial operations as far as India. In 1527 a banker named Welser sent 

 an army of conquistadores to Venezuela, which had been mortgaged to him by the 

 Emperor. The Fuggers of Augsburg were the Rothschilds of their time, and 

 furnished Charles Y. with the sinews of war. In 1519 a member of this family 

 built a working men's quarter, known as the " Fuggery," and imitated by our 

 modern philanthropists. It was at Augsburg in 1530 that the Lutherans presented 

 their "Confession of Faith" to the Emperor Charles Y. But when Augsburg 

 was deprived of its popular government it decayed rapidly, and during the Thirty 

 Years' VYar its population dwindled down to 16,000 souls. 



Augsburg does not boast many mediteval buildings, but possesses several 

 remarkable edifices of the Renaissance. Many streets and public palaces retain the 

 character of that epoch. The cathedral is a more ancient structure, raised on 

 Roman foundations, with famous stained windows and brazen doors, said to be as 

 old as the eleventh century. Several private houses are ornamented with frescoes, 

 and the public picture gallery is rich in paintings illustrating the history of 

 German art. 



Augsburg has slowly recovered from its decay, but it will never again rise to 

 its former importance as a commercial and banking centre. Its capitalists, 

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