Viva Europa 2015: Augsburg

What a gem of a little city. We are staying in the original center of town, and everything is within walking distance. The city was bombed by the Allies in WW2, and much effort has been made to restore the buildings as well as build new, according to the original themes of the city. The pictures below are a summary of the day in the city. Augsburg is also home to a Jewish community, and we were surprised to visit the synagogue, which is beautifully preserved. As with all Jewish sites in Europe so far, there is added security so we had to be buzzed in before being allowed access. The reason the synagogue was not destroyed is because there is a petrol station across the street and there was fear the entire area would go up in an explosion.

Everyone needs a.ballroom, right? We found cleaners with little brushes and vacuum cleaners lovingly cleaning all the gold... Every ten years...

There were many ways to heat the house.... This is the home of the Fuggers, the banking family of Augsburg. Mind you that the Jews were allowed to trade in the City because they were able to provide loans when the Church would not... This is also the location where Martin Luther was brought before the Catholic Church to recant his 95 Theses before the Pope... The beginning of the Protestant religions ... ML changed the Christian religion by stating that one could have their own faith and could get to heaven based on God's plan and not how much one did good deeds and paid the church, as is the basis of Catholics...