Roman Heritage
Porta Praetoria
Regensburg · Bavaria
QUICK INFORMATION
- CATEGORY
- Roman Heritage
- COUNTRY
- Germany
- REGION
- Regensburg · Bavaria
- DURATION
- 2 days
ABOUT THIS ATTRACTION
The Porta Praetoria is Regensburg’s birth certificate: the main north gate of the legion fortress Marcus Aurelius ordered built in 179 AD, whose camp plan became the medieval street grid and whose walls — rebuilt through every century — still ring the old town. The gate’s arches survive as a two-storey fragment beside the Bishop’s court, absorbed into the medieval wall and a Renaissance house; the documentation in the courtyard reads the fortress that held 6,000 legionaries and set the city’s axis. The Danube ran at its foot as the Empire’s frontier — the Roman wall walk behind the cathedral, the legion camp’s corners and the tower fragments make Regensburg one of the best Roman reads in Bavaria, and most visitors walk past without knowing.
HISTORY & BACKGROUND
The story behind it
WHAT TO SEE
What to see here
The gate’s surviving arches — two storeys of 179 AD ashlar beside the hotel courtyard.
The Roman wall walk — the fortress fabric behind the cathedral and along the Danube side.
The historical documentation panel set — the camp plan and the legion’s story in the courtyard.
MAP & LOCATION
Porta Praetoria
Porta Praetoria, Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany
49.0210, 12.0969
MORE ATTRACTIONS
More to see in Regensburg
FOOD & DRINK
Where to eat nearby
Regensburg eats and drinks like the river city it is: grilled sausages at the Wurstkuchl — grilling by the Stone Bridge since the 12th century, the world’s oldest open-air grill, served with sauerkraut and sweet mustard at plank tables over the Danube — plus the Franconian-Bavarian canon of roast pork, dumplings and pretzel culture, and the Danube fish tradition at the city’s older tables.
The Historic Wurstkuchl is the essential (touristy and tiny, but the ritual is the point); nearby the Spital brewery — run by a medieval hospital foundation — pours its own beer under the towers, and the Kneitinger Brauhaus and Thurn und Taxis’ own cellar carry the city’s three-brewery tradition.
The old town’s lanes hide the range: the Haidplatz’s café square for breakfast, the Dachauplatz’s modern kitchens, the Stadtamhof quarter across the bridge for the quieter riverside tables. Leberkässemmel from the Viktualienmarkt-style market hall is the walking lunch.
Sweet Regensburg: the Prinzenküche’s historic pastries and the chocolate makers around the Neupfarrplatz. Camping travellers: the AZUR site’s kiosk covers basics and the No. 1 bus puts the old town’s tables at the campsite’s door in fifteen minutes; the Wurstkuchl’s picnic tables by the river work with your own supplies too.
HOTELS & STAYS
Where to stay nearby
The old town inside the walls is the right base: UNESCO lanes, the Dom and the bridge all walkable, hotels in patrician houses and merchant courtyards — the Sorat and the Orphée’s hotel wing are the classic addresses. Summer weekends book up with the festival calendar.
The Stadtamhof quarter just across the Stone Bridge trades a five-minute walk for quieter streets and softer rates, with the river view at the window.
The station quarter (south of the walls) holds the business hotels and the cheapest beds — fifteen minutes’ walk to the Dom, unbeatable for rail arrivals.
Camping: AZUR Camping Regensburg (at Weinweg on the Danube’s western edge, year-round, bus No. 1 to the old town) is the city’s standard site with riverside pitches; the smaller Stadtamhof riverside spots suit van travelers. Book ahead for the Bürgerfest week in July.
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