Friedburg, Romantic Road

Only 5mi (8km) from Augsburg is the town of Friedberg. It was founded in the mid-13th century by the Bavarian Duke Ludwig II to protect the salt route and the borders against the powerful neighbouring Augsburgers, who at the time sought to expand their territory across the River Lech.

Ludwig commenced building Castle Friedberg and a defensive wall, much to the dismay of the Augsburgers, who, in turn, burnt the city. Friedberg and the castle were destroyed and rebuilt many times over the centuries, largely due to their strategic location and ongoing conflict between Swabia, Bavaria, and Augsburg.

When fire devastated the castle once again in the mid-1500s, the new design came in a simple Renaissance style, and for a brief period, it was occupied by Duchess Christina of Lorraine. During this time, Friedberg was the centre of court life in Bavaria, enjoying prosperity and peace until the plague arrived in 1599, ravaging the town.

Following damage during the Thirty Years’ Wars in the 17th century, the castle was repaired once again. No longer used as a residence, the castle became an administrative seat for various organisations. It survived WWII without damage and was eventually converted into a museum in the 1980s. In 2018, after three years of intensive restoration efforts, the museum was reopened to the public.

Today, the castle is an elegant white building with a red pitched roof. It is accessed via a footbridge through a portal beneath the tower gate into an arcaded courtyard. The interior has been fully gutted and uniformly redesigned to better reflect the museum’s displays such as: the town’s history; collection of Friedberger watches capturing its 16th-19th century history, when the town was the centre of watchmaking; and faience manufacture from its short-lived 18th century era, when a ceramic glazing factory existed in town for only a few years, making Friedberger faiences extremely rare.