Editing Regensburg (section)

==History==
===Early history===
[[File:Regensburg-porta-praetoria 2.jpg|left|thumb|The remains of the East Tower of the [[Castra|Porta Praetoria]] from Roman times]]

The first settlements in the Regensburg area date from the [[Stone Age]]. The oldest [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] name given to a settlement near Regensburg was '''Radasbona''', a site where a [[Roman Empire|Roman]] fort was built around AD 90. In 179, a major new Roman fort, called '''Castra Regina''' ("fortress by the river Regen"), was built for [[Legio III Italica|Legio III ''Italica'']] during the reign of Emperor [[Marcus Aurelius]].<ref name="BeerAdvocate">{{cite web |title=Iron Age Braumeisters of the Teutonic Forests |work=BeerAdvocate |url=http://beeradvocate.com/news/stories_read/668 |access-date=2006-06-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060613083419/http://beeradvocate.com/news/stories_read/668 |archive-date=2006-06-13 }}</ref> It was an important camp at the most northerly point of the Danube; it corresponds to what is today the core of Regensburg's Old City or ''Altstadt'' east of the Obere and Untere Bachgasse and west of the Schwanenplatz. It is believed that as early as the late Roman period the city was the seat of a bishop.

From the early 6th century, Regensburg was the seat of a ruling family known as the [[Agilolfings]]. From about 530 to the first half of the 13th century, it was the capital of Bavaria. The bishopric established by the Romans was re-established by [[St Boniface]] as the [[Diocese of Regensburg|Bishopric of Regensburg]] in 739. In the late 8th century, Regensburg remained an important city during the reign of [[Charlemagne]]. In 792, Regensburg hosted the ecclesiastical section of Charlemagne's General Assembly, the bishops in council who condemned the heresy of the [[Nontrinitarianism|nontrinitarian]] [[adoptionism]] doctrine taught by their Spanish counterparts, [[Elipandus]] of [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]] and [[Felix of Urgell]]. After the partition of the [[Carolingian Empire]] in 843, the city became the seat of the Eastern [[Franks|Frankish]] ruler, [[Louis the German]]. Two years later, 14 [[Bohemia]]n princes came to Regensburg to receive [[baptism]] there. This was the starting point of the [[Christianization]] of the [[Czechs]], and the diocese of Regensburg became the mother diocese of that of [[Prague]]. These events had a wide impact on the cultural history of the Czech lands, as they were consequently part of the Roman Catholic and not the [[Eastern Orthodox Church#Conversion of South and East Slavs|Slavic-Orthodox world]]. On 8 December 899 [[Arnulf of Carinthia]], a descendant of [[Charlemagne]], died at Regensburg.<ref>The Biographical Dictionary of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Vol. III, Part II (page 623), printed by William Clowes and Sons, Stamford Street, London, 1844</ref>

By the [[High Middle Ages]] in the year 1000, the population increased to 40,000 from 23,000 inhabitants in 800.<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=Urban World History: An Economic and Geographical Perspective|author=Tellier, L.N.|date=2009|publisher=Presses de l'Universite du Quebec|isbn=9782760522091|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cXuCjDbxC1YC|page=266|access-date=2014-10-10}}</ref> In 1096, on the way to the [[First Crusade]], [[Peter the Hermit]] led a mob of [[crusaders]] who attempted to force the mass conversion of [[Jews]] in Regensburg, they then killed all those who resisted.<ref>''Herald of Destiny'' by [[Berel Wein]]. New York: Shaar Press, 1993, page 144.</ref> Between 1135 and 1146, the [[Stone Bridge (Regensburg)|Stone Bridge]] across the [[Danube]] was built at Regensburg. This bridge opened major international trade routes between northern Europe and [[Venice]], and this began Regensburg's golden age as a residence of wealthy trading families. Regensburg became the [[Culture of Germany|cultural]] centre of southern Germany and was celebrated for its gold work and fabrics.

===Late Middle Ages and early modern period===

[[File:Braun Regensburg UBHD.jpg|thumb|left|Regensburg in the 16th century]]
[[File:Regensburg Reichstag 1711.jpg|thumb|left|Ceremonial arrival at the Imperial Diet, 1711]]
[[File:Regensburg Prince-Bishopric and Imperial City (18th century).png|thumb|left|The Free Imperial City (yellow) and the Prince-Bishopric (purple) in the 18th century]]

In 1245 Regensburg became a [[Free Imperial City]] and was a trade centre before the shifting of [[trade route]]s in the late Middle Ages. Regensburg has always been a place where international meetings were held. This was also the case in 1471 when a war against the Turks was to be decided.<ref>
Konstantin Moritz Langmaier: Eine Stadt organisiert eine Reichsversammlung. Die Vorbereitungen auf den großen Christentag in Regensburg und die Einzüge von Kardinallegat und Kaiser in die Reichsstadt (1471). Ein Beitrag zur spätmittelalterlichen Kulturgeschichte. In: Verhandlungen des Historischen Vereins für Oberpfalz und Regensburg. Band 161, 2021, 33–80.</ref> In 1486, Regensburg became part of the [[Duchy of Bavaria]], but its independence was restored by the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] ten years later. The first [[Diet of Regensburg (1541)|Diet of Regensburg]] took place in 1541. The city adopted the [[Protestant Reformation]] in 1542 and its Town Council remained entirely [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]].

From 1663 to 1806, the city was the permanent seat of the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire, which became known as the [[Perpetual Diet of Regensburg]]. Thus, Regensburg was one of the central towns of the Empire, attracting visitors in large numbers.

A minority of the population remained [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]], and Roman Catholics were denied civic rights (''{{lang|de|Bürgerrecht}}''). Although the Imperial city had adopted the Reformation, the town remained the seat of a Roman Catholic bishop and several [[abbey]]s. Three of these, [[St. Emmeram]], [[Niedermünster]] and [[Obermünster]], were free imperial estates within the Holy Roman Empire, meaning that they were granted a seat and a vote at the [[Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire)|Imperial Diet]] (''{{lang|de|Reichstag}}''). So there was the unique situation that the town of Regensburg comprised five independent "states" (in terms of the Holy Roman Empire): the Protestant city itself, the Roman Catholic bishopric, and the three [[monastery|monasteries]]. In addition, it was seen as the traditional capital of the region Bavaria (not the state), acted as functional co-capital of the Empire (second to the Emperor's court at Vienna) due to the presence of the Perpetual Diet, and it was the residence of the Emperor's Commissary-Principal to the same diet, who with one very brief exception was a prince himself (for many years the Prince of [[Thurn and Taxis]], still resident in the town).

===Late modern period===
[[File:Adam Albrecht Napoleon I. v Regensburg Landesmuseum Hannover.JPG|thumb|[[Napoleon]] at Regensburg in 1809]]
In 1803 the city lost its status as an imperial city following its incorporation into the [[Principality of Regensburg]]. It was handed over to the [[Archbishopric of Mainz|Archbishop-Elector of Mainz]] and Archchancellor of the Holy Roman Empire [[Carl von Dalberg]] in compensation for the territory of the Electorate of Mainz located on the left bank of the Rhine which had been annexed by France under the terms of the [[Treaty of Lunéville]] in 1801. The Archbishopric of Mainz was formally transferred to Regensburg. Dalberg united the bishopric, the monasteries, and the town itself, making up the [[Principality of Regensburg]] (''Fürstentum Regensburg''). Dalberg strictly modernized public life. Most importantly, he awarded equal rights to Protestants and Roman Catholics alike. In 1810 Dalberg ceded Regensburg to the [[Kingdom of Bavaria]], he himself being compensated by the award of [[Fulda]] and [[Hanau]] to him under the title of "[[Grand Duchy of Frankfurt|Grand Duke of Frankfurt]]".

Between April 19 and April 23, 1809, Regensburg was the scene of the [[Battle of Ratisbon]] between forces commanded by [[Henri Gatien Bertrand]] and [[Napoleon]] himself and the retreating [[Austrian Empire|Austrian]] forces. The city was eventually overrun, after supplies and [[ammunition]] ran out. The city suffered severe damage during the fight, with about 150 houses being burnt and others being looted. [[Robert Browning]]'s poem ''Incident at the French Camp'' describes the battle from the French perspective, but is filled with historical errors.

===Nazism and World War II===
[[File:Gedenkstein KZ-Aussenkommando Flossenbürg001.jpg|thumb|Memorial to the victims of the local subcamp of the [[Flossenbürg concentration camp]]]]
The Jewish community was persecuted after the [[Nazi Party]] came to power in Germany in 1933, many Jews fled in the following years, and some were also expelled to [[Poland]]; thanks, however, to a Polish-German agreement they were allowed to return to the city.<ref name=yv>{{cite web|url=https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/valley/regensburg/nazi_regime.asp|title=Regensburg During the Holocaust. The Community of Regensburg in the Early Years of the Nazi Regime|website=Yad Vashem|access-date=15 August 2020}}</ref> On November 9, 1938, during the [[Kristallnacht]], the [[Regensburg Synagogue]] and several Jewish homes and stores were destroyed, and around 220 Jews were arrested, some were also deported to the [[Dachau concentration camp]].<ref name=yv/> During [[World War II]], many Jews emigrated to various countries, and in 1942, over 200 Jews were deported either to [[Piaski, Świdnik County|Piaski]] in [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|German-occupied Poland]] or the [[Theresienstadt Ghetto]] in [[German occupation of Czechoslovakia|German-occupied Czechoslovakia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/valley/regensburg/during_ww2.asp|title=Regensburg During the Holocaust. The Regensburg Community During World War II|website=Yad Vashem|access-date=15 August 2020}}</ref> In the final months of World War II, in March and April 1945, the [[Regensburg subcamp]] of the [[Flossenbürg concentration camp]] was located in the city, with 460 [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced laborers]] of various nationalities, 40 of whom died.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gedenkstaette-flossenbuerg.de/en/history/satellite-camps/regensburg|title=Regensburg Subcamp|website=KZ-Gedenkstätte Flossenbürg|access-date=15 August 2020}}</ref>

Regensburg was home to both a [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]] aircraft factory and an oil refinery, which were bombed by the Allies on August 17, 1943, in the [[Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission]], and on February 5, 1945, during the [[Oil Campaign of World War II]]. Although both targets were badly damaged, Regensburg itself suffered little damage from the Allied [[strategic bombing during World War II|strategic bombing campaign]], and the nearly intact medieval city centre is listed as a [[World Heritage Site|UNESCO World Heritage Site]]. The city's most important cultural loss was that of the [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] church of [[Obermünster]], which was destroyed in a March 1945 air raid and was not rebuilt (the [[bell tower|belfry]] survived). Also, Regensburg's slow economic recovery after the war ensured that historic buildings were not torn down and replaced by newer ones. When the upswing in restoration{{clarify|date=August 2019}} reached Regensburg in the late 1960s, the prevailing mindset had turned in favour of preserving the city's heritage.

===History after 1945===
[[File:Ukrainian Camp Post - Regensburg postmark.png|left|thumb|[[Cancellation (mail)|Cancellation]] by the Ukrainian Camp Post at Regensburg DP Camp]]
Between 1945 and 1949, Regensburg was the site of the largest [[Displaced persons camps in post-World War II Europe|displaced persons (DP) camp]] in Germany. At its peak in 1946–1947, the workers' district of Ganghofersiedlung housed almost 5,000 [[Ukrainians|Ukrainian]] and 1,000 non-Ukrainian refugees and displaced persons. With the approval of U.S. Military Government in the American [[Allied-occupied Germany|Allied Occupation Zone]], Regensburg and other DP camps organised their own camp postal service. In Regensburg, the camp postal service began operation on December 11, 1946.<ref>Karen Lemiski, [http://www.ukrweekly.com/old/archive/2001/050120.shtml Focus on Philately: The stamps of Regensburg, Camp Ganghofersiedlung] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304003423/http://www.ukrweekly.com/old/archive/2001/050120.shtml |date=2016-03-04 }} in ''[[The Ukrainian Weekly]]'', February 4, 2001, No. 5, Vol. LXIX</ref>

At the beginning of the 1960s, Regensburg invested heavily in technical and social [[infrastructure]] to attract industry. [[Siemens]] was the first multinational company to come to Regensburg, a significant step in the city's development after World War II. In 1965, [[Regensburg University]] was founded; [[Regensburg University of Applied Sciences]] was established in 1971. The second multinational company, [[BMW]], arrived in 1986 and set up a large production plant. Since the 1990s, several well-known [[hightech]] companies have been located in Regensburg, such as [[Infineon]] and [[OSRAM]], contributing to the city's current wealth.

In 1997, Regensburg was awarded the [[Europe Prize]] for its outstanding achievements in [[European integration]].<ref name="europeprize">{{cite web|url=http://www.europeprize.net/|title=Europeprize|publisher=europeprize.net|access-date=2015-08-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801085000/http://europeprize.net/|archive-date=2015-08-01|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[World Heritage Committee]] listed Regensburg's Old Town a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] in July 2006.