Basilica of St Ulrich and St Afra, Augsburg

At the southern end of Maximilianstraße stands Augsburg's most striking monument to its religious history: two churches, one Catholic and one Protestant, wall to wall. The larger one, the Basilica of St Ulrich and St Afra, is one of the last great late Gothic churches in Swabia. Its 93-metre onion-domed tower of 1594 became the model for countless Baroque church towers in Bavaria. Inside are three altars that reach almost to the vault, the burial chapels of the Fugger family and the tombs of the city's three patron saints.

History: from martyr's grave to imperial church

In late Roman times this was a Christian cemetery outside the city, where St Afra is said to have been buried after her martyrdom in 304. Bishops Simpert († 807) and Ulrich († 973) were later buried here too, and Benedictines cared for the site from 1012. The present brick church was begun in 1474, King Maximilian I laid the foundation stone of the choir in 1500, and after the upheavals of the Reformation it was finally consecrated in 1607.

Ferdinand IV (1653) and Joseph I (1690) were proclaimed King of the Romans in its sacristy. It became a parish church after secularisation and a papal basilica in 1937. The west porch was handed to the Protestants as early as 1526 and became the Protestant St Ulrich's Church, so the pair stand as a monument to the age of religious division.

What to see

• Three altars by Hans Degler: Made in 1604–1607, showing Pentecost, the Nativity and the Resurrection.
• Pulpit: Also by Degler, carved in oak in 1608.
• Fugger chapels and organ: Five chapels served as Fugger burial places; the organ wings show members of the family, including Jakob Fugger "the Rich".
• Lower church: The Baroque tomb of St Ulrich and the Roman sarcophagus said to hold St Afra.
• St Simpert's Chapel: Redesigned in 1714.

Good to know

Some 700 graves from late Roman to early medieval times have been found on the site. Two towers were planned, but the southern one was never built for lack of money.

Visiting (as of October 2026)

The basilica is a parish church and can be visited outside services. Masses include Sundays at 8:45, 10:30 and 18:00 and most weekdays at 9:15 and 18:00. The parish does not publish fixed visiting hours, so plan your visit between services.

Getting there

Ulrichsplatz 30, at the southern end of Maximilianstraße, about ten minutes' walk from Rathausplatz past the Schaezler Palace and the Hercules Fountain.

Tripto tip

Allow 30 to 60 minutes and look into the Protestant St Ulrich's first to grasp the side-by-side of the two faiths. The Augsburg Puppet Theatre is just a few minutes away.