Arriving in Regensburg

Our friends, Scott and Geri Conlin will be going home in December and they’re just about the busiest people we know (he’s the Executive Secretary to the Area Presidency). We decided that while we had a weekend free, we’d take a trip together. I’m so glad we did. We left Thursday after work for Regensburg, spent the evening and Friday there, then drove to Munich Friday afternoon to spend the evening there, then Saturday we drove over to Dachau, where we spent a good part of the day. Saturday on our way back, we stopped in Augsburg to see another interesting very old medieval town. These next few posts will be about this trip.

This evening we took a walk around Regensburg before it got dark. What a beautiful town on the Danube River.

One of the first things we noticed on our wander was this particular Stolperstein for Dr. Johann Maier. Friday, when we visited the big beautiful cathedral, we learned more about who he was.

Johann Maier was born on 23 June 1906 in Berghofen. He was murdered by Nazis on 24 April 1945 in Regensburg. From 1939 until his death, he was a Catholic priest at Regensburg Cathedral. On 22 April 1945, Reich Defense Commissioner Ludwig Ruckdeschel took city defence to the extreme in Regensburg when United States Army tanks had already reached the Danube.

The next day, an excited crowd of people gathered at the Moltkeplatz – nowadays known as Dachauplatz. Johann Maier was there and bade the crowd be quiet as he had something to say. He called for the town’s peaceful handover. Even before he had finished his speech, he was seized by plainclothes police. Likewise, several other demonstrators were arrested. That evening, Maier was brought before a drumhead court and sentenced to death by hanging. Michael Buchberger, the Bishop of Regensburg, was frightened into silence and hid himself in a cellar.

On the morning of 24 April 1945 at 3:25, Maier was hanged at Moltkeplatz. About his neck, he wore a sign that said “I am a saboteur.” Later the Wehrmacht and the SS both fled southwards out of town; Regensburg fell without a fight.

Maier’s grave can be found in the Cathedral among the bishops’ graves. There is also a memorial plaque at the Cathedral.

Can you see his stone above in front of this German clothing store? Below is a google translation of his memorial stone and below that is where he’s buried in the cathedral crypt.

We walked to the old Stone Bridge. With construction beginning in 1135, the Stone Bridge is considered a masterpiece of medieval architecture and is the oldest preserved bridge in Germany. We walked out onto it, just to feel the strength and staying power. For 800 years, until the 1930s, it was the only bridge crossing the river here.

We happened on a special free concert happening in the church below.

We wandered the streets a bit and found the restaurant the deskman most highly recommended for good Bavarian food. It was a fun old place full of people. Home cooking, home brewed beer, cozy setting with lots of sayings on the walls. John got Käsespätzle. I had pork medallions and Käsespätzle. Scott had goulash and Geri had Schnitzel. It was all delicious.