The basilica is built on the site where the Roman cemetery of the city Augusta Vindelicorum was located.
It is one of the few places in the world that served as a double church for both Catholics and Protestants for several centuries after the Reformation.
The church contains the sarcophagi of Saint Afra, Saint Ulrich, and Saint Simpert, the three patron saints of Augsburg.
The 93-meter-tall bell tower features an onion dome that was added in 1594, influencing the design of many later baroque church towers in Southern Germany.
During the secularization of the early 19th century, the church was saved from demolition due to its historical significance to the city's identity.
The interior contains a cycle of life-sized wooden statues of the Twelve Apostles created by Erhard Weyh in the early 16th century.
The Basilica of St. Ulrich and Afra in Augsburg is a late Gothic church constructed between 1474 and 1604, representing a unique architectural hybrid where a Catholic church and a Protestant church share the same site. The building houses the relics of Saint Afra, a third-century martyr, and Saint Ulrich, the patron saint of Augsburg. Its interior features three monumental Renaissance altars created by Matthias Kager in the early 17th century. The church's bell tower, distinct for its onion dome, was completed in 1594 and serves as a prominent landmark in the city’s southern skyline. The Basilica was elevated to a papal minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1937. The central nave is flanked by side chapels containing intricate burial monuments of Augsburg's former bishops. The structure is built over the site of an ancient Roman cemetery, linking the Christian history of the region to the antiquity of the city.
From the middle of Ulrichsplatz looking toward the bell tower to capture the full height of the structure against the sky.
Check the side chapels for the elaborate Baroque funerary monuments, which are often overlooked by casual visitors.
Walk to the rear of the exterior to view the contrasting architecture of the adjacent Protestant St. Ulrich church.
Quietly observe the crypt area where the remains of the patron saints are kept.
Do not confuse the main Catholic basilica with the smaller, attached Protestant St. Ulrich church next door.
Maintain silence, remove hats, and refrain from taking photographs during active church services.
