By Vicky · Published Mar. 9th, 2023 · Updated Jan. 12th, 2024
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This walking tour explores the cute little town of Friedberg with a castle and town walls, a stop on the Romantic Road just east of Augsburg. You can only spend about 45 minutes walking through the town as Friedberg is quite small.
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Location
This walk starts from car park B300 on the northern edge of Friedberg town (free parking). Alternatively, you can get the train from Augsburg to Friedberg station, on the southern edge of town, and start this walking tour halfway around. It’s just 10 minutes on the train. Another alternative is to take a tram from Augsburg to Friedberg West, roughly 1 km away from the start of this walking tour.
Friedberg Walking Tour Map
Get the route by downloading the .gpx or .kml file below. For navigation with Maps.me on your mobile phone, simply download the .kml file and open to add it to the Maps.me bookmarks.
Tips for Friedberg Walking Tour
- There are several nice cafes in the centre of Freidberg to grab a kaffee and kuchen (coffee and cake), for example the Altstadtcafe Weisßgerber or the Museumscafe in the Schloss.
- In the car park you can pick up a leaflet about Friedberg (in German or English). Around town there are a few more map boards with better leaflets that contain town maps, but these are only in German.
- When in the area, make sure to explore the larger towns of nearby Augsburg or Donauwörth.
- Check out other walks on our Germany Hiking Page.
Top Sights in Friedberg
On this self-guided walking tour you’ll see the main sights and attractions of Friedberg. It’s only a small town, so you don’t need more than 1 hour to walk around.
- Wittelsbacher Schloss
- Schloss Park
- Town Walls and Towers 1
- Marienplatz
- Pfarrkirche St. Jakob
- Town Walls and Towers 2
- Streets of the Old Town
Friedberg Walking Tour Route
This walking tour starts from car park B300. From here it takes just a couple of minutes to walk up to the castle, or Schloss, which has its entrance on the left side when viewed from the car park.
1. Wittelsbacher Schloss
Key Information: Castle museum open Tue-Sun 10am-5pm. Tickets cost €4 per adult or €6 for two.
Wittelsbacher Schloss is a restored white castle sitting on top of a little hill at the edge of Friedberg. A castle was first built here in 1257 by the Duke of Upper Bavaria, Ludwig the Strict (also known as Louis II) to help protect the nearby city of Augsburg. However, the current building is from the Renaissance period, 1550-1560, shortly after the 30-Years War.
Just after you’ve crossed the drawbridge into the castle, there’s a small exhibit about the castle’s history to your left. Most is in German, but the timeline is also in English. Even if you don’t want to enter the museum, you can peek into the castle courtyard here.
Next to the small exhibit is the ticket office for the castle museum, which was entirely renovated in 2019. Make sure to get an informative audio (in several languages) if you don’t speak German. The museum gives an overview of the history of both the castle and town, along with local archaeology and art. There’s also a nice museum cafe.
Directions: Leave the castle the way you came and turn right. Take a right through the castle grounds at the map board and follow the track as it bends round to a lake.
2. Schloss Park
The Schloss Park is a small leafy park that surrounds the castle, with trees and a large pond. You can see the remains of the city wall and a few of the old towers when walking through here.
Directions: Leave the park via the steps behind the lake and turn right when you reach the road.
3. Town Walls and Towers 1
As you walk along the narrow road, appropriately named Stadtmauerstraße (or City Wall Street) you can see the old city walls and several towers. These include the Bastei Tower, Powder Tower and Folter Tower. The Bastei Tower helped to guard the approach to the castle, while the Powder Tower was for storing the gunpowder.
Directions: When you reach a main road, turn left into the main square.
4. Marienplatz
Marienplatz is Friedberg’s main town square. In the centre is the Rathaus, or town hall. On the building, you can find two coats of arms, one for the Elector of Bavaria and one for the town of Friedberg. At the far side of the Rathaus is the Mary Pillar and Fountain, erected to ensure the town’s salvation from the plague in 1599.
Around the edges of the town square you can find two breweries founded in the 1600s (Zieglerbräu and former Braudrexelbräu). There are a few other historic buildings and the lovely Altstadtcafe Weisßgerber.
Directions: Leave from the far right corner of the square. Take the first left towards the church.
5. Pfarrkirche St. Jakob
The Pfarrkirche St. Jakob is the main church in Friedberg. The church you see today was rebuilt in 1871-1873 in a neo-romantic style and is very unusual for the region.
Directions: After walking around the church, follow the narrow passage behind the church back to the main square. Leave the other side of the square and turn left to continue walking along the street by the walls.
6. Town Walls and Towers 2
While walking along this narrow street you’ll see more of the old town wall and several towers. At the corner you’ll find the tall, yellow old water tower. It was used until 1889 when a new water tower was built.
Directions: Continue walking around the bend by the water tower and head straight onward until you reach another corner. Follow the road to the left here and continue.
7. Streets of the Old Town
The streets of the Old Town are peaceful and quiet with little traffic. It can feel like you’ve really stepped back in time to an age of small cottages and birdsong.
Directions: Head onwards to the next corner and bend around to the left. Take the first right back towards the castle and the car park. This is the end of the Friedberg Walking Tour.
Other nearby towns to walk around include pretty Donauwörth, Augsburg, Neuburg an der Donau, and historic Nuremberg. For more walking tours and hikes in Germany, see our Germany hiking page.