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Straubing
	Straubing
	View of Straubing.
	; Straubing
Coordinates	48°53′0″N 12°34′0″E / 48.883333°N 12.566667°E
	Administration
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Lower Bavaria
District	Urban district
Mayor	Markus Pannermayr (CSU)
	Basic statistics
Area	67.58 km2 (26.09 sq mi)
Elevation	322 m (1056 ft)
Population	44,633 (31 December 2005)
- Density	660 /km2 (1,711 /sq mi)
	Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	SR
Postal codes	94301–94315
Area code	09421
Website	www.straubing.de

Straubing is an independent city in Lower Bavaria, southern Germany. It is seat of the district Straubing-Bogen. Annually in August the Gäubodenvolksfest, the second largest fair in Bavaria, is held.

The city is located on the Danube forming the center of the Gäuboden.

[edit] History

Gäubodenvolksfest, Straubing

The area of Straubing is continuously settled since the Neolithic. The conquest by the Romans in 16-14 BC had a dramatic impact on the whole region. Even today a lot of traces of the 400 year lasting Roman occupation can be found (for example the famous 'Römerschatz' (roman treasure) which is shown in the Gäubodenmuseum). Sorviodurum, as the Romans called it, was an important military support base.

After the fall of the Roman Empire Straubing became a center of settlement of the Bavarii, mostly around the church St. Peter (built in the 9th century) between Allachbach and Danube. According to the customs of the Bavarii the settlement was named after their leader Strupinga, which later evolved into the name Straubing.

1218 a new part of the city (called 'new town') was founded by Louis I Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria. Straubing became the capital of the duchy of Bavaria-Straubing under Duke William I when Bavaria was divided among the sons of Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor in 1349. In 1429 Straubing passed to Ernest, Duke of Bavaria-Munich, who ordered to murder Agnes Bernauer in Straubing. The grave of Agnes Bernauer can't be found. But in the graveyard of St. Peter church is a chapel built by Duke Ernest.

This new town is nowadays the center of Straubing with many shops, offices, restaurants and a pedestrian area. Most buildings there still have medieval style. The nightlife of Straubing, with many pubs and discothèques, is concentrated in this area.

A must is the beautiful gothic cathedral-like Basilika St. Jakob, the romanesque St. Peter's Church, the Carmelite Monastery with its baroque Church and library, St. Vitus (see picture), where you can find a life-size personifciation of "state and church" joined in holy matrimony.

In 1944 und 1945 Straubing suffered from several American Air raids. The local military hospital was destroyed to an extent of 80 percent with a loss of 45 inmates, although it was clearly marked with the Red Cross insignia on the roof tops.

Straubing also has many industrial areas and a port at the river Danube with access to the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal, a connection from the North Sea to the Black Sea. It is the center of the Bavarian high tech offensive in biotechnology.

[edit] Main sights

As one of five ducal residences of medieval Bavaria next to Landshut, Munich, Ingolstadt and Burghausen the old town of Straubing features especially many gothic buildings.

Church of St. Peter

Ducal castle Herzogsschloss

The Romanesque Church of St. Peter (12th century) [1]
The gothic City tower (begun in 1316) [2]
The gothic town hall
The medieval ducal castle Herzogsschloss (begun in 1356) [3]
The gothic Basilica of St. Jacob (present-day church begun in 1393) [4]
The Church St. Vitus (St. Veit) - home of the oldest still existing Confraternity in Germany, the St. Salvator-Confraternity [5]
The Carmelite Monastery and Church Holy Spirit (since 1368; by Hans von Burghausen - the only monastery which survived the dissolution of 1802) The monks support especially Palestinian Christians [6]
Church St.Ursula (Ursulinenkirche) of the Asam brothers
The baroque Trinity Column at Theresienplatz
The Water Tower
The Sossau church of pilgrimage
The Straubing Zoo (the only zoo in East Bavaria)

[edit] Festivals and main cultural events

Straubinger Frühlingsfest - a spring festival(annual)
Gäubodenvolksfest and Ostbayernschau
Museum containing Roman artifacts.
Agnes-Bernauer-Festspiele - a historical play to remind of the murdered Agnes Bernauer
Straubinger Zoo
A Jazz festival - Jazz an der Donau - one of the greatest jazz-festivals in Europe with specialguests like Seal, Aretha Franklin or Mousse T. (annual)
Bürgerfest (burgher festival) is hold every two years in the historical center of Straubing