Passau is located in the southeast of Germany right on the border to Austria. It is known worldwide as the “Dreiflüssestadt”, meaning the city of three rivers, as it lies on the confluence of Danube, Inn and Ilz. All three rivers have distinct colours (green, blue and black), which can actually be seen very well when you look down on them from the castle “Feste Oberhaus”.

There are only a few cities in central Europe which can look back on more than 2.000 years of town history; Passau is one of them. It was a fortress and settlement for Celts first and later for Romans. The city got its name from one of the forts, namely „Castra Batava“. However important Passau might have been during the Roman Empire, its true relevance for European history originates in the year 739 AD, in which Passau became an Episcopal seat, and, thereby, the centre of Germany’s largest diocese for more than a thousand years. The whole Austrian-Hungarian region was colonised and Christianised from here and in 1217 Passau became an independent prince bishopric. Its courtly-noble character shaped the townscape profoundly and can still be traced today. The wheel of history was repeatedly turned in Passau; its name is linked to the Crusades and the Religious Peace of 1552, the outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War, the Ottoman wars in Europe and the Napoleonic campaigns. After a large fire destroyed most of the city in the 17^th century, Italian baroque architects rebuilt Passau with soaring towers, picturesque squares, charming promenades and romantic alleys; giving its old town a truly Mediterranean flair, especially around the town hall and the former bishop’s residency. A must-see is Passau’s famous baroque cathedral with the largest cathedral organ in the world.

Today, Passau is the cultural, economic and administrative centre of Eastern Lower Bavaria. Its University was founded in 1978 and today the students make up for one fifth of the population, which makes Passau a truly young and lively city with lots of restaurants, bars, clubs and beer gardens. The campus of the University has recently been voted to be the most beautiful in Germany.

Passau is the starting point of Danube cruises going to Vienna or past Bratislava, Belgrade and Budapest right down to the Black Sea. Over 200,000 tourists per year can’t be wrong – Passau is certainly worth a visit!

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