A large late-Gothic basilica at the southern end of Maximilianstrasse, built between 1467 and 1600 over the tomb of the city's patron saints. The interior is generously proportioned with three impressive altars, carved choir stalls, and a crypt containing the relics of Ulrich and Afra. Adjacent to the Catholic basilica stands a smaller Lutheran church (St Ulrich's Evangelical Church), sharing the same site — a physical reminder of the Peace of Augsburg (1555) that allowed both faiths to coexist in the city. Together they represent the endpoint of the Maximilianstrasse promenade and are worth seeing as a pair.
Basilica of Saints Ulrich and Afra
Large Renaissance basilica at the southern end of Maximilianstrasse
A story
The Basilica of Saints Ulrich and Afra is one of the more unusual churches in Germany: it was built as two separate churches — one Catholic, one Lutheran — sharing the same building complex. The arrangement dates from the Peace of Augsburg (1555), the treaty signed in this city that first established the principle of cuius regio, eius religio — the religion of the ruler determines the religion of the realm. The two communities used the church simultaneously for centuries.