Friedberg

Friedberg stands near Augsburg above the Lech, founded in the thirteenth century as a Bavarian toll and border post. Its castle and the toll on the river crossing brought the town into conflict with the neighbouring Free Imperial City. Augsburg burned Friedberg in 1396, one of many clashes involving the powers of Bavaria and Swabia.

In 1568 Duchess Christine made the castle her residence after her husband's death, bringing Bavarian court life to Friedberg. Plague struck in 1599, and Swedish armies sacked the town twice during the Thirty Years' War. Recovery brought craftsmen who could not find room in nearby Augsburg; their workshops helped the town flourish again. The pilgrimage church of Herrgottsruh, built in 1753, became a notable work of Bavarian Rococo architecture.