Augsburg must be aggrieved at not being on the WH list. It is one of many 2** Michelin cities in Germany with a fine historic pedigree but, unlike others which got in earlier with palaces and cathedrals, it would seem to have “missed out”. Its overall historic ensemble isn’t perhaps “special” enough and, whilst it possesses many important buildings (The Rathaus has been described as the "most significant Renaissance secular building north of the Alps" - though Michelin grants it not a single star!), none would seem to justify individual UNESCO recognition (Though the  “Fuggerei” claim to be the World’s first “social housing” complex still in use - there are many existing WHS which gained their inscription with rather less “significance” than that!). What to do??? Clearly something was needed which, as the Turismus Augsburg Web site comments - “fallen sie nicht in die Kategorie jener Kulturstätten, die auf der Welterbeliste bereits überrepräsentiert sind und damit geringere Aussichten auf Aufnahme haben.” (“is not in the category of cultural sites that are already over-represented on the World Heritage List and therefore have less chance of admission.”)

It appears that Augsburg has, across at least 6 centuries, been a “Cluster Wasserwissen” (“Water knowledge Cluster”), and even the “Silicon Valley der Wassertechnologie”  (Genuine quotes!) - and has constructed its nomination for 2019 around that aspect of its history.  Now, my Michelin guidebook seemed to know nothing of this beyond a very brief mention of “3 Renaissance water fountains”. But, having seen at least some of the aspects and having read about others, it could be that Augsburg might have latched on to a "winner". And of course, once it has been inscribed and can sport that UNESCO logo, who will know or care that it wasn’t inscribed for it's cityscape, cathedrals etc?  The section “Vorteile für Augsburg” (“Benefits for Augsburg”) from this web page  is remarkably candid about the anticipated benefits – “…… ein deutlicher Zuwachs an Touristen zu erwarten, die den Hotels, Restaurants und Geschäften zu einem Aufschwung verhelfen würden – was letztendlich wieder allen Augsburgerinnen und Augsburgern wirtschaftlich zugutekäme.” (“… a significant increase in tourists would be expected, which would help hotels, restaurants and shops to boom - which would ultimately benefit all Augsburgers economically”).

When we visited in Sept 2018, the city was geared up for nomination - indeed it occurred to me that the ICOMOS field visit would probably be imminent. In the main Maximilian Museum, an exhibition titled “Wasser Kunst Augsburg” was taking place, whilst, along the Lech canals, banners proclaimed “Infoart Austelliung im offentlichen raum im rahmen der interessbekundung wasswirthschaft als UNESCO” ("open air info art exhibition in the context of water management for UNESCO"). Finally, in front of the Perlachturm, a large exhibit had been set up titled – “Welterbe Bewerber Augsburg. Entdecken sie die 22 Stationen des Augsburger Wassersystems” (“Augsburg World Heritage Candidate. Discover the 22 Stations of the Augsburg Water Systems”) followed by 11 professionally produced information boards each containing a photo and description of 2 of the “stations”. It ended with a further board showing a map.

But “22 locations” seemed rather more than the UNESCO T List description had envisaged. What and where are they? I have found the very map here on the Web (It rather nicely divides them into 6 different “categories” with 2 canal areas, a butchery (!!! – see later), 3 monumental fountains, 4 waterworks, 2 “hydraulic structures” and 10 power plants). And then see this link to the individual locations. 

Neither of the above links specifically indicates how the core zone is to be defined and I have been unable to access the Nomination file. The most northerly locations on the map (19/20/21) are situated in towns outside Augsburg and the total distance from North to South (21 – 12) is around 40kms. So we must expect a number of “core zones”. With 1 and 3 to 9 situated reasonably closely together in central Augsburg one wonders if the nomination will, by stealth, attempt to include a significant %age of the city centre within a single zone! Does the map’s “grey area” indicate such a zone? Another map titled “23 Denkmäler der Wasserwirtschaft Wasserbau und Wasserkraft, Trink wasser und Brunnenkunst in Augsburg – 2019 UNESCO-Welterbe?” shows both additions and subtractions compared with the 22. It doesn’t appear that this list was intended to be put forward for nomination in full (one entry states that the Klostermühlenmuseum Thierhaupten doesn’t have “UNESCO potential”) but it is still interesting to compare the 2 lists. The general thrust is that the “23” contained many more city centre sites (including another fountain and the Maximilian and Stadt Textil  Museums), together with the entire “Stadtwald” (which is only represented on the “22 list” by 1 location within it, but may yet be fully included), whilst excluding the Power Stations outside the city. The T List description refers frequently to the City’s water-related museums, particularly the 2 mentioned above but it can’t surely have expected to gain inscription for such locations whose main heritage is “movable” (even if, as is the case with the Maximilian’s “Model Room”, they are all about “water”).

In order to pick up Augsburg’s other noteworthy sights we concentrated our visit on the central area (1-9), together with the nearby cluster to the SE (2, 10 and 11) – but didn’t actually go inside any of the buildings.  We thus “missed” out on all those power plants with their turbine halls which cover the late 19th and early 20th C development of the “water system” for the growing industries of the time via the development of new large canals - one channel is even called the "Fabrikkanal” (“Factory Canal”). The Meitingen power station dates from as “recently” as 1922 (as with all the others it still operates and has just completed a renovation of its turbines). I suppose they are “necessary” in order to provide a full history of the city’s “Water Management” - but all 10??

It must be said that (IMO) none of the sights we did see is particularly “noteworthy” in its own right – the strength (such as it is) of the Nomination would seem to lie more in the overall story it tells and that depends on a wide coverage of a lot of aspects! The SE cluster gave us a chance to experience the Stadtpark – Augsburg’s “green lung”, the Olympic canoe slalom course (No 2, which, despite Hubert’s doubts back in 2015, has apparently survived through to Nomination!), one Waterworks (No 10) and the main “diversion” dam where the small man made canals start their journey through Augsburg – the Hochablass (No 11). The Waterworks apparently opens only the first Sunday of each month from May to October. The city will really need to do something about those very restricted opening times if it wants that “aufschwung” from all those tourists spending their money!!

Closer to the Centre, the Lech kanals (No 1) are situated in what is now a residential/restaurant area (“Lechviertel” - Photo). This was once the location for mediaeval crafts/tradesmen utilising the running water diverted from the Hochablass for dyeing and tanning etc but, in German comparative terms, is, IMO, rather limited in its “historic” atmosphere” with a lot of rebuilding and modernisation having taken place.  One presumes that the entire area will be within a core zone - the issue will be to what extent this zone will climb the “Hochterrasse” to the Obere stadt with its historic buildings but reduced “water significance”!  Within the Lechviertel area lies the Stadtmetzg (no 3). It looks like some Renaissance Patrician House but was actually designed and built as the town butchery! It justifies its selection and separate mention because it was built over a canal in order to provide “cooling” and “waste disposal”! The Unteres Brunnenwerk (No 8) was once the site of a series of 7 Archimedes screws designed to raise drinking water to the city up on its ridge above the river, these were later replaced by water wheels (now also gone) and the pumping house is now a cinema. And then there are those 3 fountains (Augustus , Mercury and Herkules - representing masters, merchants and craftsmen) which have been given full billing in the nomination’s long title. My Augsburg map describes them as “magnificent” and “splendid” - well, they are “OK” (as fountains go!). Clearly they are “iconic” for Augsburg and their inclusion supports the strand in the nomination that relates its "Water management" to art and culture as well as to technology and manufacture. But the statues are all replicas (the originals are in the Maximilian) – does this not matter for their “Authenticity”? They would also seem to create a “core zone definition” problem – are they each to be given a little “core zone” of their own or will the whole of Maximilianstrasse and Rathausplatz be inscribed to include their overall setting?

As might have been gathered - I was and am "reasonably" taken with this T List site. Though that doesn't mean I would rate it above 2* - this both because of the motivation behind it, which, I suspect, is more about Augsburg pride and profit than preservation of a “world valued” site (but it isn’t alone in that!), and also because of its lack of "earlier" mechanical remains. The lengthy, "bitty" title reflects its rather contrived nature but we have to accept the WH system as it is, with the prizes going less and less frequently to the truly “World Class” and more and more to those who can be creative in assessing their assets and in spinning a good tale! It covers the same subject domain as the Aflaj, Qanats and Shushtar - albeit in a different geographical, cultural and technological environment. The nomination may lack “great sights” (like Shushtar's iconic mill area for instance - though some WH travellers might consider that massive turbine halls and/or ornate bronze fountains compensate for that!) but there is real “meat” in the story it tells, tracking Augsburg’s history and growth via 2 important strands of technological and social development - the provision of clean drinking water and the development of water power technologies. Regarding the latter aspect, I rather liked another quote from the Info-art presentation which described it as “das Erdöl des Mittelalters”!  If you want a better overview of Augsburg’s “water story” I found this Wiki article to be useful. And you can even buy a comprehensive book about the nomination – “Augsburgs historische Wasserwirtschaft: Der Weg zum UNESCO-Welterbe”!