Ландсхут: Жемчужина Баварии у реки Изар

the city in Bavaria

Landshut (; ) is a town in Bavaria in the south east of Germany. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also the seat of the surrounding district and has a population of more than 75,000. Landshut is the largest city in Lower Bavaria, followed by Passau and Straubing, and Eastern Bavaria's second after Regensburg. Owing to its characteristic coat of arms, the town is also called "City of the three Helmets" (Dreihelmestadt). The town is popularly known for is picturesque gothic old town and the Landshut Wedding, a full tilt medieval festival. The cityscape is dominated by the St. Martin's Basilica and Trausnitz Castle high above the old town. Due to its proximity and easy access to Munich and the Franz Josef Strauss International Airport, Landshut became a powerful and future oriented investment area and has seen a strong increase in population in the last 20 years. The town is strongly industrialized (e. g. BMW, ebm papst, Schott electronics), has Eastern Bavaria's lowest unemployment rate and is among the richest towns in Bavaria.

Landshut lies in the Alpine foothills. The River Isar runs through the city and splits in two in the city centre. Most of the built up area lies on the flat terraced deposits of the river. The Isar divides the town into three areas: the northern part above the river belongs to the Isar Danube hill country, the Mühleninsel in the city centre lies between both arms of the Isar, and the southern part below the river belongs to the Isar Inn hill country. The southern part of the town is delimited by a chain of hills, some of which rise steeply, of which the Hofberg, where the Trausnitz Castle is located, forms the highest point in the city area at a height of 505 meters above sea level. Landshut is situated between Munich (70 kilometers southwest) and Regensburg (70 kilometers to the north). Other nearby towns are Straubing (75 km northeast), Deggendorf (75 km to the east), and Passau at the German Austrian border (120 km to the east). The town's spread is limited to the north by Ergolding, to the northwest by Altdorf, and to the south by Kumhausen. The three smaller towns join Landshut to form a built up area of around 100,000 people but are not incorporated into Landshut proper.

The town is of architectural importance because of its predominantly Gothic architecture within the historic town centre, especially Trausnitz Castle and the Church of Saint Martin featuring the world's tallest church brick tower. Among other Gothic architecture are the churches of St. Jodok and Holy Spirit, but also the Town Hall and the Ländtor, the only still existing gate of the medieval fortification. Landshut is known for a festival celebrated every four years called the Landshuter Hochzeit, commemorating the 1475 marriage of George of Bavaria and Jadwiga Jagiellon. The Renaissance era produced in particular the decorated inner courtyard of the Trausnitz Castle and the ducal Landshut Residence in the inner town. Baroque churches are represented by the Jesuit church St. Ignatius, the Dominican church St. Blasius and the church St. Joseph. Also, the medieval churches of the Seligenthal convent and of the Cistercians were redesigned in baroque style. Many old middle class houses of the past in the Old Town still represent the history of the town from the Gothic times to the Neo Classicism.

There are regular regional train connections to Munich, Prague, Regensburg, Munich Airport, Passau, Salzburg, Rosenheim, Nuremberg and Hof.

The most successful professional team in the city is ice hockey team EV Landshut, playing currently in the Second Division. The other professional team in the city is motorcycle speedway team Landshut Devils, who are based at the Ellermühle Speedway Stadium. The local association football team is SpVgg Landshut with both men's and women's teams previously having reached the top state division.