Rat'isbon (Ger. Regensburg), a town of Bavaria, on the Danube's right bank, 82 miles by rail NNE. of Munich. Formerly a free city of the empire and seat of the Diet, Ratisbon presents a mediaeval character, with narrow, crooked streets, and high gabled houses. The noble Gothic cathedral, begun in 1275, was not completed till 1534. The church of the Irish (Scoti) Benedictines dates from the 12th century, and is built in the pure Byzantine style. The old town-hall was (1645-1806) the place of meeting for the imperial diet. There are also the Thurn and Taxis Palace, the royal villa, etc. A stone bridge (1135-46), 1024 feet long, connects Ratisbon with the busy trading suburb of Stadt am Hof. The manufactures include porcelain and stoneware, brass and steel wares, leather, tobacco, lead-pencils, chemicals, etc, and there is an active trade, especially in corn and salt. Pop. (1875) 31,487;(1900)46,215. Originally a Celtic town, Radasbona was made by the Romans a frontier fortress; later it was the capital of the Dukes of Bavaria, and one of the most populous cities of southern Germany. Here were signed the Ratisbon Interim in 1541 and the armistice between France and Austria in 1684. The city was stormed by Bernhard of Weimar in 1633, and by both Austrians and French in 1809. It was ceded to Bavaria in 1810.