ABSTRACT
The economic success of pre-industrial Augsburg in Bavaria, Germany was, amongst other achievements, enabled by its impressive water management. As witness to this ancient technology, the Maximilian Museum in Augsburg is able to exhibit not only plans and sketches, but also a unique collection of models. This paper presents a survey of some hydrotechnical models preserved in the collection. Through a comparison with contemporary documents it is possible to substantiate most of their provenances. The writings of Caspar Walter (1701–1769), Augsburg’s most famous “Brunnenmeister” (master of the waterworks), played a decisive role in these reconciliations. In Hydraulica Augustana, published in 1754, he describes the three central water towers with all their technical installations and expands on the models displayed in two of them. Furthermore, the questions concerning the constructor, purpose and, if existing, counterpart could be answered for many exhibits. In some cases it is even possible to determine separate construction phases.
