Ružica Castle is large ruined castle in Virovitica-Podravina County, Croatia. Since the origin of the medieval structure remains unknown, it has become the stuff of legend over the years. It is one of the most picture-perfect places in the country and a must-see for those in search of hidden gems that are far from mass tourism.
The first document of Ružica castle dates from 1357. It lost its military purpose after Turkish occupation in 1543 and was ruined.
The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.
The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.
The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.