The old town of Drežnik is mentioned in the historic sources back in the 12th century. Its history has been marked by wars and its different rulers. The historic events in the area have mostly been marked by constant wars, which is also the reason that it did not develop as a trading place or a settlement but rather as a defence fortress. After 1830, the Austrian monarch sold the fortress to a private trader, who started demolishing the walls and selling stone as construction material. The defence tower has been renovated and from there the visitors can enjoy in the view over the canyon of the Korana river and the surrounding mountains and learn something on the history of this always dynamic border region.
References: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.