The Church of San Esteban de Aramil is of the Romanesque style, popular between the 10th and 13th centuries, but the church itself cannot be dated more exactly. It was first mentioned in documents from 1240 concerning a donation of goods to the monastery of Valdediós by Alvar Diaz and his wife.
There are two theories concerning its origin; one is that it is the last remaining remnant of a monastery and the other is that it is a nobleman's church, which would have served both as the chapel for the castle and the church for the neighboring town.
The church has the classic features of Romanesque architecture; it has a rectangular nave terminated at the southern end by a semicircular apse. Sculptural ornamentation of the church includes the doors, located on the western side of the church and in the apse. The west door has a semicircular arch with two semiarches and screens that rely on separate columns. These columns are formed by shafts supported on bases that have carved lilies forming the columns' capitals, which are decorated with plant motifs. The southern section is less important in addition to being smaller although it is similar in design to the western door. The decor includes protruding sculptured heads, of Norman origin, showing various imaginary animals. There is a small central window in the apse.
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.