Saarburg Castle was one of the first and most impressive castles (Höhenburgen) in the West, built by Graf Siegfried von Luxemburg in 964. It was damaged in 1431 by troops of Ulrich von Manderscheid. Johann II von Baden rebuilt the castle later. It was conquered several times in the wars of 17th-early 18th century and finally left to decay in 1734.
The castle hill is surrounded by high fortified walls. With a depth of 60 metres, the fortress well almost reached down to the river bed of the Saar. The upper part of the tower, which offers a wonderful view of the Saar valley and the pilgrimage church of St. Mary in the Beurig district.
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.