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Orchomenus was an ancient city of Arcadia, Greece. Originating as a prehistoric settlement, Orchomenus became one of the powerful cities in West Arcadia along with Tegea and Mantineia. The heyday of the city was between 7th–6th century BC and it became a rich city which minted its own currency.
Many monuments were revealed during the excavations and can be admired today including the theatre, the remains of the ancient agora, the city walls and the temple of Artemis Mesopolitis. Other monuments identified during the excavations are a Bouleuterion, a prehistoric tomb and a bridge of the Archaic Period.
The most important monument is the theatre (4th–3rd BC) with a capacity of 4,000. At an altitude of 800 metres it offered a spectacular view during cultural events.
Approaching the town from the south one can see tumuli on the left, chiefly composed of collections of stones as described by Pausanias. Below the acropolis is the tomb of Aristocrates and beyond are the fountains called Teneiae which Pausanias mentions (writing in the 2nd c. AD) as one of the most remarkable objects in the place. A little further are the Hellenistic ruins of Amilus.
On the southern plain is an ancient canal which conducts the waters from the surrounding mountains through the ravine into the lower northern plain.
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.