Since its creation, the Château du Barroux has been a seigneurial seat, passing through noble families until the 18th century. Originally part of the Principality of Orange and then the Toulouse domain, it became a fief in 1274 under the Comtat.
The castle, initially a fortified keep, was transformed in 1536 by the Rovigliasc family into a Renaissance residence with decorative windows. During the Wars of Religion, it was captured and retaken in 1563 but sustained little damage. Expanded in the 1680s with Vauban-inspired fortifications, it included artillery and defensive features, maintaining its military readiness.
In 1791, it was damaged by revolutionary forces and fell to ruin, serving as a quarry until 1929 when André Vayson de Pradenne began restoration. WWII saw it occupied by German forces, and it was burned down in 1944. Restoration efforts resumed in the 1960s, and the site, now open to the public, is preserved by the Vayson de Pradenne family and the 'Friends of Château du Barroux' association. Recognized as a historical monument in 1963, the castle hosts cultural events today.
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.