The city of Gizycko (Ger. Lötzen) was founded as a village surrounding the Teutonic Order's castle, built around 1340. The castle was built during the reign of Grand Master Winrich von Kniprode, located in a strategic position - on the isthmus between Lakes Niegocin and Kisajno. It was a dwelling with a rectangular courtyard, surrounded by a wall, and functioned as a residence of the Teutonic Order's prosecutor. The castle was destroyed during the attacks of Lithuanians led by Prince Kiejstut, but was rebuilt by the Teutonic Knights soon after. The Thirteen Years' War caused much damage to both the castle and the settlement. After the secularisation in 1525, the castle became the princely administrator's seat and was reconstructed in Renaissance style, during 1613-1614.
In the 17th century the castle became private property. The new owner added two wings (destroyed by fire in the same century) for administrative purposes, and a building with a small cylindrical tower, which was destroyed in 1945. In the 19th century, part of the castle was pulled down, and only one four-storey dwelling wing with a saddle roof and a cellar with cruciform vault were left. The castle has remained in this form until today. It hosted, among others, general Dabrowski and his officers in 1807. It was temporarily used to house the builders of the Gizycki Canal, and served also as the Fortress Boyen Commandant's quarters. Today the remnants of the castle are in bad condition and are not being restored.
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.