Alberweiler Castle is a small castle-like structure where the ground and the first floor of the castle are made of stone and the upper storeys consist of three projecting half-timbered floors.
A castle is first mentioned in sources dating from the 11th century. It was occupied by knights in the service of the Counts of Berg-Wartstein. This early structure was destroyed in 1487 but soon after, towards the end of the 15th century, a new castle was erected at the behest of Bartholome of Warthausen. Some remains of the circular rampart are still visible. Following the extinction of the house of Warthausen zu Alberweiler in 1585, the castle was enfeoffed to the Counts of Stadion by Emperor Rudolf II. The castle was renovated in early-Baroque style in the 17th century. The gate was also constructed during these restoration works. At around 1700, the castle functioned as residence for the local reeve, the Counts of Stadion residing at Warthausen Castle, and subsequently went into private ownership during the course of the 18th century. In 1826, the Counts of Stadion sold all rights to the village and the castle to the Kingdom of Württemberg. Following alterations in 1880 the structure slowly began to fall into disrepair. The castle was extensively restored in the late 20th century and is privately owned today.
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.