Rappottenstein is one of the best preserved castles in Austria. It was founded around 1150 Rapoto of Kuenring. Since several owners it was acquired by Abensperg and Traun family in 1664, who still owns the castle. During the course of the centuries a fortification with five baileys and eight gates was constructed.
The touch of luxury surrounding the interior is unexpected and comes as something of a surprise to the visitor. Three-storey arcades with sgrafitti lend the castle an Italian flair. The frescos in the inner apartments are among the rarest examples of 16th century secular painting. Furthermore, an original winged altar dating from the 15th century and beautiful Gothic vaults can be seen.
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.