The Church of St. Jacob was first mentioned in 1155 as chapel under the administration of the Cathedral of Constance. The combined bell tower and choir was probably build in the 13th or 14th century. In 1465 the nave was extended toward the west and the tower was raised. The sacristy was added in 1489, bringing the church to its current appearance. In the same year it was raised to a parish church and the center of a local parish.
The baptismal font was added in 1590. The pulpit was built in 1790. The sundial was painted in 1808 by Conrad Boltshauser and restored in 1954. During a renovation in 1975, two frescos were discovered. The Weihnachtsgeschichte or Christmas Story was painted in the 15th century, while the Last Judgement is from around 1460-70. The church is shared between the Reformed and Roman Catholic residents.
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.