Günzburg Castle, Günzburg, Germany

After the Romans left Günzburg in the fifth century, the Alamanni tribe settled there. In around 700 the nearby castle of Ricinis was mentioned by the Cartographer of Ravenna as one of the five most important castles of Alemannia. In 1065 first documentary evidence appears of the town itself as Gunceburch. In 1301 the town became part of the Habsburg house and was developed into the centre of the Margraviate of Burgau; for a time (1803–1805) it was even the capital of all Further Austria.

After the construction of a castle and church in the south-western corner of the upper town (1577/80), Günzburg became the residence of Archduke Ferdinand II`s son Karl from 1609 until 1618. Margrave Karl was able to bring craft and trade to new heights, but later all his efforts were ruined by the Thirty Year War (1618–1648) in the course of which the number of Günzburg`s citizens went down from about 2,400 to some 800. The castle went up in flames (1703) and the citizens suffered badly under the occupation.

Today the the margraves' castle is the main tourist attraction. It is the only Habsburg castle built in Germany.

References:

guenzburg.de

Wieskirche

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.

Tina 01 Finkele (14 months ago)
Beautifully tranquil, great class. narrow streets. What is disturbing are the large construction sites in Günzburg at the moment

stiv mac (2 years ago)
Castle, realy?If you say so..it is more like old building...

Bobby B. (5 years ago)
Can't say much about it, I suspect closed for construction.

csilla tariné (6 years ago)
Nice historic place in the old town is very nice

Günzburg Castle

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Wieskirche