Table of Contents
About
Füssen is a captivating town in the district of Ostallgai in Bavaria, Germany. Situated approx one kilometer north of the Austrian border, the town Fussen lies at the east foot of Allgau Alps mountains along the river Lech.
Located between the alpine peaks and heavenly lakes the town of Füssen is one of the most impressive Bavarian holiday regions.
The city offers it’s visitors with the options to enjoy the local art & culture alongwith many shopping destinations in the romantic old town. It is also the home to the world-famous Neuschwanstein Castle and Hohenschwangau Castle build during the 19th century. The town is also famous for various hiking routes and cycling routes with stunning panoramic views of the surrounding landscape.
History and Culture
The original name of Fussen city was Foetes that derives from the Latin word Fauces, which means gorge. Fussen city has its origin dating back to the Roman times when early settlers found their home on the Via Claudia Augusta, a road leading towards the southwards to northern Italy.
Fussen is the site of Hohes Schloss, which is the high castle and was the summer residence of prince bishop of Augsburg. There are many other historical buildings like castles and museums within the city portraying the rich history and culture of the that era.
The culture of Fussen showcases the colors and varieties in the field of music, medieval architecture, events, concerts, and more. The city is famous for it’s tourist resorts, custom stations, manufacturing of metal products and machinery, winter sports center. Thus, making it one of the most sought after tourist destinations of that region.
Things To Do in Füssen
The Neuschwanstein Castle
The magical and fascinating Neuschwanstein Castle lies in the Bavarian mountains and is one of the most populous tourist attractions in entire Germany.
The palace was commissioned by, Ludwig II, King of Bavaria as a retreat in order to withdraw from public life and in honour of Richard Wagner in the 19th century. Today Neuschwanstein is one of the most popular of all the palaces and castles in Europe. The main building and the adjoining buildings are faced with Schwangau marble from the quarry at Schwansee (Swan Lake). The rooms are richly decorated with works of the arts and crafts, there are portrayals from the Tannhäuser saga, from Lohegrin, Tristan and Isolde, the Nibelungenlied, Parzival and from the life of Walter von der Vogelweide, a medieval German lyric poet.
Visitors can visit there by a horse ride, a bus, and a walk through the mountains. They can even climb up the pedestrian bridge to see the breathtaking view of the entire castle.
Visitors may also opt for the Tegelberg Cable Car as an alternative way to enjoy the view of the castle in the surrounding landscape of Lake Forggense and the Bavarian mountains.
St. Mang Abbey
St. Mang Abbey is a Benedectine monastery built in the 9th century and it houses few of the oldest paintings in Fussen.. The abbey has a north wing that is now used as the town hall and the south wing as the Fussen town museum.
The museum was built in the early 18th century and together with High Palace, it aggregates as the main element of the townscape of Fussen.
Visitors can explore the historical artifacts of the abbey as well as Fussen, particularly the history of the traditional manufacturers of violins and lutes in Fussen.
Museum of Füssen
The Museum of Füssen is located in the southwest wing of the former Benedictine monastery of St. Mang, which was built in the early 18th century. Together with the High Palace it constitutes one of the main features of Füssen’s townscape.
The former cells of the Benedictine monks house valuable works of art and archaeological finds from the over 1000-year history of this former abbey. It was not only the spiritual center but also the focal point of government and culture in the Füssen area. It houses one of the finest collections in Europe of historical lutes and violins which recalls Füssen’s importance as the cradle of the commercial manufacture of lutes in Europe. Here in the town on the River Lech the first European lute-makers’ guild was founded in the 16th century.
One of the museum’s highlights is the monastery’s magnificently decorated baroque halls: the Prince’s Hall, created under the architect Andrea Maini; the library and the refectory beneath it with sculptures by Anton Sturm, the domed Colloquium with frescoes by the Kempten court painter Franz Georg Hermann, the Chapter Hall with the only extant oil paintings by Paul Zeiller, which depict the Benedictine daily saints. In the Anna Chapel, converted into baroque style under Johann Jakob Herkomer, the Füssen Dance of Death by Jakob Hiebeler (1602) can be viewed, the oldest Dance of Death cycle preserved in Bavaria.
Lechfall
Lechfallis a man-made stepped waterfall spilling over a dam ladder on the Lech River built in the 18th century. Visitors can walk down to that footbridge for an even closer look at the fall with the beautiful view of the colourful blue-green Lech river.
The falls are 20 minutes walk through a park from Füssen train station. Visitors can walk back into town after visiting the falls and have some coffee and cake, or you could cross the road and visit the town’s only steakhouse.
If you keep walking down the road past the Lechfall – so about 25 minutes from Füssen central station – you’ll very quickly find yourself in Austria
Hotel Hirsch
Hotel Hirsch is one of the most adorable resort in Fussen that looks like a dollhouse in appearance. Hotel Hirsch’s architecture portrays the Nouveau Art style with a glittering yet elegant appearance.
Each room of the hotel has the special themed decoration reflecting the history as well as the culture of Bavaria. The rooftop terrace overlooks the old town and the mountains of Fussen allowing visitors to relax here to experience the perfect ending of their day.
The High Castle
Situated high above the city and next to the St Mang Abbey is the Hohe Schloss or The High Castle, the summer residence of the Prince-Bishops of Augsburg. The Hohe Schloss in Füssen is one of the most important secular buildings of German late Gothic era with unique illusionary
paintings in the inner courtyard. It was constructed as a monastery by the citizens by the citizens of Augsberg in 1183 and was later converted into a castle. The Interior of the castle represents the history of the style of buildings in the 15th as well as 19th centuries.
It houses the state collections of paintings, the battlements and towers of the monument are also of interest. From the battlement visitors can climb up into the gate tower on the sixth floor. The view from here to the city and the surroundings is unique. Visitors can also climb up to the top of it’s closck tower. Visitors can enjoy the breath-taking views of Allgau from the highest castle in Germany.
It also has a chapel which considered the highest chapel in Germany. The chapel is a favourite wedding venue for many of the local residents. The museum in the High Palace houses the branch gallery of the Bavarian State Painting Collections. The late Gothic panel paintings and sculptures offer an excellent overview of the art of the 15th and 16th centuries in the Allgäu and in Bavarian-Swabia. The jewel of the museum is the “Knight’s Hall” with its carved coffered ceiling. The newly laid out terrace garden with many medicinal and aromatic plants, which were already in use in the Middle Ages, is also worth a visit.
How to get to Füssen
By Air – From Munich, visitors can take a flight to Memmingen Airport (FMM) as it is the nearest airport from the Füssen.
By Train – Visitors can get direct trains from Munich central station to Füssen that are available every two hours and takes two hours.
By Road – Visitors can take Autobahn A 96 road from Munich, then leave at Landsberg Ost following the B 17. Bus is the most affordable way to get to Füssen. Visitors can get several buses from Southern Bavaria.