Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
AMMERGAUER ALPS GUEST CARD
Overnight anywhere in the Ammergauer Alps area and your hotel or guesthouse should issue you
with a free
Gästekarte,
which gives free bus travel anywhere between Garmisch-Partenkirchen and
Füssen as well as many other discounts.
Wieskirche
Known as 'Wies' for short, the
Wieskirche
( 08862-932 930;
www.wieskirche.de
;
8am-5pm)
is one of Bavaria's best-known baroque churches and a Unesco-listed heritage
site. About a million visitors a year flock to see this stuccoed wonder, the monumental
work of the legendary artist brothers Dominikus and Johann Baptist Zimmermann.
In 1730, a farmer in Steingaden, about 30km northeast of Füssen, witnessed the miracle
of his Christ statue shedding tears. Pilgrims poured into the town in such numbers over
the next decade that the local abbot commissioned a new church to house the weepy work.
Inside the almost circular structure, eight snow-white pillars are topped by gold capital
stones and swirling decorations. The unsupported dome must have seemed like God's
work in the mid-17th century, its surface adorned with a pastel ceiling fresco celebrating
Christ's resurrection .
From Füssen, regional RVO bus 73 makes the journey up to six times daily. The Europ-
abus also stops here long enough in both directions to have a brief look round then get
back on. By car, take the B17 northeast and turn right (east) at Steingaden.
