Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
• Exit on the far side, just past the dead Franciscans, and continue toward the big church.
Town View from Franciscan Monastery (Franziskanerkloster):
From the Fran-
ciscan Monastery (which still has big responsibilities, but only a handful of monks in resid-
ence), there's a fine view over the medieval town. The Church of St. Magnus and the High
Castle (the summer residence of the Bishops of Augsburg) break the horizon. The chimney
(c.1886)andworkers'housingontheleftareremindersthatwhenLudwigbuiltNeuschwan-
stein, the textile industry (linen and flax) was very big here. Walk all the way to the far end
of the monastery chapel and peek around the corner, where you'll see a gate that proclaims
the
Ende der romantischen Strasse
(end of the Romantic Road).
• Now go down the stairway and turn left, through the medieval “Bleachers' Gate,” to the
riverbank.
LechRiverbank:
Thislowendoftown,thefloodzone,wasthehomeofthosewhose
workdependedontheriver—bleachers,rafters,andfishermen.Initsheyday,theLechRiver
was an expressway to Augsburg (about 70 miles to the north). Around the year 1500, the
rafters established the first professional guild in Füssen. As Füssen was on the Via Claudia,
cargo from Italy passed here en route to big German cities farther north. Rafters would as-
semble rafts and pile them high with goods—or with people needing a lift. If the water was
high, they could float all the way to Augsburg in as little as one day. There they'd disas-
semble their raft andsell offthe lumber along with the goodsthey'd carried, then make their
way home to raft again. Today you'll see no modern-day rafters here, as there's a hydroelec-
tric plant just downstream.
• Walk upstream a bit, and head inland immediately after crossing under the bridge.
ChurchoftheHolySpirit,BreadMarket,andLute-Makers:
Climbinguphill,you
pass the colorful Church of the Holy Spirit (Heilig-Geist-Spitalkirche) on the right. As this
wasthechurchoftherafters,theirpatron,St.Christopher,isprominentonthefacade.Today
it's the church of Füssen's old folks' home (it's adjacent—notice the easy-access skyway).
Fartherupthehillontheright(almostoppositeanarchwayintoabigcourtyard)isBread
Market Square (Brotmarkt), with a fountain honoring the famous 16th-century lute-making
family, the Tieffenbruckers. In its day, Füssen was a huge center of violin- and lute-making,
with about 200 workshops. Today only two survive.
• Backtrack and go through the archway into the courtyard of the former...
Benedictine Monastery (Kloster St. Mang):
From 1717 until secularization in
1802, this was the powerful center of town. Today the courtyard is popular for concerts, and
the building houses the City Hall and Füssen Heritage Museum (and a public WC).
FüssenHeritage Museum:
ThisisFüssen'sonemust-see sight(€6,€7combo-ticket
includes painting gallery and castle tower; April-Oct Tue-Sun 11:00-17:00, closed Mon;
Nov-March Fri-Sun 13:00-16:00, closed Mon-Thu; tel. 08362/903-146,
www.fuessen.de
)
.
