Füssen

Hohes Schloß

FüssenA mix of Gothic and Baroque streetscapes and some of Germany’s most photographed locations make this Allgäu lakeland spa town a favourite of tourists, cyclists and hikers.

Füssen is two hours by train from Munich at the foot of the Alps in one of Germany’s most beautiful landscapes. The triskelion feet on the town’s arms pun on its name, which most likely refers to the gorge and cascade Lechfall just south of the old town. The striking metallic blue-green of the river Lech may be due to dissolved limestone but against the Alpine backdrop adds to the town’s famed romantic quality.

Stone age and Celtic settlers inhabited the area but when the Romans arrived in 15BCE Italian influences first began flowing north over the Alps to the Danube along the military road Via Claudia Augusta. St Magnus, known locally as St Mang, died in Füssen about 750 and his cult grew around the town’s church. The Italian links were renewed through the medieval period and are evident in their Baroque architectural legacy.

The south end of the Romantic Road is at the arch of the Bleichertörle off Stadtbleiche on the north bank of the river Lech near the Franciscan monastery of St Stephan. A surviving stretch of town wall is nearby on the east edge of the old town, with the last of the town gateways in original condition. More recent is the Allgäu custom of adding paintings to houses’ outer walls.

In the mid 19th century the castle Hohen-schwangau was updated and Neuschwanstein was built nearby as a medieval pastiche based on drawings by a set designer for Wagnerian opera and matching the Bavarian king Ludwig II’s wildest fantasy.

Ludwig has accumulated stories – not least about his mysterious death in a nearby lake – but he remains a symbol of Bavaria’s last defiance of the Prussian juggernaut that created modern Germany and the last link with the receding past of princes and hilltop castles. His real legacy is the afterglow of the Romantic movement, his extravagant residences and the operas he patronised.

InformationTourist Information Füssen is at Kaiser-Maximilian-Platz 1 and online at www.fuessen.de. For a good selection of maps look in G. Bruhns Buchhandlung at Reichenstraße 10.

TransportRegional trains run from Munich (six times daily, about two hours) and Augsburg (direct trains about 10 times daily, one hour 50 minutes). Other connections from Munich are available by changing from Lindau-bound services at Buchloe.

The Deutsche Touring Romantische Straße bus service (daily, mid April-mid Oct) arrives from Munich at 20.20 and leaves next morning at 8.00 for the run north toward Frankfurt.

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The bus also stops at Wieskirche (15-20 minutes) and Hohenschwangau both ways.

OVG network buses for the castles and Wieskirche (generally operated by RVA, see the Neuschwanstein entry below) also depart from the rail station.

Bicycle hire at Radsport Zacherl (tel 08362-3292, M-F 9-12.30, 14-18), Kemptener Straße 26, costs €10 per day or €25 for three days (mountain bikes €15 or €40).

Activities Touring both romantic castles and taking in the separate museum will occupy much of a day. Unless included in accommodation

packages, tickets for the castles and museum (see below) are available only at the ticket centre in Hohenschwangau (tel 08362-930830, info@ticket-center-hohenschwangau .de, www.hohenschwangau.de). There are open-air pools for bathing in nearby lakes – at Weißensee west of the town there is no cost.

Touring the town attractions is easier using posted English texts or the mobile information service (tel 08122-999955920 plus the digit matching the number listed for the sight). The tour is explained on the town map outside the tourist office.

Lake cruises on Forggensee (Jun-mid Oct, one or two hours, €8/4 or €11/6, tel 08362-

RAVEN QUICK GUIDETourist information & accommodation service: Kaiser-Maximilian-Platz 1 (tel 08362-93850, email tourismus@info.fuessen.de, M-F 9-18, Sa 10-14, Su 10-12).Money: HypoVereinsbank, Augsburger Straße 1 (M-W & F 9-12.30, 14-16, Th 9-12.30, 14-17).Lockers: Bahnhof (€4/2 per day).Post: Bahnhofstraße 10 (M-F 8.30-12.30, 14-17.30, Sa 8.30-12).Police: tel 110; Herkomerstraße 17 (tel 08362-91230).Pharmacy: Stadt-Apotheke, Reichenstraße 12 (M-F 8-18.30, Sa 8-16); Bahnhof-Apotheke, Bahnhofstraße 8 (M-F 8-19, Sa 8-13).Ambulance: tel 112.Hospital: Kreiskrankenhaus, Stadtbleiche 1 (tel 08362-5000).

The charms of Füssen are its compactness and postcard location.

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The exterior Rococo painting of the 1749 Heilig-Geist-Spitalkirche (M-Su 8.30-18), at Lechhalde and Spitalgasse near the Lech bridge, is rich and the Baroque painted interior is equally opulent. The theme is crossing the river. On the facade giant figures of St Christopher (bearing Christ across the waters) and St Florian (by convention depicted pouring water on fire) are presented with traditional Allgäu flair over the portal. At the altar St Johannes Nepomuk, patron saint of rafting who went to his martyrdom by drowning, is represented and there is a painted illusionary cupola showing the seven sacraments.

921363 or 08362-903131) leave from the harbour off Weidachstraße north of the old town.

FoodThere is a selection of restaurants in the Altstadt and around Kaiser-Maximilian-Platz. The lively PeperonCino (tel 08362-930699, W-M 11.30-14, 17.30-22.30) at Bahnhofstraße 6 is popular for pasta and pizza up to €16.

ViewsA superb vista over the town and lakes and views of the mountains are available from the gate tower of Hohes Schloß (see the entry at left).

Spectacular panoramas of the lakes and the Alps are on offer from the cable car Tegelbergbahn at Schwangau, 5km east of Füssen (€11 or €17.50/10.50 or €16.50/6 or €9). This is one of several lifts in the district supporting the popular summer hiking and winter sports trade. The cable car centre can be reached using bus 78 leaving hourly from the rail station at Füssen (several times daily, from 14 to 23 minutes depending on routes and stops).

AccommodationAccommodation can be surveyed at the tourist website and booked there or through the tourist office. Guests should note that public self-service laundrettes are lacking in the town. A spa tax of €2.20 a day is levied on all accommodation but is generally included in room rates. Ask about a Füssen Card, available from accommodation providers, for free transport and other discounts.

Haus Gabriel (tel 08362-300136, www.hausgabriel-fuessen.de) near the railway station at Bahnhofstraße 8 offers double rooms with breakfast and WLAN at €47, triples €60, four-bed rooms at €81.

City Apart Hotel (tel 08362-9250396) in the pedestrian zone at Reichenstraße 33 has singles/doubles/four-bed rooms at €49/59/119 as well as deluxe doubles (€89) and a range of apartment offerings. Breakfast is €7.50 extra but a kitchen is available and WLAN access is free in shared areas. Walk south-east from the station to the main roundabout, straight on to Sebastianstraße, then turn right. Bookings are possible through accommodation websites.

For traditional accommodation in the old town try Altstadthotel & Schloßwirtshaus zum Hechten (tel 08362-91600, info@hotel-hechten.com) at Ritterstraße 6 below the castle clock tower. Singles/doubles are €59-69/96-100. Washing machines are available for longer stays.

LA House (tel 08362-607366, 0170-6248610, www.housela.de) has a hostel at Wachsbleiche 2 with dorms and some double rooms from €18 per person, all with shared bathroom (turn north-east on Augsburger Straße from Sebastianstraße, the right at Robert-Schmid-Straße). There are also apart-ments at Von-Freyberg-Straße 26 north-west of the station from €22.72 per person with private bathroom. Breakfast is €3 extra and bicycle rental is available at €3 a day. There is also a holiday apartment with rates from €58 a double to €84 for four (there is space for up to seven).

There are quirky and individual rooms on offer at the small Old Kings Hostel (tel 08362-8837385, www.oldkingshostel.com)

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In the 9th century Romanesque crypt of the Baroque Basilika St Mang on Magnusplatz (M-Su 8.30-18) are 10th century frescoes that are among Germany’s oldest, depicting St Magnus among its scenes. The church, now the parish church, has had several forms and periods going back to the mid 8th century. It was the 12th century building that was reshaped by Herkomer under the influences of his study in Venice. The crypt and the saint’s relics can only be viewed by tours in German.

St Magnus founded the first monastery in the 8th century. The 18th century Italian baroque Benedictine Kloster St Mang on Lechhalde was designed by local architect Johann Jakob Herkomer. The richness of the interiors is best viewed in the library, with its ceiling frescoes, and the Fürstensaal. The Museum Stadt Füssen (see Museums) inside offers a look at the chapel of St Anna and complete Totentanz (‘dance of death’, an expression of the fatalism surrounding the recurring and almost universal plagues, c1600).

Hohes Schloß on Magnusplatz (Apr-Oct T-Su 11-17, Nov-Mar F-Su 13-16, €6/4), summer residence of the prince-bishops of Augsburg, is superbly preserved in 13th and 15th century Gothic and has among its features a carved and coffered ceiling in the Rittersaal and the illusions of trompe l’oeil external windows. The gate tower, built in stages between the 13th and 16th centuries and also known as the clock tower, is a must for its views of the town, lakes and Alps. An art museum with valuable insights into town history is housed inside (see Museums).

MUSEUMS & GALLERIESA combination card for Füssen’s two museums costs €7. For information on the Museum der Bayerischen Könige see the Neuschwanstein entry below.The collection of Museum Stadt Füssen in the Kloster St Mang on Lechhalde (Apr-Oct T-Su 11-17, Nov-Mar F-Su 13-16, €6/4) includes Roman archaeology and Romanesque architecture and an exhibition of the town’s traditions in violin, lute and guitar manufacture.The Staatsgalerie (Apr-Oct Tu-Su 11-17, Nov-Mar F-Su 13-16, €6/4) in Hohes Schloß presents part of the Bavarian state art collection, including a medieval view of Füssen and a short life of St Magnus. A municipal section, Städtische Gemäldegalerie, covers painting of the Romantic period.

On the adjacent hill is the lesser-known Schloß Hohenschwangau (ticket sales Apr-mid Oct M-Su 8-17.30, mid Oct-Mar M-Su 9-15.30, closed December 24). This building has a 13th century history, although its modern shape is due to extensive rebuilding (1832) of an old ruin for the then Bavarian crown prince Maximilian, father of Ludwig II. Its creator was Domenico Quaglio the younger, also a set designer, who died at the castle and was buried at the St Sebastian cemetery in Füssen. The decorations are inspired by medieval tales but are again Romantic. Hohenschwangau can be viewed with a separate ticket (€12/11, visitors under 18 free) or with joint tickets (see above), although Bavarian castle passes are not valid at this privately owned property.

The Rococo Wieskirche (1754) has a significance the Romantic castles do not – world heritage listing by UNESCO. The church (Apr-Oct 8-20, Nov-Mar 8-18, except during services) by Dominikus Zimmermann is south-east of Steingaden, a local bus ride of about 45 minutes from Füssen or a short stop on the Deutsche Touring Romantische Straße bus route. The church commemorates a 1738 miracle in which a wooden carving of Christ was seen to weep and was built to house a pilgrimage place. The stucco work and frescoes and the purity of style give the church’s interior its precious quality and artistic status. Many craftsmen contributed, including the architect’s brother. Sunday evening summer concerts are offered and part of the old pilgrimage way can also be seen. The church was UNESCO listed in 1983 and subsequently restored. Regular tours in English are not offered, but for information visit the website www.wieskirche.de. Buses 73, 9606 or 9651 from Füssen rail station often (M-F six times daily, Sa-Su four times daily) run as far as Wieskirche but check bus timetables carefully (www.rvo-bus.de/file/5415726/data/73.pdf) or at the tourist office. Visitors can also change for bus 9651 at Steingaden fire station.

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Schloß Neuschwanstein (1886), perched on a peak 5km from Füssen above the village of Hohenschwangau, is no medieval castle. It was conceived by the operatic set artist Christian Jank, whose work for Wagner attracted the commission from Ludwig II. The famous and incomplete edifice (ticket sales Apr-mid Oct M-Su 8-17, mid Oct-Mar 9-15) is purely a 19th century Neoromanesque vision and Ludwig’s fantasy realm, a last retreat from a harsh world in which his real kingdom was slipping away. Entry (€12/11 including the museum, visitors under 18 free) is by ticket from the Hohenschwangau visitor centre (or Bavarian castle pass). Take OVG bus 73 or 78 from Füssen rail station to Alpseestraße or park (€5 a day) in the assigned area. Visits to the 16 rooms are by tour only and times for each castle, with tour number, will be assigned on the ticket. The Museum der Bayerischen Könige (mid Mar-mid Oct M-Su 9-19, mid Oct-mid Mar M-Su 10-18, closed Dec 21-24, €9.50/8, families €19, audio guides free) can be visited at leisure. The King’s Ticket (€23/21, children free) allows entry to both castles (Hohenschwangau first) for one day. The Swan Ticket (€29.50/28, children 13-17 €8) covers all attractions for the day. Concession tickets cover visitors over 65 only. At the website www.hohenschwangau.de online bookings can be made.

at Franziskanergasse 2 near the corner of the Brunnengasse pedestrian precinct 100m east of the castle. Beds in the dorms are €22, in double rooms from €26 (or €40 as a single). Breakfast is €5 extra and laundry service is available at €4 a basket.

Motel Füssen (tel 08362-930602, www.motel-fuessen.de) on Kemptener Straße next to the ice-hockey stadium is a longer walk from the station but has summer singles/doubles at €45/86 (Oct-May €36/74) and family suites from €35 per person, all including breakfast and parking. Free WLAN is available downstairs. Take the pathway 100m south-west to Ottostraße and follow it onto Kemptener Straße, walking 400m west.

The DJH hostel Jugendherberge Füssen (tel 08362-7754, email fuessen@jugendherberge.de) is at Mariahilferstraße 5 north-west of the station with beds including breakfast (late Mar-early Nov and at New Year) €21.70, in double rooms €25.70, in three or four-bed rooms €24.70. In low season the rates are €19.70, €23.70 and €22.70. One-night stays attract an extra €2 charge. Half and full pension is available.

The view from Hohes Schloß includes the Lech and the Alps.