Füssen The Romantic Soul of

www.fuessen.de Füssen — The highest city in Bavaria The highest city in Bavaria — Füssen

The Romantic Soul of Bavaria

Contents Neuschwanstein & ...... 4–6 Accommodation and Visitor Card...... 7 A Sightseeing Walk Round Füssen...... 8–9 Royal Landscapes...... 10 –11 Destinations...... 12–13 Holiday Routes...... 14–15

2 3 Füssen Region — — Füssen Region

A Royal Dream

Neuschwanstein Castle

The castle of Neuschwanstein rises majestically against a panoramic backdrop of snow-capped Alpine Museum der bayerischen könige mountains. It can be particularly rewarding to visit the castle in the Museum of the Bavarian Kings King Ludwig winter season. Then you can ride by Opening hours: horse-drawn carriage through the Daily from 9 am to 5 pm. King Ludwig II. (1845–1886) is winter landscape to the castle and Situated only a few hundred me- the Bavarian royal family and the Closed on 24th, 25th December known as the ‘Fairy-Tale King’ of enjoy the clear views and wonder- tres from Neuschwanstein is the Wittelsbach dynasty that has ex- and 1st January. Bavaria, not least because of the ful winter air. You can also view the castle of Hohenschwangau. It was isted for more than 1000 years at wonderful castles that he built: royal rooms of the castle without built by Ludwig’s father, King Max- the Museum of the Bavarian Kings, Tickets are available during the Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and the usual crowds of tourists who imilian II, on the ruins of a medi- located at the nearby Lake . opening hours at the museum. Herrenchiemsee. The circumstances flock here in the summer. eval fortress, and the royal family A wonderful way of rounding off of his tragic death in Lake Starnberg regularly spent their summers here. your castle tour! www.museumderbayerischenkoenige.de in 1886 remain a mystery to this day. Visitors can discover more about

4 5 Füssen Region — Neuschwanstein & Hohenschwangau Accommodation & Visitor Card — Füssen

Ticket Information The information you need for

Tickets for Neuschwanstein Castle and Hohenschwan- The time it takes to walk from the Ticket Center to gau Castle can be booked online: • Neuschwanstein: about 40 minutes www.ticket-center-hohenschwangau.de • Hohenschwangau: about 20 minutes a perfect holiday

Direct ticket sales: The approach road to Neuschwanstein Castle is closed Ticket-Center to general motor traffic. Your Visitor Card Gallery at the High Castle of Your Tourist Information Alpseestrasse 12 · 87645 Hohenschwangau With the Füssen Card you can Füssen There are two tourist information Telephone +49 8362 93083-0 In the village of Hohenschwangau horsedrawn carriages enjoy a wide variety of discounts • Tickets for a number of regional centres in Füssen – one in the centre Telefax +49 8362 93083-20 are available at Hotel Müller which take you to the and free offers. You will receive cable car services, including the of the town, and one in the town [email protected] castle inn located 984 feet, 300 metres/yards below your Visitor Card from your host on one at Tegelberg district of Hopfen am See. There Neuschwanstein. arrival, when you fill in your visitor • Tickets for boat trips on Lake is also a tourist information point In addition to the single tickets, combined tickets can registration form. Please enquire in the village store (Dorfladen) in also be booked. Shuttle run between the village of Hohen- when booking your accommodation. • Guided tours and other offers the Weißensee district. The current • Prince‘s Ticket and the stop “Marienbrücke” (Mary‘s included in the Füssen visitors opening times can be found here: Valid for Neuschwanstein and the Museum of the Bridge). From there it is a steep downhill walk of about Here are just a few examples of programme www.fuessen.de/tourist-information Bavarian Kings on the same day. 10 minutes (1312 feet, 400 metres/yards) to Neu- the benefits you can enjoy with • King‘s Ticket schwanstein Castle (not suitable for anyone who has your Füssen Card. Your Hosts What services are available from Valid for Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau on difficulty walking). Free of charge: Füssen offers a wide range of the tourist information centres? the same day. • Public transport journeys on accommodation. From cosy well- • We will be happy to advise and • Wittelsbach Ticket From the bus stop it is a 2-minute walk to the Marien- scheduled bus services in the ness hotels to farmhouse holiday assist you when looking for Valid for Hohenschwangau and the Museum of the brücke (Mary’s Bridge) situated 295 feet (90 metres) regions of Füssen / / apartments for families. From pri- accommodation. You can call us Bavarian Kings on the same day. above the Pöllat Gorge with a fine view of the castle / Schwangau / Halb- vate rooms to the awardwinning on: +49 8362 93850. • Swan Ticket and the 147 feet (45 metres) high waterfall. / / / Rieden / five-star campsite on Lake Hopfen- Or you can send us an e-mail at: Valid for Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau and Roßhaupten / / Oy- see. From short stay hostels to a [email protected] the Museum of the Bavarian Kings on the same day. A guided tour of Neuschwanstein or Hohenschwan- Mittelberg as well as bus services holiday hotel directly alongside one Or if you are already in Füssen you gau lasts about 30 minutes. During the tour in Neu- to Vils and Reutte in the neigh- of the lakes. Many hosts specialise can simply come and visit us. schwanstein Castle there are 173 steps up and 207 bouring area of Austria. For ex- in hiking, cycling or health holidays We can provide you with town down. Taking photographs during the castle tour is ample, you can travel at no cost and offer specific services in these maps, information brochures, hi- strictly prohibited. to the royal castles of Neu- areas. king and cycling maps, and much schwanstein and Hohenschwan- more. gau, the Tegelberg mountain and You can be sure to find the right • We can also help you with any the famous Pilgrimage Church accommodation for your kind of other questions you might have of Wies, using the regular bus holiday in Füssen: about your holiday in our region: services. www.fuessen.de/accommodation How do you get to Neu- • Train journeys on the lines: Please note that the majority of schwanstein? Füssen – Kaufbeuren and Reutte – holiday apartments are rented by What are the essential sights that Pfronten – Kempten the week. Hotel rooms, hostel ac- you really have to see in and Exception: Members of tour commodation and private rooms around Füssen? Tips for hiking groups comprising ten or more can also be rented for one night. and cycling trips? … persons travelling with their own We recommend that you book • We also organise programmes bus and paying a reduced resort your accommodation in advance, and guide services for travel tax are not eligible to benefit from particularly in the high season be- groups. these free bus and train journeys. tween July and September. • Unlimited use of WiFi at the various hot-spots in and around Füssen: www.fuessen.de/wlan

Discounts: • Tickets for the royal castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohen- Please note: schwangau The royal castles of Neuschwanstein • Tickets for the Museum of the and Hohenschwangau are sign- Bavarian Kings posted with the German word • Tickets for the Museum of Füssen “Königsschlösser”! (St. Mang’s Abbey) and the State

6 7 Füssen — Sightseeing Walk Sightseeing Walk — Füssen

 The Füssen Heritage Museum. town. Today it is here that the Lute-  Archaeological finds and art trea- Makers Fountain recalls the histo- sures have provided evidence of rical importance of Füssen as the “Cradle of Lute-Making” in Europe.  1000 years of monastic history. The Mobile phone city guide. splendid Baroque rooms, which in- You can use your mobile phone to clude the Prince’s Hall, give some  hear information about the history idea of the former monastery’s of Füssen in German or English at wealth. The museum also boasts eleven points around the old town. one of the finest collections of You will recognise the individual historical lutes and violins in Euro- points and buildings by the infor- pe. mation panels bearing the insigni- In the Anna Chapel, which can be as of our partners tomis and the reached via the museum, is the im- History Channel. pressive Death Dance cycle by Jakob Just call +49 89210833559-1 (Ger- Hiebeler (1602), the oldest of its man) or -2 (English) and then the kind in Bavaria. number of your selected station. Just dial in – don‘t worry, there are  no roaming charges.  The Reichenstrasse. Historical patricians‘ houses, huddling side by The medieval town centre side, line the main shopping street in the pedestrian zone, which is identical to the route of the earlier  Tourist Information at Kaiser-  Holy Ghost Hospital-Church of Paintings, where late Gothic and Roman road Via Claudia Augusta. Maximilian-Platz. (Heilig-Geist-Spital-Kirche). Renaissance works of art are on The richly decorated Rococo façade display.  The Town Fountain at the upper of the Holy Ghost Hospital Church  The Schrannenplatz once ser- end of the Reichenstrasse shows depicts St Florian as a help in pre- ved as the town‘s corn market. The St Magnus, Füssen‘s patron saint. venting fires (the previous Gothic late Gothic Corn House is nowa- At the fountain a narrow metal strip church burnt down in 1733) and days a popular meeting point with  The area of the present-day has been set into the street paving St Christopher, who as the patron market stands and small catering Bread Market is thought to have to recall the ancient Roman route of saint of raftsmen has his appropri- outlets. been the origin of the medieval the Via Claudia Augusta in this area. ate place here on the mighty River  The Franciscan Monastery. Lech. The venerable monastery buildings Tourist Information with the Baroque St Stephan’s  Train and Bus Station Church are situated on a small hill 1 Neuschwanstein above the River Lech with a mag- Castle nificent view of the medieval town  centre. Next to them there is the old St Sebastian Cemetery with  St Mang Monastery and historical gravestones. Church. The former Benedictine 2 abbey dates back to the 9th cen- 10  The path along the banks of tury. It was given its present Ba- the River Lech runs upstream to roque style by Füssen architect 11 the district of Bad Faulenbach and Johann Jakob Herkomer. Today the 3 downstream to Lake Forggensee. historical rooms house the muni- During a walk you repeatedly catch cipal authorities and the Füssen sight of fine views of the river, Heritage Museum. For 50 years 9 which up to the 19th century was  The High Palace (Hohes summer chamber music and jazz 6 an important traffic and trading Schloss). The former residence of concerts have been held in the 4 route navigated by rafts. the Augsburg prince bishops, with magnificent Prince‘s Hall. The for- 5 unique illusionist paintings on the mer monastery church and present- 8 4 façades of the courtyard, is one of day parish church is the largest and 7 the most important late Gothic most impressive of Füssen‘s baro- castle complexes in southern Ger- que churches. The crypt is thought many. It now houses the Town to date back in its architectural his- Gallery of Paintings and a branch tory to the times of St Magnus and of the Bavarian State Collections houses Bavaria’s oldest fresco.

8 9 Füssen — Royal Landscape Royal Landscape — Füssen

Lech Falls

This is the point at which the course of the Lech, a tributary of the Danube, moves away from the Alps. The water masses of the Lech Falls plunge over five levels into the Lech Gorge, over a depth of 12 metres. In a niche above the gorge, there is a bust of the Bavarian king, Maximilian II, while the ’Maxsteg’, also named after him, crosses the Natural Lech directly above the waterfall. Landscapes

Füssen is surrounded by mighty mountain peaks, gentle Alpine foot- hills and idyllic lakes. Ludwig II, the Bavarian fairy-tale king, was Treetop Path Ziegelwies Forest Adventure Boat Trips on Lake Forggensee fascinated by the landscape that Centre surrounds his fabulous Neuschwan- The treetop path in the Ziegelwies At twelve kilometres long and three wonderful opportunities for photo- stein castle like huge castle grounds. Forest Adventure Centre is a woo- The Ziegelwies Forest Adventure kilometres wide, the Forggensee graphing the castles of Neu- Discover the beautiful natural fea- den walkway that rises above the Centre stretches all the way is the biggest lake in the region and schwanstein and Hohenschwangau, tures of the region: Take a stroll crowns of the trees. With a length round the treetop path. Visitors to the fifth biggest in Bavaria – but as well as the historical town of through the old city of Füssen of 480 metres and heights of up to the lowland and mountain forest only in summer. In winter, the lake Füssen and the Alpine mountain along the Lech river as far as the 21 metres, you can enjoy spectacu- paths as well as the exhibition is always drained so that it can ac- peaks. Lech Falls, enjoy the varied views of lar views of the lowland forest, the centre can discover many interes- commodate the melt water coming the Hopfensee or Weißensee lakes, wild river Lech and the surround- ting facts about the local animal down from the Alps in the spring Boat trip season: Beginning of June take a boat trip on Lake Forggensee ing Alpine peaks. The treetop path and plant world. The interactive that has been transported there to mid-October. and enjoy the fantastic view of the even crosses the border between stages along the two adventure by the Lech. A boat trip on the lake www.forggensee-schifffahrt.de royal castles. Don’t forget to bring and Austria. trails are great fun, particularly for is a relaxed way to get to know the a camera! www.baumkronenweg.eu children. castle grounds landscape, offering www.walderlebniszentrum.eu

10 11 Füssen — Destinations Destinations — Füssen

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Linderhof palace This palace was also built by Ludwig II, and for many Things to see in the surrounding Ludwig fans it is in fact the finest (about 31 miles, 50 km). The , the Palace Park with its area Moorish Kiosk and Peacock’s Throne Follow the German Alpine Road as well as the artificial grotto with to Lindau and discover the only a wave machine, through which the Bavarian town on Lake Constance King was rowed in his shell boat, (about 62 miles, 100 km). It is are some of the exceptional sights. popular for its historical Old Town www.linderhof.de and a fantastic view. Boat trips to the flower-bedecked island of Mainau are possible via Meersburg. Bavaria’s capital is one www.lindau.de of the most interesting cities in Germany (about 71 miles, 115 km) – hourly train connection. Tegelberg Cable Car The Tegelberg (5,643 feet / www.muenchen.de 1,720 m) rises above Bavaria’s fairy-tale castle of Neuschwanstein and is one of the most popular Oberammergau can be easily scenic mountains in the region. From the top Tegel- reached by car (about 28 miles, 45 berg cable car station you can enjoy extensive views km). This holiday resort is world- of the foothills and peaks of the Alps. It is also the famous for its Passion Play. Yet the starting point of numerous hiking routes into the Am- numerous house-wall paintings, mergebirge conservation area. Climbing fans have a called Lüftlmalereien, and the arti- choice of fixed rope routes on the Tegelberg, offering stic wood carvings are themselves various levels of difficulty – naturally only provided worth a visit. you have climbing equipment. www.tegelbergbahn.de www.oberammergau.de

12 13 Füssen — Holiday Routes Holiday Routes — Füssen

Würzburg Stop-over Bad Mergentheim

Füssen Rothenburg o.d.T.

Dinkelsbühl

Rothenburg ob der Tauber Füssen offers so many opportu- Nördlingen nities! It is a place where three wonderful holiday routes come to- Donauwörth gether. This makes it an ideal start- ing point for further trips into the castle grounds area as well as the Augsburg adjacent regions.

Landsberg am Lech

Schongau German Alpine Road Herrenchiemsee Herrenchiemsee Palace

Pilgrimage Church of Wies Austria Bad Tölz

Lindau Bodensee am Reit im Winkl Tegernsee Oberstaufen Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Füssen Austria Oberammergau Berchtesgaden

Bad Hindelang Innsbruck Merano Reschensee Pilgrimage Church of Wies

Bolzano It has always been an axis of Euro- This is probably the best known pean culture and can bear witness German holiday route, stretching Zugspitze to a great deal of history. Where from Würzburg on the river Main merchants, travellers and soldiers to Füssen on the edge of the Alps. Here, the Alps are visible along virtually the entire route. Italy used to travel, many holidaymak- The entire wealth of western history, The route leads 450 kilometres from Lindau to Bercht- ers now make use of the former art and culture is visible in the esgaden and right through the foothills of the Bavarian Roman military road, that stretches historical towns and monuments Alps. Whenever you feel like a break, there are plenty for 700 kilometres from the Adri- along its 400 kilometres. One at- of interesting towns and villages, lake promenades and atic and the Po Plain to the Alps traction follows the next, like pearls other sights to choose from. While you are in Füssen, it and on to the Danube. Built under on a string. Sites like Rothenburg, is also worthwhile taking a day trip in either direction, the Emperor Claudius, it is still an Dinkelsbühl and the Pilgrimage Via Claudia Augusta Via

for example to Lake Constance or the highest mountain important route for crossing the Route Romantic Church of Wies lie along the route. Via Claudia Augusta Via in Germany, the 2,962-metre-high Zugspitze. Oberam- Alps. You can also use this holiday mergau, Ettal Abbey and can also be Altino route for day trips to Augsburg or reached on this route. Verona Innsbruck. Venice German Alpine Route German Route Alpine

14 Ostiglia 15 Füssen – The Romantic Soul of Bavaria

Publisher: Füssen Tourismus und Marketing, Anstalt des öffentlichen Rechts der Stadt Füssen Kaiser-Maximilian-Platz 1 · D-87629 Füssen Telefon +49 8362 93850 · Telefax +49 8362 938520 [email protected] · www.fuessen.de

Concept, design and layout JUNG Agentur für Kommunikation und Werbung GmbH, München

Print: AZ Druck und Datentechnik GmbH, Kempten

Picture Credits: Allgäu GmbH, Arthur F. Selbach / Bavarian Ministry of Trade, Infrastructure, Transportation and Technology, München / BTV / Gerhard Bumann, Schwangau / Via Claudia Augusta / Lois Lammer- huber / Gerhard Eisenschink, Regensburg / Füssen Tourismus und Marketing / Michael Helmer, München / Andreas Hub, Herdecke / Museum der bayerischen Könige, Vanessa Richter / Tourist Infor- mation Lindau / Tourist Information Oberammergau / Pixabay / Rothenburg Tourismus Service, W. Pfitzinger / Günter Standl, Laufen, www.guenterstandl.de / David Terrey, Füssen / - erlebniszentrum Ziegelwies

Printed on FSC® certified paper.

Tourist Information Tourist Information Tourist Info Punkt Füssen Hopfen am See Weißensee Kaiser-Maximilian-Platz 1 Uferstraße 21a Seeweg 4 D-87629 Füssen D-87629 Füssen D-87629 Füssen Telefon +49 8362 93850 Telefon +49 8362 7458 Telefon +49 8362 6500 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]