Steingaden is a town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the Weilheim-Schongau district of Upper Bavaria,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is the site of the 12th-century Steingaden Abbey (''Kloster Steingaden'') and the Wies Church, a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Geography

The community lies in the

Alpine foothills The Alpine foothills, or Prealps (; ; ; ), may refer generally to any foothills at the base of the Alps in Europe. They are the transition zone between the High Alps and the Swiss Plateau and the Bavarian Alpine Foreland in the north, as well as ...

, on the border between Upper Bavaria and the Allgäu. The quarters (''Ortsteile'') of the municipality are Fronreiten, Ilgen, Lauterbach, Riesen, Urspring und Wies. Other villages and hamlets are Biberschwöll, Bichl, Boschach, Brandstatt, Butzau, Deutenhof, Deutensee, Egart, Engen, Gagras, Gmeind, Gogel, Graben, Hiebler, Hirschau, Illach, Illberg, Jagdberg, Karlsebene, Kellershof, Kohlhofen, Kreisten, Kreuzberg, Kuchen, Langau, Lechen, Lindegg, Litzau, Maderbichl, Moos, Oberengen, Reitersau, Resle, Sandgraben, Schlatt, Schlauch, Schwarzenbach, Staltannen, Steingädele, Tannen, Thal, Unterengen, Vordergründl, Wiesle und Zöpfhalden.

History

Until the 1803 secularisation of Bavaria, Steingaden belonged to the Steingaden Abbey, established in 1147 by

Welf VI Welf VI (111515 December 1191) was the margrave of Tuscany (1152–1162) and duke of Spoleto (1152–1162), the third son of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, and a member of the illustrious family of the Welf (also known as the House of Guelph). ...

, Margrave of Tuscany and Duke of Spoleto, and third son of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria. In the administrative reform of Bavaria in 1818, Steingaden became an independent municipality, while the formerly independent municipalities of Fronreiten, Lauterbach and Urspring were added to the municipality of Steingaden during the administrative reforms of the 1980s.

Culture

Architecture

* Wies Church (''Wieskirche''), a pilgrimage church built by the brothers, Dominic and John Baptist Zimmermann, between 1746 and 1754 in the Rococo style and recognized by

as a

*Welfen Church (''Welfenmünster''), built in 1176 in the Romantic style, now the parish church of the town *''Church of the Visitation'', Ilgen *''Church of the Holy Cross'', Kreuzberg *''Church of St Mary Magdalene'', Urspring

Residents

Johann Georg von Lori was born in Steingaden on 17 July 1723. He became a significant administrator, jurist and historian, and co-founded the

Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities () is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledge within their subject. The general goal of th ...

. Günther Neureuther, born in the town on 6 August 1955, became one of the most successful jūdōka in Germany. Gretl Braun, sister of Eva Braun lived her final years and died in Steingarden.

References

{{Authority control Weilheim-Schongau