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Above Old town walls, Schongau Below left
View of the green countryside along the road to
Rottenbuch Below right Cafés lining a cobbled
street in FüssenWHERE TO STAYLANDSBERG AM LECH
Hotel Goggl moderate
Dating back to 1667, this hotel close to
the main square has clean rooms.
Hubert von Herkomerstrasse 19-20,
86899; 08191 32 40; http://www.hotelgoggl.deSCHONGAU
Hotel Gasthof Blaue Traube moderate
This inn on Schongau’s main street has
simple but attractive rooms.
Münzstrasse 10, 86956; 08861 903 29;
http://www.hotel-blaue-traube.deHOHENSCHWANGAU
Schlosshotel Lisl and Jägerhaus
moderate–expensive
This hotel consists of a main building
and an annexe, the Villa Jägerhaus.
Rooms in both are comfor table.
Neuschwanstein 1–3, 87645; 08362 88
70; http://www.lisl.deFÜSSEN
Hotel Kurcafé moderate–expensive
A long-established hotel with well-
equipped doubles and deluxe rooms.
Prinzregentenplatz, 87629; 08362 93
01 80; http://www.kurcafe.com
Hotel Sonne moderate–expensive
The four-star Hotel Sonne has 50
rooms decorated in different styles.
Prinzregentenplatz 1, 87629; 08362
90 80; http://www.hotel-sonne.deBACK ROADS GERMANY
Where to Stay: inexpensive, under €70; moderate, €70–€150; expensive, over €1503 Landsberg am Lech
Bavaria; 86899
With a sloping main square
domina ted by the historic town hall,
the Historisches Rathaus, Landsberg
am Lech has a well-preserved historic
core. The façade of the town hall is
richly ornamental, with stuccowork
from 1719–21 by Dominikus
Zimmermann, who, with his brother
Johann Baptist, was also responsible
for the Wieskirche. The town also has
many gate towers, most notably the
Gothic 15th-cen tury 118-ft (36-m)
high Bayertor, located at the top of
the steep, pretty Alte Bergstrasse.
ª Take the Katharinenstrasse, turn
left on to the B17, and continue to
Schongau, where there is on-street
parking in the Altstadt.Hitler in Landsberg am Lech
For all its timeless beauty, Landsberg
am Lech’s chief historical claim to
fame is as the place where Hitler
wrote Mein Kampf. At his trial, follow-
ing the disastrous coup attempt in
Munich in 1923, the future dictator
was given a lenient sentence despite
charges of high treason. The case, far
from being a humiliation, proved to
be something of a propaganda plat -
form, and Hitler used the mon ths of
con fine ment to com plete his
notorious political manifesto.4 Schongau
Bavaria; 86956
Perched above the Lech river in the
district known as the Pfaffenwinkel
(priests’ corner), this former minor
seat of the Wittelsbach Dynasty has
an almost complete set of medieval
town walls, which look particularly
impressive when floodlit at night. The
Ballenhaus in the center of the old5 Rottenbuch
Bavaria; 82401
Rottenbuch’s former Augustinian
monas tery complex was secu larized
in 1803 although its appear ance
remains unaffected. The village’s focus
is the convent church of Mariä Geburt,
which has an opulent interior in the
Rococo style, with stuccowork dating
from the mid-18th century.
ª Continue south on the B23. Beyond
Achen, turn right on to Steingadener
Strasse to Wildsteig. After Wildsteig,
turn at the sign for Wies/Wieskirche.
There is paid parking at the side of the
road, close to the church.6 Wieskirche
Bavaria; 86989
Located 3 miles (5 km) from
Steingaden is the meadow church
of Wieskirche (open daily). Com pleted
in 1754 at the spot where a farmer’s
wife had seen tears flow from the eyes
of an abandoned statue of Christ, the
church was the work of Dominikus
Zimmermann. The building is a
master piece of 18th-cen tury south-
ern German archi tecture.
ª Return to the Wies/Wieskirche sign.
Continue to Steingaden, bearing left
on to the B17. Follow brown signs,
Königsschlösser, to the castles at
Hohenschwangau. There are paid
parking lots at the base of the village.
Ascend to Schloss Neuschwanstein by
shuttle bus, horse and cart, or on foot.town is a former ware house with a
stepped gable, dating from 1420.
ª Cross the Lech river to Peiting on
the Peitinger Strasse and head south
along the B23 to Rottenbuch. Parking
is available in front of the church;
follow signs to Ortsmitte.