Steingaden is a town and municipality

Municipalities of Germany

Municipalities are the lowest level of territorial division in Germany. This may be the fourth level of territorial division in Germany, apart from those states which include Regierungsbezirke , where municipalities then become the fifth level.-Overview:With more than 3,400,000 inhabitants, the...

 in the Weilheim-Schongau

Weilheim-Schongau

Weilheim-Schongau is a Kreis in the south of Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are Landsberg, Starnberg, Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Ostallgäu.-Geography:...

 district of Upper Bavaria

Upper Bavaria

Upper Bavaria is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany.- Geography :Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered around the city of Munich. It is subdivided into four regions : Ingolstadt, Munich, Bayerisches Oberland , and Südostoberbayern...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It is the site of the 12th-century Steingaden Abbey

Steingaden Abbey

Steingaden Abbey was a Premonstratensian monastery in Steingaden in Bavaria, Germany.-History:Dedicated to John the Baptist, the abbey was founded in 1147 as a Premonstratensian house by Welf VI, third son of Henry the Black, Duke of Bavaria, and brother of Duke Henry the Proud...

 (Kloster Steingaden) and the Wies Church, a UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

.

Geography

The community lies in the Alpine foothills, on the border between Upper Bavaria

Upper Bavaria

Upper Bavaria is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany.- Geography :Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered around the city of Munich. It is subdivided into four regions : Ingolstadt, Munich, Bayerisches Oberland , and Südostoberbayern...

 and the Allgäu

Allgäu

The Allgäu is a southern German region in Swabia. It covers the south of Bavarian Swabia and southeastern Baden-Württemberg. The region stretches from the prealpine lands up to the Alps...

. The quarters

Quarter (country subdivision)

A quarter is a section of an urban settlement.Its borders can be administratively chosen , and it may have its own administrative structure...

 (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

Steingaden Abbey

Steingaden Abbey was a Premonstratensian monastery in Steingaden in Bavaria, Germany.-History:Dedicated to John the Baptist, the abbey was founded in 1147 as a Premonstratensian house by Welf VI, third son of Henry the Black, Duke of Bavaria, and brother of Duke Henry the Proud...

, established in 1147 by Welf VI

Welf VI

Welf VI was the margrave of Tuscany and duke of Spoleto , the third son of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, and a member of the illustrious Italo-German family of the Welf....

, Margrave of Tuscany and Duke of Spoleto, and third son of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria

Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria

Henry IX , called the Black, a member of the House of Welf, was duke of Bavaria from 1120 to 1126.-Life and reign:...

. 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.

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 UNESCO
  UNESCO
  The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
  
   as a World Heritage Site
  World Heritage Site
  A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
  
  
• 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

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...

. Günther Neureuther, born in the town on 6 August 1955, became one of the most successful jūdōka

Judo

is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...

in Germany.