Twenty-three kilometers to the east of Augsburg, lies the Bavarian town of Zusmarshausen, a Swabian market town of eight districts. Within these eight villages are all sorts of treasures.
And not the kind you might think, either — there aren’t streets lined with gold, or anything like that. There are treasures to be found within Zusmarshausen, so long as you think seeing old churches and castle ruins fit the bill.
Then again, if you’re into the whole history thing, you’ll think you’ve hit the mother-load of treasure finds. The Thirty Years’ War ravaged much of Germany, and Zusmarshausen is no different; except for the fact that one of the last epic battles of this three decade long war took place here in 1648.
Centuries before that war, Burg Wolfsberg was built in the 10th century. While it might lie in ruins today, it doesn’t take much thought to imagine some poor chap stuck in its dungeon, or tapestries framing its cold and dank walls. At this point in time the castle has been in ruins just about as long as it stood until 1462 — and time has done nothing to dull its charm.
Just as much as castles dominated feudal life, so did the power of the church. Every village seems to have its own; and each is equally proud of them. We’ll start off in Gabelbach, with its Anna Chapel from 1745, and its St.Martin Pfarrkirche (Parish Church) that started off as a Romanesque church, eventually known for its Baroque art and architecture.
Gabelbachergreut also has its own Baroque church, this one dedicated to St. Leonhard, and atop an older one that stood here beforehand. St. Vitus remains true to its late-Gothic design from the 1400s; and along the way between the two of them you’ll find other little stops along the way — like little chapels, religious statues, and working farms.
Yeah, that was a stretch, wasn’t it? Still, Zusmarshausen was (and is) a working town with real working farms.
I told you you’d find treasures in Zusmarshausen, and they’re just as wonderful as a town full of gold streets — but if you find one of those, could you let me know? :-)
