- Füssen
Infobox German Location
type=Stadt
name = Füssen
image_coa = Füssens Wappen.gif
state = Bavaria
Regierungsbezirk = Schwaben
district = Ostallgäu
Fläche = 43.52
Einwohner = 14533
Stand = 2007-08-09
elevation = 808
lat_deg = 47 | lat_min = 34 | lat_sec=0 | lat_hem = N
lon_deg = 10 | lon_min = 42 | lon_sec=0 | lon_hem = E
postal_code = 87629
area_code = 08362
mayor = Paul Iacob
party =SPD
website = [http://www.stadt-fuessen.de stadt-fuessen.de]Füssen is a town in
Bavaria ,Germany , in the district ofOstallgäu situated 5 kilometres (3 miles) from theAustria nborder . It is located on the banks of theLech river . The River Lech flows into theForggensee . Füssen's coat of arm shows atriskelion (three legs). It is a sister city to Helen, Georgia (USA).It had been a settlement in Roman times on the
Via Claudia Augusta , a road that leads southwards to northernItaly and northwards to the former regional capital of the Roman province calledRaetia , the capital of which wasAugusta Vindelicum today'sAugsburg . The original name of Füssen was "Foetes", or "Foetibus", which derives fromLatin "Fauces", meaning "gorge", probably referring to theLech gorge.In Late Antiquity Füssen was the home of a part of theLegio III Italica , which was stationed there to guard the important trade route over theAlps .The "Hohes Schloss" (High Castle), the former summer residence of the prince bishops of Augsburg and one of
Bavaria 's largest and best preserved late Gothic castle complexes, is Füssen's landmark. Today the castle houses a branch gallery of the Bavarian State Collections of Paintings, which focuses on late Gothic and Renaissance works of art. Below the Hohes Schloss is the Baroque complex of the formerBenedictine monastery of St. Mang, whose history goes back to the 9th century.Füssen is the highest town of
Bavaria (808 m above sea level). The famous castles ofNeuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau are located near the town; travellers by rail change on to buses 73/78 at Füssenrailway station .Richard Wagner the famous Germancomposer , used to come to Füssen by rail when he visitedKing Ludwig II . The town is also familiar to travellers as the terminus of theRomantic road .Steve McQueen 'smotorcycle stunts and many other scenes in "The Great Escape" were filmed in and around the town. DuringWorld War II , a subcamp of theDachau concentration camp was located in the town. [www.glosk.com/GM/Linde/17283/pages/List_of_subcamps_of_Dachau/84737_en.htm]The "Forggensee" is a man-made lake which was built to prevent flooding. It is the catchment area for all the melting snow in the spring. After the middle of October the lake is drained ready for the next spring melt.
Füssen has Saint Mang (
Magnus of Füssen ) as its Patron Saint. His original burial place was in the small chapel he built. His bones were transferred to the crypt of the church being built in 850. Around the year 1100 all his bones disappeared. The burial place in the crypt of the St. MangBasilica can be seen today, although the only bone of St Mang is a relic which can be found above the main altar in a glass cross. The cross also contains his staff, breast cross and chalice. "St. Mang's Feast Day" is6 September . On this dayHoly Mass is celebrated, then all proceed by torchlight through the old part of the city. During the week of the Saint's Feast a special 'Magnus Wine' is sold. Only 500 bottles are produced. The 2008 vintage was produced in SouthTirol and is described as "Good Bouquet,earthy and fruity".The oldest fresco in the whole of Germany can be found in the crypt of St. Mang Basilica. It dates back to about the year 980.
Another son of Füssen has also been raised to the title of Blessed by the
Roman Catholic Church .Francis Xavier Seelos was born11 January 1819 in Füssen. His father was the sacristan at "St. Mang Basilica". He became apriest of theCongregation of the Most Holy Redeemer . Seelos died inNew Orleans , USA on4 October 1867 . He was made a Blessed on9 April 2000 byPope John Paul II . TheShrine andRelics of the "Blessed Seelos" can also be found in theBasilica . HisFeast Day isOctober 5 .The local newspaper for Füssen is the "Allgäuer Zeitung", printed daily except Sundays and on a
Holy Day of Obligation . It contains a special section with only Füssen news called the "Füssener Blatt".References
External links
* [http://www.fuessen.de/ Füssen official website]
* [http://www.bistum-augsburg.de/ba/dcms/sites/bistum/dioezese/pfarreien/dekanate/fuessen/pgfuessen/fuessen/index.html St Mang Basilica official website]
* [http://stmangbasilicafuessen.bravehost.com/index.html St Mang Basilica English Website]
* [http://www.all-in.de/nachrichten/allgaeu/fuessen/ Local news for Füssen in the "Allgäur Zeitung".]
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