Steingaden

Steingaden is a town and municipality in the Weilheim-Schongau district of Upper Bavaria, Germany. It is the site of the 12th-century Steingaden Abbey (Kloster Steingaden) and the Wies Church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.GeographyThe community lies in the Alpine foothills, 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.HistoryUntil the 1803 secularisation of Bavaria, Steingaden belonged to the Steingaden Abbey, established in 1147 by Welf VI, 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.