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Founded: 12th centuryCategory: Historic city squares, old towns and villages in Germany
Historical period: Hohenstaufen Dynasty (Germany)
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The important strategic position of Schongau on a defensible hill above the Lech means that it has a very long history of settlement. Finds from the Bronze Age have been made in the area, along with Roman remains.
Schongau is surrounded by fortified walls built in the Middle Ages - parts of them can still be walked around - and those fortifications were built to protect the wealth created by its position on the river and on important European trade routes.
Schongau stood near the Via Claudia Augusta, an old Roman road from Italy to Augsburg which was a major trade and communications route even after the fall of the Empire, and on the Salt Road from Berchtesgaden westwards. The Lech itself was also an important source of goods due to the healthy rafting commerce.
The main square in the centre of the old part of the town is dominated by the Ballenhaus - an old storehouse and council chamber built in the 15th century - at one end and the Church of Maria Himmelfahrt at the other. The stature of Mary gives the square its name - Marienplatz.
To the east is the former Carmelite Monastery - now a care home - and the Church of the Holy Ghost - the walk around part of the town walls used by the sentries can be made in this area. There is also an external path around the base of the walls which gives good views of the remaining town towers, down to the Lech and, on a good day, through to the mountains to the south.
The town has its own museum and the tourist office is situated in the town hall.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.