Stadt Mittenwald Photos
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The most significant landmark in the village is the pink-colored Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church of which is typical architecture of the region. The church and many of the surrounding buildings, both businesses and private residences, are decorated with elaborate paintings on the exterior walls (photos). Apparently the German writer Goethe called Mittenwald a "living picture book" in 1786. Mittenwald, along with Garmisch-Partenkirchen to the west, was acquired by the Prince-Bishopric of Freising in the late 14th century and the "crowned Aethiopian" head that is part of Mittenwald's coat of arms reminds us that 400-year association that ended when the Prince-Bishopric was secularized in 1802-03 and its territory annexed to Bavaria. Mittenwald's location as an important transit center on a relatively low (and therefore predictable) transalpine route has been a defining feature of the area for at least two thousand years: during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries traffic was boosted by large treasure trains sent regularly from Spain to pay troops in the Netherlands, the more conventional sea route having been rendered unreliable by the (usually) discreet but effective sympathy with which the English Protestant establishment favored the Spanish king's rebellious Dutch subjects. Mittenwald is famous for the manufacture of violins, violas and cellos which began in the mid-17th century by the Klotz family of violin makers, and has been a popular stop with tourists and student musicians since the 1930s. You can also visit the Violin Museum. It was a fascinating stroll around this town admiring all the colorful paintings on the houses and businesses. It's a must visit if you're in the area IMHO. read more
