A town in Bavaria in Germany, Schwangau lies in the Ostallgau district sitting about five kilometers away from the borders of Austria. The town is located along the banks of the River Lech, with the Lech river flowing into the Forggensee. Back in the Roman times, Schwangau was a settlement along the Via Claudia Augusta, the road leading southwards to the northern parts of Italy and further up to the former capital of the region for the Roman province Raetia, known today as Augsburg.
Schwangau is near Fuessen, the highest of the Bavarian towns, situated at 808 m above sea level. The famous castles of Hohenchwangau and Neuschwanstein are found close to the town, drawing a number of tourists every year. The town is also near the High Castle or the Hohes Schloss, the former summer residence of Augsburg's prince bishops and the best preserved and largest of the late Goth castle complexes, serving as a landmark for Schwangau. The High Castle is home to a branch of the gallery of the Bavarian State Collections of Paintings focusing on late Renaissance and Gothic works of art. Below the High Castle is the Baroque complex of the then-Benedictine monastery of Saint Mang, a structure that has existed since the 9th century.
Saint Mang, the Magnus of Fuessen, is Fuessens patron saint. He was originally buried in a small chapel he built himself but his bones were later on transferred to a crypt in a church that was being built in the year 850. Around 1100 though, Saint Mang's bones disappeared. Saint Mangs spot in the crypt can still be seen today but there isn't really a Saint Mang in there. Rather, what they have in the church is the relic of a bone from Saint Mang, sitting in a glass cross on the main altar. The cross also contains his chalice, breast cross, and staff.
The feast of Saint Mang is celebrated every September 6th, starting out with a mass celebration and then everyone proceeds to the towns old quarters. During this week, a special kind of wine, Magnus Wine, is sold, although only 500 bottles of the stuff are produced. The 2009 vintage was provided by South Tyrol, and was described to be fruity and light and a good bouquet.
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