Die frühe Geschichte der Stadt Füssen

Füssen, the city that controlled the crossing over the Alps from the German to the Italian part of the empire, gained more significance in European history than many a large city due to the leading role of the Romans and later the Germanic peoples.

However, the settlement, with a name presumably originating from the Rhaetian language and a Sicilian coat of arms, is much older than the empire founded by the Romans. Many earlier transport routes, cult sites, and even a holy mountain, the Säuling, confirm this.

While the history of Füssen has previously been written almost exclusively from the narrow perspective of Latin-versed schoolteachers, the author, in his new approach, incorporates not only technological and climatological aspects but also economic and social ones.

He also considers inventions and processes in distant regions such as the Holy Land, Spain, and Italy, as well as northern climes, which were of considerable importance for the development of this early transport hub.

In the course of his meticulous research and expert analysis, P. A. Bletschacher repeatedly arrives at fascinating theses that cast many previous theories in a questionable light.

For instance, he suggests a new route for the Via Claudia in some sections, and the peaks of the surrounding mountains form what he calls an Allgäu Stonehenge.

Not only does the influence of earlier religions come into the reader's view, but also a completely different tribe that has hardly been mentioned so far: the Raetians.

Finally, the author shows how violin making originated in Füssen – and how it could only have originated here.