Landsberg

Title

Landsberg

Description

Original charcoal drawing of the Schmalzturm or also called the beautiful tower in Landsberg am Lech. It is a building of the first city wall (early 14th century).

ca. 1930

Artist

Blaetz

Historical Description

Around 1135, a settlement called Phetine was documented in what would later be the urban area of Landsberg, but it did not yet have town charter. In 1158, Duke Heinrich the Lion relocated the important salt road to a more southerly route, whereby he had a bridge built over the Lech near Phetine. Duke Albrecht V initiated the founding of the Landsberg Federation in Landsberg in 1556, with Ferdinand I heavily involved. It is an amalgamation of predominantly Catholic territories and cities. The Catholic princes wanted to prevent a further advance of Protestantism. The foundation of the Jesuit college in Landsberg, which opened in 1576, also served to promote re-Catholicization. The city suffered a massacre during the Thirty Years War. Swedish troops of General Lennart Torstensson besieged the city from April 11, 1633.