Stadt Wasserburg am Inn

Referred to historically in 1324, the Market church is the oldest church in the town. The inside of what used to be a place of pilgrimage,  was refurbished in barock style in 1753, although the gothic character of the church remained despite the removal of the main gothic elements. Of particular importance is the gothic picture of the Merciful Mother of God, in the style of  “The beautiful Madonna” from approximately 1420. The barock version of the church decoration which was first discovered in 1912/13, was restored in the same style in 1974/75. The 65 metre tower used to be the watch tower – hence the coat of arms showing the lion and tower.

The spanning of the river at its narrowest part, providing a permanent connection between opposite sides of the town, was thanks to the prosperity and privileges bestowed in the heyday of the middle ages. According to records dating from 1338, the wooden bridge was destroyed almost annually by floating ice. The last recorded such occurance was in 1929. The current bridge was then built as a replacement and the main sections were renewed once again in 1982/83.

The hospital buildings on either side of the Bridge Gate were built before 1338 by the ducal guardian, Zacharias von Höhenrain. It was rebuilt as the Hospital of the Holy Ghost in 1341, two years after a fire devastated large areas of the town, and was renewed once again following further fire damage in 1380. The foundation´s purpose was fulfilled by 1970: besides its function as a hospital, the foundation provided shelter and funds for the destitute and for old people without care. The rooms on the right hand side of the gate remained empty for 40 years. Following renovation, the foundation´s purpose was continued in the form of specially adapted old peoples homes. The left hand side of the building complex has housed the Imaginäre Museum since 1978. The church, built as part of this complex, now houses one of the town´s most valuable works of art: a wooden altar carving by an unknown craftsman, from around 1500, depicting the Whitsuntide miracles.

Old “Wasserburg”  mentioned in a history book from 1085 as “Wazzerburch”, continued to be extended from the middle of the 12 century as the seat of the Wasserburger Hallgrafen. Its outpost and main fortress building were protected on the west and east sides by a deep ditch and by the cliffs on the south and north sides. The entrance was protected by a large fortified gate. Ludwig the Bearded from Bayern-Ingolstadt further reinforced the fortifications of the whole area in 1415 making it virtually impregnable. Duke Wilhelm IV rebuilt the fort into a ducal residence between 1531 and 1537. The castle chapel of St. Ägidien was built in its present day form in the second half of the 15th century. The castle now houses an old people´s home, therefore viewing for visitors is restricted.

The parish church of St. Jakob was rebuilt after 1410 on the same site as the first town church from 1255. The following master builders worked on this building until its completion in 1478: Hans Stethaimer, Hans von Burghausen (builder of the St. Martin´s monastery in Landshut), Stefan Krumenauer (master builder for the archbishop of Salzburg) and Wolfgang Wieser, the Wasserburger master builder whose particular responsibility was the construction of the church tower. The inside of the building has often been changed. Following their survival of the plague in 1634, the brothers Zürn renovated the church as vowed by the citizens, in a splendid renaissance style from which only the original pulpit remained. The gravestones of many important citizens and civil servants can be seen inside the church and on the outside walls, and a traditional representation of the healing process in the form of  “the tree of life” can be seen on the outside wall of the chancel.

The Red Tower, integrated in the old city wall, stands today as the last gate house of the city fortifications on the spot where an earlier abutting wall which ran northwards to the Inn to protect the town from attack from the landward side at low water was. The city slaughterhouse (the Freibank) was built in the middle of the 19th century against the wall leading to the Hungerturm. Similar towers stood earlier at the end of Tränkgaase, Gerblgasse and Bahnhofsplatz (railway station square).