Wallerstein, Bavaria

Wallerstein is a municipality and former principality in the district of Donau-Ries in Bavaria in Germany.

It was first mentioned in 1238 as Steinheim. For generations ruled by the House of Oettingen-Wallerstein, in 1806 Wallerstein became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria by the process of mediatisation. The family still owns the Wallerstein Castle and its surrounding land.

Mayors

 * 1972-2002: Manfred Schürer
 * since 2002: Joseph Mayer

Culture and Sights

 * Castle Wallerstein
 * Castle rock
 * Old Jewish burial ground
 * One of only three German Marian and Holy Trinity columns

Notable inhabitants

 * Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller (1579-1654), born in Wallerstein and later Rabbi of Prague, Nemirow and Krakow. He published a three-volume Mishnah commentary which is studied to this day.
 * Louis of Oettingen-Wallerstein (1791-1870), Bavarian statesman and prince
 * William Berczy (1744-1813), painter, colonist and architect, co-founder of Toronto
 * German General Theodor Busse
 * Bernhard Mettenleiter (1822-1901), organist and composer