bavarikon4UDescription
The copperplate engraving by Michael Wening (1645-1718) shows the castle and the market town of Hals. Since the 13th century, this was the seat of the county of Hals, which fell to the Wittelsbach dynasty in 1517. The Counts of Hals were able to acquire some smaller possessions, which were located in eastern and southern Lower Bavaria. Until it was incorporated into Passau in 1972, the market town of Hals remained independent. The castle is preserved as a ruin.
The engraving appeared in the four-volume series "Historico-Topographica Descriptio", for which Wening had produced a total of 846 images and descriptions of Bavarian towns, monasteries, and castles since 1696. On behalf of the Court and the estates, he created a comprehensive description of the Duchy and Electorate of Bavaria. As they were intended to be representative, the topographical representations are often depicted in an idealised way on the one hand, while on the other hand they often offer a high degree of accuracy. The copper plates worked on by Wening are now kept by the Bavarian State Office for Digitizing, Broadband and Survey in Munich.