The
Berchtesgaden Alps are a mountain range of the
Northern Limestone AlpsThe Northern Limestone Alps are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germany. The distinction from the latter group, where the higher peaks are located, is based on differences in geological composition...
, named after the market town of
BerchtesgadenBerchtesgaden is a municipality in the German Bavarian Alps. It is located in the south district of Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria, near the border with Austria, some 30 km south of Salzburg and 180 km southeast of Munich...
located in the centre. The central part belongs to the
Berchtesgadener LandBerchtesgadener Land is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the district of Traunstein and by the state of Austria.- History :The alpine regions of the south were Bavarian territory from the early Middle Ages. The 11th and 12th centuries saw the founding of numerous mountain villages...
district of southeastern
BavariaBavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, while the adjacent area in the north, east and south is part of the
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n state of
SalzburgSalzburg is a state or Land of Austria with an area of 7,156 km2, located adjacent to the German border. It is also known as Salzburgerland, to distinguish it from its capital city, also named Salzburg...
(Salzburgerland).
Geography
The range is bounded by the
SaalachThe Saalach is a long river in Austria and Germany, and a left tributary of the Salzach.- Course :The river begins, as the Saalbach stream, in the Austrian state of Tyrol in the Kitzbühel Alps at the Torsee lake below the 2,178 m high Gamshag...
river in the west and the
SalzachThe Salzach is a river in Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Inn and is 225 kilometres in length.The river's name is derived from the German word Salz, meaning "salt". Until the 19th century shipping of salt down the river was an important part of the local economy...
in the east. Its northernmost peak is the
UntersbergThe Untersberg is a mountain massif of the Berchtesgaden Alps that straddles the border between Berchtesgaden, Germany and Salzburg, Austria.The mountain is popular with tourists due to its proximity to the city of Salzburg: less than 16 km to the north and within easy reach by bus, for...
south of
Salzburg-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
. Surrounding ranges are:
- the Salzkammergut Mountains to the east
- the Tennengebirge
The Tennengebirge is a small, but rugged, mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps, which lies in front of the Eastern Alps for its entire length. It is a very heavily karstified high plateau, about 60 km² in area, with many caves...
to the southeast
- the Salzburg Slate Alps to the south
- the Kitzbühel Alps to the southwest
- the Loferer
The Loferer Steinberge are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps in the Eastern Alps of central Europe. They are located in Austria in the federal states of Tyrol and Salzburg...
and Leoganger SteinbergeThe Leoganger Steinberge are a mountain range in Austria in the state of Salzburg and form part of the Northern Limestone Alps within the Eastern Alps...
to the west
- the Chiemgau Alps
The Chiemgau Alps are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps and therefore belong to the Eastern Alps. Their major part is situated in Bavaria, Germany and only a small section crosses the Austrian border into the states of Salzburg and Tirol...
to the northwest
Mountains and lakes
While the highest mountain of the Berchtesgaden Alps is the
HochkönigHochkönig is the name applied to the highest mountain in the Berchtesgaden Alps, Salzburgerland, Austria, , and also to the surrounding mountain group as a whole.-Location:...
(2941 metres (9,649 ft)) located in the Austrian part, the best known peak is the
WatzmannThe Watzmann is the third highest mountain in Germany, and the highest peak standing entirely within Germany. Its three main peaks are Hocheck , Mittelspitze and Südspitze .The Watzmann massive also includes the...
massif, the third-highest mountain of Germany at 2713 metres (8,900.9 ft). The range also comprises the
ObersalzbergObersalzberg is a mountainside retreat situated above the market town of Berchtesgaden in Bavaria, Germany, located about southeast of Munich, close to the border with Austria...
slope east of Berchtesgaden, notorious for the former Berghof domicile of
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
. The picturesque heart is the glacial
KönigsseeThe Königssee is a lake located in the extreme southeast Berchtesgadener Land district of the German state of Bavaria, near the border with Austria...
lake with the famous
St. Bartholomew's pilgrimage churchSt. Bartholomä is a Catholic pilgrimage church in the Berchtesgadener Land district of Bavaria in Germany. It named for Saint Bartholomew the Apostle , patron of alpine farmers and dairymen. The church is located at the western shore of the Königssee lake, on the Hirschau peninsula...
, part of the Berchtesgaden National Park established in 1978. The range also comprises glaciers like the
BlaueisThe Blaueis is the northernmost glacier in the Alps and lies within the municipality of Ramsau in the Bavarian part of the Berchtesgaden Alps...
as well as the
Steinernes MeerThe Steinernes Meer is a high karst plateau in the Northern Limestone Alps. As one of the nine sub-ranges of the Berchtesgaden Alps the Steinernes Meer belongs partly to Bavaria and partly to Salzburg.- Location :...
high karst plateau.
Other major peaks include:
- Hochkalter
At , the Hochkalter in the Berchtesgaden Alps is the highest peak in the massif of the same name and therefore one of the highest mountains in Germany. The massif is also called the Hochkaltergebirge, Hochkalterstock or Hochkaltermassiv....
, 2,607 m.
- Großer Hundstod
The Große Hundstod is, at 2,593 metres, one of the main peaks in the Steinernes Meer in the Berchtesgaden Alps, and lies on the border between Bavaria and the Austrian state of Salzburg.- Location :...
, 2,593 m.
- Funtenseetauern
The Funtenseetauern is a 2,579 m high border peak between Germany and Austria on the northern edge of the Steinernes Meer, one of the nine massifs of the Berchtesgaden Alps. The Funtenseetauern rises south of Berchtesgaden, its broad shoulder towering over the lakes of Königssee and Obersee...
, 2,578 m.
- Hocheisspitze
The Hocheisspitze is a 2,523 m high mountain in the Berchtesgaden Alps, over which the border between Germany and Austria runs. It is also the highest mountain in the eponymous Hocheis Group that belongs to the Hochkalter Massif....
, 2,523 m.
- Hoher Göll
Hoher Göll is a 2,522 m mountain in the Bavarian Alps which stradles the border between Bavaria, Germany and Salzburg, Austria. Rising above Obersalzberg near Berchtesgaden, the mountain is situated east of the Königsee, opposite the Watzmann....
, 2,522 m.
- Großes Teufelshorn
The Teufelshörner are pair of mountains on the German-Austrian border in the Berchtesgaden Alps. The two peaks, which form a mountain ridge, are the Großer Teufelshorn and the Kleiner Teufelshorn .- Situation :The Großer Teufelshorn is the higher and more northerly summit of the two...
, 2,361 m.
- Kahlersberg
The Kahlersberg is a 2,350 metre high mountain in the Northern Limestone Alps in the Berchtesgaden Alps on the border between Germany and Austria ....
, 2,350 m.
- Stadelhorn
The Stadelhorn is the highest and most prominent peak in the Reiter Alm on the Austro-German border, lying on the boundary between the states of Bavaria and Salzburg.The Stadelhorn is a popular, but rather exposed hiking summit....
, 2,286 m.
Literature
- Heinrich Bauregger: Berchtesgadener Land, Rother Wanderführer, Bergverlag Rother
Bergverlag Rother is a German publisher with its headquarters in Oberhaching, Upper Bavaria. Since 1950 the company, that formerly went udern the name of Bergverlag Rudolf Rother, has published the Alpine Club Guides in cooperation with the German Alpine Club , the Austrian Alpine Club and the...
, Munich, ISBN 978-3-7633-4226-6
- Bernhard Kühnhauser: Berchtesgadener Alpen, Rother Alpenvereinsführer alpin, Bergverlag Rother, Munich, ISBN 978-3-7633-1127-9 appeared in October 08
External links