Chiemgau is the common name of a geographic area in Upper Bavaria

Upper Bavaria

Upper Bavaria is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany.- Geography :Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered around the city of Munich. It is subdivided into four regions : Ingolstadt, Munich, Bayerisches Oberland , and Südostoberbayern...

. It refers to the foothills of the Alps

Alps

The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

 between the rivers Inn and Traun, with lake Chiemsee

Chiemsee

Chiemsee is a freshwater lake in Bavaria, Germany, between Rosenheim, Germany, and Salzburg, Austria. It is often called the Bavarian Sea. The rivers Tiroler Achen and Prien flow into the lake; the river Alz, out of it...

 at its center. The political districts that contain the Chiemgau are Rosenheim

Rosenheim (district)

Rosenheim is a Kreis in the south of Bavaria, Germany.Neighboring districts are, clockwise from the west, Miesbach, Munich, Ebersberg, Mühldorf, and Traunstein, with the Austrian province Tirol across the southern border....

 and Traunstein

Traunstein (district)

Traunstein is a Kreis in the southeastern part of Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are Mühldorf, Altötting, the Austrian states Upper Austria and Salzburg, the district Berchtesgadener Land, the Austrian states of Salzburg and Tyrol, and the district Rosenheim.-Geography:The district is...

. Wendelstein

Wendelstein

Wendelstein refers to* Wendelstein, a mountain in the Chiemgau * Wendelstein, Bavaria, a town in the district of Roth in Bavaria, Germany...

 is the name of a famous mountain close by but not strictly in the Chiemgau, while Kampenwand is actually the most inviting peak south of Chiemsee.

Explanation of the name

The name Chiemgau and Chiemsee

Chiemsee

Chiemsee is a freshwater lake in Bavaria, Germany, between Rosenheim, Germany, and Salzburg, Austria. It is often called the Bavarian Sea. The rivers Tiroler Achen and Prien flow into the lake; the river Alz, out of it...

together with the place name Chieming

Chieming

Chieming is a municipality in the district of Traunstein in Bavaria, Germany.- Etymology :The name Chieming, Chiemsee and the name of the area Chiemgau go back to the Old High German personal name Chiemo...

allegedly go back to the Old High German personal name Chiemo (7th/8th century). At the end of the 8th century the name Chiemgau appeared for the first time in documents as Chimigaoe but it stood at that time for a smaller area around the village of Chieming.

History

From the New Stone Age to the Bronze

Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...

 and Iron Age

Iron Age

The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...

s humans have left their traces in the Chiemgau.
After that this region was settled by the Celts and later by the Romans. The Romans settled mainly near the river Alz and made a crossing for their Roman road which goes from Salzburg to Augsburg at Seebruck (Bedaium).
At that time the Chiemgau was on the outskirts of the Roman province of 'Noricum'.
The Chiemgau was for a long time closely connected with the Bavarian dukes and also the princebishops of Salzburg.

After the secularisation of 1803 the whole Chiemgau district became part of Bavaria.

The Chiemgau is a source of wood, iron and salt. The production of salt, which existed from 1619 till 1912, had a big cultural and economical influence on the Chiemgau.

The Chiemgau has traditionally been horse breeding country, especially workhorses.

Nature and geography

The ice-age, which took place 15000 years ago, formed the foothills of the Alps and the moranic landscape.
For this reason the Chiemgau is a hilly countryside with numerous grasslands, forests and fens; additional there are plenty of lakes of which the biggest one is the Chiemsee.
The biggest mountains are almost 2000m high.