Königsee

Königsee - David M. photo

Germany - Königsee - David M. photo

“If I’d lost my geographical bearings, I’d say that we were in Norway, and that the Königsee, in the heart of the Bavarian Alps, was actually a beautiful, meandering fjord. Not even close! It exists as a result of the geological history of this park of the Alps: The surrounding mountains used to form a flat plateau several thousand meters high – its memory is preserved by the symbol of the Berchtesgaden Alps, the Watzmann, at 2713 meters high. During the ice age, however, glaciers dug huge valleys into this plateau, and the Königsee valley is one of these. As the glacier retreated, the waters flowing down from the mountaintops formed the Königsee lake. The Obersee lake, a little further up the valley, is separated from the main lake by the moraine, or glacial debris, left by the glacier after it melted.

As the high, steep mountains rise above the turquoise mirror of the lake’s surface, so the sides of the lake continue to plunge steeply underwater: that bright turquoise color gives on indication that the lake’s deepest point is 190m below the surface! The lake is part of the Berchtesgaden National Park, and to protect the natural environment, only boats powered by electricity are allowed on the lake. This means that it may be the cleanest lake in Germany, and the water is classed as drinkable!

It isn’t possible to walk around the whole lake, which means we’re dependent on the boat – if you want to walk all the parts that are accessible, then you’ll definitely need a whole day to do it. :) (2018)

Shopping

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Königsee - souvenirs - f.e. photo

Others

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Germany - Königsee - David M. photo

Germany - Königsee - David M. photo

Destination in brief

Königsee is a lake in Bavaria, Germany, at the Austrian border. The lake is often called the Pearl of the Bavarian Alps. Königsee is a bare 2 hours drive distance from Munich.

Size: 5.218 km² (2.015 mi²)

Length: 7,7 km (4,7 mi)

Nowadays

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Königsee - tourism - f.e. photo