Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [303]
Getting There & Away
There are at least five direct trains daily from Munich (€27.80, 2½ hours), otherwise change in Buchloe. RVO buses 81 and 9718 run three times daily between Oberstdorf and Füssen (one-way/return €10.20/18, two hours).
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BERCHTESGADEN & BERCHTESGADENER LAND
08652 / pop 7700
Wedged into Austria and framed by six formidable mountain ranges, the Berchtesgadener Land is a drop-dead-gorgeous corner of Bavaria. Local legend has it that angels given the task of distributing the earth’s wonders were startled by God’s order to get a move on and dropped them all here. These most definitely included the Watzmann (2713m), Germany’s second-highest mountain, and the pristine Königssee, perhaps Germany’s most photogenic lake.
Much of the area is protected by law within the Berchtesgaden National Park, which was declared a ‘biosphere reserve’ by Unesco in 1990. The village of Berchtesgaden is the obvious base for hiking circuits into the park; away from the trails, the main draws are the mountaintop Eagle’s Nest, a lodge built for Hitler, and Dokumentation Obersalzberg, a museum that chronicles the region’s dark Nazi past.
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Information
Hypovereinsbank (Weihnachtsschützenplatz 21/2)
Internet Stadl (Königsseer Strasse 17; per 15min €1.50; 9am-8pm) Coin-operated, high-speed internet access.
Nationalpark office ( 643 43; www.nationalpark-berchtesgaden.de; Franziskanerplatz 7; 9am-5pm) Has a free exhibition and sells hiking maps.
Post office (Franziskanerplatz 21)
Tourist office ( 9670; www.berchtesgadener-land.info; Königsseer Strasse 2; 8.30am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm Sat, 9am-3pm Sun May–mid-Oct, 8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-noon Sat mid-Oct–Apr) Has a free room-booking service and an electronic room-reservation board outside.
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Sights
KÖNIGSSEE
Without doubt the highlight of any visit to the Berchtesgadener Land is a crossing of the emerald-green Königssee. Contained by steep mountain walls just 5km south of Berchtesgaden, it’s the country’s highest lake (603m) with pure water shimmering into fjordlike depths. Departing from the lakeside village of Schönau (take bus 839 or 841 from Berchtesgaden), Bayerische Seen-Schifffahrt ( 963 60; www.seenschifffahrt.de; return adult/child €12.50/6.30) runs electric boats year-round to St Bartholomä, a quaint onion-domed chapel on the western shore. At one point, the boat stops while the captain plays a Flügelhorn towards the amazing Echo Wall – the melody bounces back after several seconds. About an hour’s hike from the dock at St Bartholomä is the Eiskapelle (Ice Chapel), where an ice dome grows every winter to heights of over 200m. In late summer the ice melts and the water tunnels a huge opening in the solid ice.
DOKUMENTATION OBERSALZBERG
This should be the first stop on any tour of Berchtesgadener Land. A quiet mountain retreat 3km east of Berchtesgaden, Obersalzberg became the southern headquarters of Hitler’s government. The fascinating Dokumentation Obersalzberg ( 947 960; Salzbergstrasse 41; adult/child under 16yr €3/free; 9am-5pm Apr-Oct, 10am-3pm Tue-Sun Nov-Apr) leaves few stones unturned. The forced takeover of the area, the construction of the compound and the daily life of the Nazi elite are documented, and all facets of the Nazi terror regime – Hitler’s near-mythical appeal, his racial politics, the resistance movement and the death camps – are covered in extraordinary depth. A section of the underground bunker network is open for touring. Audioguides are available for €2. To get there take bus 838 from the Hauptbahnhof.
EAGLE’S NEST
Berchtesgaden’s most sinister draw is Mt Kehlstein, a sheer-sided peak at Obersalzberg where Martin Bormann, a key henchman of Hitler’s, engaged 3000 workers to build a diplomatic meeting-house for the Führer’s 50th birthday. Perched at 1834m, the innocent-looking lodge (called Kehlsteinhaus in German) occupies one of the world’s most breathtaking spots. Ironically, Hitler is said to have suffered from vertigo and rarely enjoyed