Berchtesgaden: Guide

Berchtesgaden is a small, picturesque and historic town (population 9,000) located in the southeast of the Germany|German state of Bavaria, within a small enclave surrounded on three sides by the Austria|Austrian border. The town lies some 30 km south of the Austrian city of Salzburg and some 180 km south-east of Munich.

Understand

The town is located in a valley at 500 to 1100 m altitude in the south-eastern part of the German Alps and is surrounded by high mountains called Untersberg in the North, Obersalzberg in the east and further south by the Watzmann. Berchtesgaden and neighbouring Bad Reichenhall are famous for their salt mines. The production of table salt guaranteed in the medieval a save source of revenues and it still does today. Therefore, a visit to the salt mine of Berchtesgaden is definitely on the to do list.

In more recent history, the name of Berchtesgaden became well known to the general public for more unfortunate reasons: the Nazi dictator of Germany, Adolf Hitler, had his summer getaway on the peak of the Obersalzberg, which he dubbed the “Eagles Nest” - the German translation “Adlernest” is quite uncommon. All buildings and bunkers have been destroyed at the end of the World War II and nowadays a documentation centre can be found close to the place on the Obersalzberg.

Berchtesgaden has its fair share of tourism all around the year, and has remained its original charming character. House fronts around the market place, palace and elsewhere in Berchtesgaden are decorated by artistic painting featuring mountain motives and a very special house is painted with monkeys.

Despite being in a remote location, Berchtesgaden and nearby Königsee possess world class sport facilities. The bobsleigh run (Bobbahn) at Königssee is regular venue for world-cup races, but tourists also can run it down in guest-bobs. The ice arena (“Eishalle”) in Berchtesgaden is opened half the year and popular among locals and sportsmen from nearby Austria. There's a cheap combi-ticket for ice arena and “Watzmanntherme”. The Therme is just a few meters away and probably unmatched for being embedded in a spectacular scenic landscape, surrounded by mountains and snow caped peaks and features as giant action whirl pool, hydro massage facilities, salt water pools, 80m slide with light and sound effects .

Around Berchtesgaden are several slopes for skiing such as Golf and Ski am Obersalzberg, Götschen, Rossfeld and Jenner. First one is fitted for beginners, the Jenner is for advanced skiers. There are also several runs for cross-country skiing and very advanced skiers might be interested in ski touring in the Berchtesgaden Alps. From late January on sunny weather is common but the risk of avalanches is rising.

If you stay in Berchtesgaden you will have significant reduction of most entrance fees via the “Kurtaxe”.

Talk

Standard German is well understood in Bavaria; most local people, however, speak their local dialect between themselves. Being a tourist destination, English and often French are usually understood.

Get in

By plane

International travellers wishing to visit Bavaria and Berchtesgaden should have no problems to book a flight to Munich, home to a large international airport. Alternatively, if there is no direct flight to Munich with your airline, you could book a flight via Frankfurt and travel to Munich with the ICE high speed train. Alternatively you can fly to Salzburg (city)|Salzburg in Austria and travel then to Berchtesgaden via train (70 minutes) or bus (~40 minutes), both direct connections. The distances are only 20 km from Salzburg and about 190 km from Munich Airport. Crossing the German-Austrian border is no problem due to the Schengen Treaty.

By train

Berchtesgaden has a train station and is well connected to Munich and Frankfurt. From Austria, a train from Salzburg is likely the best option.

By road

Driving from Munich on the A8 to Salzburg (city)|Salzburg you find Berchtesgaden sign posted shortly before the Austrian border and it is another 20 km from there to Berchtesgaden. (If you travel in a hire car make sure that you pre-order winter equipment since most of the rental car companies in Germany provide you only with “summer wheels” which are most unsuitable in and around Berchtesgaden from October to April).

Get around

The bus system in Berchtesgaden is as good as in the rest of Bavaria: buses run twice or once an hour and you can reach the outmost places with them. Be sure to get a timetable (”Busfahrplan“).

See

Kehlstein Haus (the "Eagle's Nest") is located at 1,834 m altitude on top of Berchtesgaden and provides a marvellous and unforgettable view over the eastern alps. You can reach it by foot, public transport, but it is not accessible by car. The Kehlsteinhaus was constructed as a present for Hitler on his 50th birthday, although he visited relatively few times. However, the house is interesting as a historical site because it remains with only minor alterations from its original state. At the end of the war, the famed American 101st Airborne Division took control of the house, and it was spared from the destruction suffered by other Nazi leadership buildings in Berchtesgaden, although most of the Nazi era artifacts were looted.
Königsee is located 3 miles south of Berchtesgaden and is famous for the lake Königsee, which is the deepest lake in the alps and is surrounded by very steep mountain that raise up 2000 m above the lake level. You can make a boat trip to the other side of the lake to visit the world famous “Kloster St. Bartolomä”, the smaller lake “Obersee” and enjoy the wildlife of the national park. Hiking is very popular in summer and tours around the lake are sign posted. Routes are prepared by the “Deutsche Alpenverein” and they indicate usually how long it takes to get to your destination and they indicate how difficult they are.
Jenner Mountain is on the east side of the Königssee and due to the cable car a easy possibility to have a excellent view over the Berchtesgaden valley.
The Hintersee is a small lake in nearby Ramsau b. Berchtesgaden.
Berchtesgaden Salt Mine is one of the two saltmines in the Salzberg. The other one is on the Austrian side.
Rossfeld is 3 miles from Berchtesgaden and 1600 m high a very beautiful spot for walks in the sunshine and above the clouds or skiing. There are several restaurants that offer local food at reasonable pricing and you can rest there and take a bath in the sun on chairs that are provided on a rental bases. The Rossfeld can be reached on a toll road or by bus. The toll road is very well maintained and free of snow and ice all around the year.

Obersalzbergbahn is the second, smaller cable car in Berchtesgaden and will bring you onto the Obersalzberg but not upon it's top. The the upper station you can enjoy a summer bob sledding run.

Do