The Karwendel is the largest
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...
of the
Northern Limestone Alps
The Northern Limestone Alps (german: Nördliche Kalkalpen), also called the Northern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germa ...
. The major part belongs to the
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...
n federal state of
Tyrol
Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
, while the adjacent area in the north is part of
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
,
Germany. Four
chains
A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...
stretch from west to east; in addition, there are a number of fringe ranges and an extensive
promontory
A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the sof ...
(''Vorkarwendel'') in the north.
Geography
The term Karwendel describes the part of the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
between the
Isar
The Isar is a river in Tyrol, Austria, and Bavaria, Germany, which is not navigable for watercraft above raft size. Its source is in the Karwendel range of the Alps in Tyrol; it enters Germany near Mittenwald and flows through Bad Tölz, Muni ...
river and the
Seefeld Saddle mountain pass in the west and
Achen Lake
Lake Achen (german: Achensee) is a lake north of Jenbach in Tyrol, Austria. It is the largest lake within the federal state, and has a maximal depth of 133 metres. Together with the Achen Valley it parts the Karwendel mountain range in the wes ...
in the east. In the north it stretches to the
Bavarian Prealps
The Bavarian Prealps (german: Bayerische Voralpen) are a mountain range within the Northern Limestone Alps in south Germany. They include the Bavarian Prealp region between the river Loisach to the west and the river Inn to the east; the range i ...
. In the south the
Lower Inn Valley
The Lower Inn Valley (german: Unterinntal) is that part of the Inntal valley through which the Inn river flows from a point a few kilometres west of Innsbruck near its confluence with the Melach downstream to a few kilometres before Rosenheim. ...
with the city of
Innsbruck
Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a po ...
separates the Karwendel from the
Central Eastern Alps
The Central Eastern Alps (german: Zentralalpen or Zentrale Ostalpen), also referred to as Austrian Central Alps (german: Österreichische Zentralalpen) or just Central Alps, comprise the main chain of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the adjacent ...
. Other major settlements include
Seefeld in Tirol
Seefeld in Tirol is an old farming village, now a major tourist resort, in Innsbruck-Land District in the Austrian state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol with a local population of 3,312 (as of 1 January 2013). The village is located about northwest of Inn ...
and
Mittenwald
Mittenwald is a German municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria.
Geography
Mittenwald is located approximately 16 kilometres to the south-east of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It is situated in the Valley of the River Isar ...
in the west, as well as
Eben am Achensee in the east. Neighbouring ranges are the
Wetterstein and
Mieming Mountains in the west and the
Brandenberg Alps in the east.
The mountaineer
Hermann von Barth created the tradition of naming the Karwendel chains ranges after the valleys limiting them in the south: Karwendel valley,
Hinterau valley and Vomper Loch, Gleirsch valley,
Hall
In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gre ...
valley, and
Inn
Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...
valley:
*
Northern Karwendel Chain
*
Hinterautal-Vomper Chain (a.k.a. main Karwendel Range),
*
Gleirsch-Halltal Chain
*
Nordkette (a.k.a. Solstein Range or Inn Valley Range).
Side ranges are the
Erlspitze Group, Soiern Group and Vorkarwendel, Falken Group, Gamsjoch Group and Sonnjoch Group.
Peaks
There are 125 peaks in the Karwendel that reach heights of over 2,000 metres. The most important are listed below together with some notable peaks between 1,800 and 2,000 metres high.
*
Birkkarspitze 2,749 m
*
Ödkarspitze, middle top 2,745 m
*
Kaltwasserkarspitze 2,733 m
* Großer Bettelwurf 2,725 m
* Großer Lafatscher 2,696 m
* Große Seekarspitze 2,679 m
*
Hintere Bachofenspitze 2,668 m
* Grubenkarspitze 2,663 m
*
Kleiner Solstein 2,637 m
* Speckkarspitze 2,621 m
*
Hintere Brandjochspitze 2,599 m
*
Hohe Warte 2,596 m
* Laliderer Spitze 2,583 m
* Jägerkarspitze, south top 2,579 m
* Sonntagkarspitze 2,575 m
* Pleisenspitze 2,567 m
*
Vordere Brandjochspitze 2,559 m
* Hochnissl 2,546 m
* Stempeljochspitze 2,543 m
*
Großer Solstein 2,540 m
*
Östliche Karwendelspitze 2,537 m
*
Vogelkarspitze 2,523 m
*
Lamsenspitze 2,508 m
* Hoher Gleiersch 2,491 m
*
Wörner 2,476 m
*
Sonnjoch 2,457 m
* Gamsjoch 2,452 m
*
Erlspitze 2,404 m
* Kuhkopf 2,390 m
*
Westliche Karwendelspitze 2,385 m
*
Steinfalk 2,348 m
*
Freiungen, west top, 2,332 m
* Suntiger Spitze 2,321 m
*
Schaufelspitze 2,308 m
*
Hafelekarspitze
The Hafelekarspitze is a mountain in the so-called North Chain (''Nordkette'') north of Innsbruck in Austria.
Location and landscape
Below and west of the summit is the top station of ''Hafelekar'', the second section of the Nordkette Cable ...
2,269 m
*
Soiernspitze 2,257 m
*
Rotwandlspitze 2,192 m
*
Brunnsteinspitze 2,191 m
*
Schafreuter 2,102 m
* Fleischbank 2,026 m
* Grasbergjoch 2,020 m
* Torkopf 2,012 m
* Hölzelstaljoch 2,012 m
* Kompar 2,011 m
*
Mondscheinspitze 2,106 m
*
Juifen 1,988 m
* Schönalmjoch 1,986 m
*
Demeljoch 1,924 m
* Dürrnbergjoch 1,835 m
Alpine huts
In the Karwendel, of the 21
Alpine huts
A mountain hut is a building located high in the mountains, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club or some organization ...
, 18 are run by the
German or
Austrian Alpine Clubs:
*Aspach Hut (OeAV Innsbruck)
*Bettelwurf Hut (OeAV Innsbruck)
*Brunnstein Hut (DAV Mittenwald)
*Dammkar Hut (private)
*Falken Hut (DAV Oberland/Munich)
*Hallerangerhaus (DAV Schwaben)
*Hochland Hut (DAV Hochland/Munich)
*Höttinger Alm (private)
*Karwendelhaus (DAV Männer-Turnverein Munich)
*Krinner Kofler Hut (DAV Mittenwald)
*Lamsenjoch Hut (DAV Oberland/Munich)
*Magdeburger Hut (new) (DAV Geltendorf)
*Mittenwalder Hut (DAV Mittenwald)
*Nördlinger Hut (DAV Nördlingen)
*Pfeis Hut (OeAV Innsbruck)
*Pleisen Hut (private)
*Rotwandl Hut (DAV Neuland/Munich)
*Seewald Hut (DAV Achensee)
*Soiernhaus (DAV Hochland/Munich)
*Solsteinhaus (OeAV Innsbruck)
*Tölzer Hut (DAV Bad Tölz)
External links
Alpenpark KarwendelKarwendel travel guideWikivoyage
Wikivoyage is a free web-based travel guide for travel destinations and travel topics written by volunteer authors. It is a sister project of Wikipedia and supported and hosted by the same non-profit Wikimedia Foundation (WMF). Wikivoyage has ...
Northern Karwendel Chain
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Mountain ranges of the Alps
Northern Limestone Alps
Mountain ranges of Tyrol (state)
Innsbruck-Land District
Mountain ranges of Bavaria