Chiemsee () is a freshwater lake in

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 Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, near

Rosenheim Rosenheim is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is an independent city located in the centre of the district of Rosenheim (Upper Bavaria), and is also the seat of its administration. It is located on the west bank of the Inn at the confluence of th ...

. It is often called "the Bavarian Sea". The rivers Tiroler Achen and Prien flow into the lake from the south, and the river Alz flows out towards the north. The Alz flows into the

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 ...

which then merges with the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

. The Chiemsee is divided into the bigger, north section, in the northeast, called , and the , in the southwest. The Chiemgau, the region surrounding the Chiemsee, is a popular recreation area. Karte Chiemgau

Origin

The Chiemsee was formed, like many other pre-alpine lakes, at the end of the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

about 10,000 years ago from a hollow carved out by a

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

(a ). Originally the lake covered an area of almost , which is about three times its present area. Within 10,000 years its area had shrunk to around . Before 1904 the water level was lowered by about a metre. As a result, large areas of dry land were reclaimed.

Islands

There are three main islands on the lake: Herreninsel ("gentlemen's island"), the largest, with an area of ; Frauenchiemsee, , also called ''Fraueninsel'' ("ladies' island"); and uninhabited Krautinsel ("cabbage island"), , called this name because in the Middle Ages it was cultivated with cabbages and other vegetables. *

Herreninsel Herreninsel (; old name: Herrenwörth) is a 238 hectare island in Bavaria's largest lake, Chiemsee. It is the biggest of three main islands, Fraueninsel and "Krautinsel" joining it to form the municipality of Chiemsee. Herreninsel is famous fo ...

has a palace built by King

Ludwig II Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the ...

in 1878 called , which was never completed but was meant to be a replica of the Palace of Versailles. Many of its rooms are open to tourists; tours of the palace and its extensive grounds are conducted throughout the summer. *

Frauenchiemsee The island Frauenchiemsee, often called Fraueninsel (), is the second largest of the three islands in Chiemsee, Germany. It belongs to the municipality of Chiemsee in the Upper Bavarian district of Rosenheim, which is the smallest municipality in ...

, the smaller of the two main islands, houses a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

nunnery, built in 782, as well as a small village. The nuns make a liquor called ("cloister liquor") and marzipan (

almond paste Almond paste is made from ground almonds or almond meal and sugar in equal quantities, with small amounts of cooking oil, beaten eggs, heavy cream or corn syrup added as a binder. It is similar to ''marzipan'', but has a coarser texture. Almond pas ...

). The smallest island in the lake is the west of Frauenchiemsee, which is of square outline, with a side length of only or an area of . This tiny island had probably been created artificially to mark a shallow spot for sailboats. There is a

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

on the island, originally planted in 1935, and replaced by a young tree in the 2000s. File:chiemsee010.jpg, View across the Chiemsee with the

Chiemgau Alps The Chiemgau Alps (german: Chiemgauer Alpen) are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps and therefore belong to the Eastern Alps. Their major part is situated in Bavaria, Germany and only a small section crosses the Austrian border into t ...

in the background File:Chiemsee Fraueninsel 323.jpg,

with the former Monastery "Kloster Herrenchiemsee

File:Aerial image of the Fraueninsel.jpg, Frauenchiemsee, Fraueninsel with Monastery "Frauenchiemsee

in the foreground File:Chiemsee021.jpg, :de:Krautinsel, Krautinsel with (right) a small part of the

island and in the background the Chiemgau Alps

AFRC Lake Hotel

On 1 September 1938 the first Autobahn rest house opened on the A8 on the outskirts of Bernau am Chiemsee on the lake’s southern shore. From 1945 until 2 September 2003 the building served as an

Armed Forces Recreation Center Armed Forces Recreation Centers (AFRCs) are a chain of Joint Service Facility resorts hotels owned by the United States Department of Defense to provide rest and relaxation in the form of lodging and outdoor recreation for United States military s ...

called the Lake Hotel. The building is now an orthopaedic clinic.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Lakes of Bavaria Ramsar sites in Germany Tourist attractions in Bavaria LChiemsee