Grainau (

Southern Bavarian Southern Bavarian or South Bavarian, is a cluster of Upper German dialects of the Bavarian group. They are primarily spoken in Tyrol (i.e. the Austrian federal state of Tyrol and the Italian province of South Tyrol), in Carinthia and in t ...

: ''Groana'') is a municipality in the district of

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; ) is an Northern Limestone Alps, Alpine mountain resort, ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district), district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ...

, in southern

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is located at the foot of the

Zugspitze The Zugspitze ( , ; ), at above Normalhöhennull, sea level, is the highest peak of the Wetterstein Mountains and the highest mountain in Germany. It lies south of the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, and the Austria–Germany border ...

mountain, the tallest mountain in Germany in the sub-mountain range of the

Wetterstein The Wetterstein mountains (), colloquially called Wetterstein, is a mountain group in the Northern Limestone Alps within the Eastern Alps, crossing the Austria–Germany border. It is a comparatively compact range located between Gar ...

Alps which is a branch off the main mountain range it is connected to, the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. Lake

Eibsee Eibsee (" yew lake") is a lake in Bavaria, Germany, 9 km southwest of Garmisch-Partenkirchen and roughly 100 km southwest of Munich. It is above sea-level and its surface area is . It is at the northerly base of the Zugspitze ( above s ...

in Grainau lies at the foot of the Zugspitze surrounded by forest.

Geography

Grainau lies at the foot of the

in the

Wetterstein Mountains The Wetterstein mountains (), colloquially called Wetterstein, is a mountain group in the Northern Limestone Alps within the Eastern Alps, crossing the Austria–Germany border. It is a comparatively compact range located between Garmi ...

. It is part of the seven municipalities of the former

County of Werdenfels The County of Werdenfels (German: ''Grafschaft Werdenfels'') in the present-day Werdenfelser Land in South Germany was a county that enjoyed imperial immediacy that belonged to the Bishopric of Freising from the late 13th century until the seculari ...

, along with

Farchant Farchant is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. Transport The district has a railway station, , on the Munich–Garmisch-Partenkirchen railway The Munich–Garmisch-Partenkirchen railway is a single tra ...

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, ...

Krün Krün is a municipality in the Upper Bavarian district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It belongs with Garmisch-Partenkirchen as district capital and cultural center as well as other municipalities to the region Werdenfelser Land. A few kilometers sout ...

and

Wallgau Wallgau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. Population Growth :''*Statistics according to the Bavarian government, as of 2007.'' Demographics :''*Statistics according to the Bavarian gov ...

. Grainau is also home to two mountain lakes, the Badersee and the

Waxenstein Waxenstein is a mountain of Bavaria, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States ...

mountain sits to the south, while the Kramerspitz mountain and

Ammergau Alps The Ammergau Alps ( or ''Ammergebirge'') are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps in the states of Bavaria (Germany) and Tyrol (state), Tyrol (Austria). They cover an area of about 30 x 30 km and begin at the outer edge of the A ...

sit to the north. The district of Grainau is made up of: * Obergrainau (parish village) * Untergrainau and Hammersbach (church village) * Schmölz (village) * Eibsee (hamlet)

Notable people

Lorenzo Quaglio the Younger Lorenzo Quaglio the Younger (19 December 1793, Munich – 15 March 1869) was a genre paintings, genre painter and lithographer, born in Munich in the Electorate of Bavaria to the long Italian people, Italian pedigree of Quaglios. Life Quaglio stud ...

(1793–1869) painter and lithographer, painted ''Alm am Eibsee bey Grainau'' in 1831 *

Alfred Gerstenberg Alfred Gerstenberg (6 April 1893, in Grainau – 1 January 1959, in Bad Tölz) was a general of the Nazi German Luftwaffe (air force) in World War II, serving as commanding general of the Luftwaffe mission to Romania, and organizing a very effect ...

(1893 in Grainau – 1959 in Bad Tölz) Luftwaffe general *

Wilhelm Rudolf Mann Wilhelm Rudolf Mann (4 April 1894 – 10 March 1992) was a German business executive for IG Farben and later with Bayer. He was a supporter and member of the Nazi Party, and was involved in financing the human medical experiments of Josef Mengel ...

(1894 in Wiesbaden – 1992 in Grainau) factory manager for

IG Farben I. G. Farbenindustrie AG, commonly known as IG Farben, was a German Chemical industry, chemical and Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical conglomerate (company), conglomerate. It was formed on December 2, 1925 from a merger of six chemical co ...

and later with Bayer *

Hans Stuck Hans Erich Karl Josef Stuck (; sometimes called Hans Stuck von Villiez; 27 December 1900 – 9 February 1978) was a German motor racing driver. Both his son Hans-Joachim Stuck (born 1951) and his grandsons Johannes and Ferdinand Stuck became ...

(1900 in Warsaw – 1978 in Grainau) motor racing driver * Peter Schneider (born 1940, in Lübeck) writer, lived in Grainau from 1945 to 1950 *

Pepi Bader Josef "Pepi" Bader (29 May 1941 – 30 October 2021) was a West German bobsledder who competed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was born in Grainau. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won silver medals in the two-man event b ...

(born 1941 in Grainau) bobsledder, competed in the

1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. The 1968 Winter Games marked the first time ...

and

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside ...

winning silver medals in the two-man event *

Regina Stiefl Regina Stiefl is a German mountain biker. She competed in the 1990s, in both cross-country and downhill mountain biking. She won the German National Mountain Bike Championships for women's cross-country in 1991 and 1993. She returned to the n ...

(born 1966 in Grainau) mountain biker

References

Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district) {{GarmischPartenkirchendistrict-geo-stub