How much snow is there in the Berchtesgaden mountains? Is the sun shining? What is the situation in Berchtesgaden? Is there a lot going on at the sights? Webcams are a great way to gather inspiration for your vacation. And they help you plan excursions during your vacation. Take a look at Berchtesgaden right now and find out which season is best for a vacation here.
"Whom God loves, he lets fall into this land" the homeland novelist Ludwig Ganghofer once said. The people of Berchtesgaden are proud of this quote, because it was precisely their pretty community that poet Ganghofer was referring to. His love for the Berchtesgadener Land is also evident in no less than seven novels that he set there in the course of his career. "He called these novels "My Seven Watzmann Children. And why Watzmann now? Well, the Watzmann is the dominant mountain massif of the Berchtesgaden Alps and the landmark of Berchtesgadener Land. The town itself is located in the extreme southeast of Upper Bavaria, very close to the Austrian border, has just under 8000 inhabitants and belongs to the district town of Bad Reichenhall. The beauty of its landscape, the mountain peaks and green meadows, the mountain lakes and historic town centers have attracted many visual artists to Berchtesgaden over the centuries: Caspar David Friedrich, for example, was also taken with the Watzmann and painted it in oil in 1824. Today, Berchtesgaden's idyllic location and numerous sports and leisure activities make it a popular vacation spot not only in Bavaria, but for visitors from all over the country. Berchtesgaden National Park, with its 208 square kilometers of territorial area, is the only German national park in the Alps whose altitude differences are so great: Königssee is at 603 meters, the Watzmann at 2713 meters.
Lake Königssee in the municipality of Schönau in Berchtesgadener Land is one of the most beautiful lakes in Germany. The mighty cliffs of the Berchtesgaden Alps drop almost vertically to the shore of Lake Königsee, which measures 192 meters at its deepest point. If you want to hike extensively in the impressive natural scenery around Bavaria's most famous mountain lake, you won't make a mistake - and the echo is legendary. With its emerald green color and imposing rock faces, the elongated mountain lake looks like a Norwegian fjord in the middle of the Alps. It has a very good water quality and is considered one of the cleanest lakes in Germany. However, due to the rocky coastline, the shore of the lake is hardly accessible. You can only get from one side of the lake to the other by boat. You can swim in the Königssee already, that is, it is allowed. However, it's not a sport for warm-blooded people. Due to its depth of up to 190 meters and a length of more than seven kilometers, Lake Königssee does not get warmer than 20 degrees in midsummer, even in areas near the shore - if at all. As a hiking destination, Berchtesgaden and its surrounding area are especially popular with families: the Friedensbergweg Marktschellenberg, the tour to the Ragert Alm or the Kneifelspitz Rundweg are well suited for family hikes with children. The Berchtesgaden National Park - the only German Alpine National Park since 1978 - has a trail network of 250 kilometers with hiking trails and climbs. However, 21,000 hectares of the park are reserved for a nature conservation zone, where man does not interfere. If you also want to further your education in the summer resort: in the Grassl gentian distillery there is the possibility of visiting and tasting. Just as a hint.
First things first: Berchtesgaden is considered snow-sure between December and April. This is ensured by the Berchtesgaden Rossfeld ski area alone, which is considered the most naturally snow-sure ski area in the entire network. The ski lifts on the Obersalzberg also provide well-groomed slopes thanks to their modern snow-making system. In total, you can test six ski areas in the region, 50 kilometers of slopes are available. The Götschen ski area in the Bavarian Alps is also one of the most varied ski areas in Berchtesgadener Land. Top athletes regularly meet there for national and international ski and snowboard competitions. However, as a versatile ski resort, the Götschen serves not only professionals, but also recreational athletes, ski beginners and families with children. Well-maintained slopes of various degrees of difficulty, snow-making equipment and floodlit slope - always on Fridays - also ensure unrestrained fun on the slopes during skiing vacations.
However, if a break from the hustle and bustle is desired, snowshoeing is a great alternative: In Berchtesgaden there are many possibilities: You trudge through loose powder snow and experience peace and movement on secluded paths with impressive views of the mountains of the region. Our tip: The snowshoe hike to the Mordaualm high, seven kilometers of happiness. Once you have reached the Mordaualm, a reward beckons: from there you can enjoy the magnificent views of the Reiteralm and Hochkalter as well as the wide expanses of the Taubensee district. Finally, a visit to the salt mine in Berchtesgaden is possible all year round and is a must: it has not only been the town's largest employer since 1517, but is also one of the most popular excursion destinations in Bavaria.
The Berchtesgaden climate is described as a thermally and actinically charming high mountain climate, which is also characterized by foehn winds. This means that Berchtesgaden is a dream destination for winter sports enthusiasts, but not so much for sun worshippers and permanent tanners. The average annual temperature is 7.2 °C. The warmest month is July with an average of 16.3 °C, the coldest January with an average of -2.7 °C. The difference between the maximum and the minimum, the amplitude, is 19.0 °C. The annual precipitation of 1514 millimeters is above the German average of 700 millimeters. For summer visitors, the classically warm months of June, July and August are likely to be the best time to travel, and for winter visitors there is guaranteed snow on the slopes between December and April.
Cover photo: On the Hirschau peninsula in Königssee stands the ensemble St. Bartholomä with the famous pilgrimage church and the former hunting lodge © Berchtesgadener Land Tourismus
