King's Lake, Germany

King's Lake is located in Schönau am Königssee in Bavaria, Germany in the Alps. It is part of the Berchtesgaden State Park and close to the Austrian city of Salzburg. It is the third deepest lake in Germany. It begins as a rift valley during the Jurassic period, formed by glaciers from the last Ice Age. It stretches approximately 7.7 km in the north-south direction and is approximately 1.7 km at its widest point. Apart from the outlet of the Königssee Asser River in the village of Königssee, the lake is fjord-like and is surrounded by steeply rising mountains reaching up to 2,700 metres, including the Wössmann Massif in the west. The literal translation of the king's name seems to be "King's Lake". However in German: Königs does mean "king", but there had been no Bavarian king since the time of Louis the German, until Elector Maximilian I Joseph received the royal title in 1806. Therefore, the name is more likely to come from local nobles, who appear in some historical materials, referring to the donation of the Berchtesgaden diocese in the 12th century. The lake was originally called Lake König, and it was recently discovered that the name Lake König has been restored on Google Maps. Königssee is famous for its clear water and is advertised as the cleanest lake in Germany. Therefore, since 1909, only electric passenger boats, rowing boats and pedal boats are allowed on the lake. Since there are no lakeside paths along the steep shores of Lake Königssee, St. Bartholomew and the southern edge can only be reached by boat or via hiking trails into the surrounding mountains, unless the lake freezes over during severe winters. Therefore, King Lake has become the only lake in the Alps that I know of that can only be viewed in its entirety by boat. So even though the scenic area is free, you actually need to pay for the boat fare. The maximum round-trip fare for one person is 20 Euros, and there are also discounted tickets for children, family tickets, etc. The boat will first pass the island of St. John in the north. As it continues, the surrounding transparent rock walls produce echoes, which are famous for their clarity. It has become a tradition for the boatman to stop and play the flute or trumpet to show the echoes. This was previously demonstrated by firing a cannon, with up to seven reverberations heard. When the trumpeter and the echoes together produce the sound, it seems that there are as many as seven players. There is a hotel near the famous pilgrimage church of St. Bartholomew, located on a peninsula, about halfway along the shore of West Lake. To the south of the Königstal, separated from the Salert Moraine, is the smaller Obersee and the Lössbach Falls, Germany's highest waterfall with a vertical drop of 470 meters. #greentourism #germanytravel #overseastravel #europeantravel #alps #lake #deutschland #bavaria #königssee