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Berchtesgadener Land - The Bavarian AlpsThe region was actually an independent state of the Holy Roman Empire until the early part of the 19th century when it was split between Bavaria and Austria. The natural border between Germany and Austria is the Rover Saalach which separates Freilassing from Saltzberg. The national park area of the region covers over 200 sq km and the two outstanding natural features are the Watzmann, which at 2713 metres is Germany's second highest mountain, and the gorgeous Königssee lake which flows around the mountain. The town if Berchtesgadener is around 180 km south east of the Bavarian capital of Munich and is popular with skiing enthusiasts. However, the vast majority of people who visit the town do so because of the Berchtesgadener Land national park. A word of warning here is that parts of the park to get seriously crowded but for those who prefer a more quite and relaxed tour there is lots of beautiful walks that will take you off the beaten track to much more tranquil areas of natural beauty. If you can bear the crowds than one tourist attraction not to be missed is the Salzbergwerk. In the 12th century huge deposits of salt where found in the region and the many people became very wealthy because of the 'white gold' and the Salzbergwerk is a salt mine that offers the tourist a truly unique experience. Visitors are taken deep into the mine aboard wooden wagons before hurtling down a chute into a massive vault where they stare in awe at the salt crystals embedded in the rock. But maybe the best part of the visit is seen after another trip down a chute when a vast underground lake is revealed. This is really spectacular and you mustn't miss it. The visitor is then boated across the lake before riding back to the surface on a train. Absolutely awesome! The Watzmann and Konigssee do get very busy with tourists but do try and take a trip aboard the ferry which will take you around the lake allowing you to see the very best of the spectacular mountain scenery. I suppose we can't leave the region without mentioning its past links to Hitler and his Nazi party though you can read more about that on our Obersalzburg page. Related Articles Berchtesgadener Land And The Bavarian Alps
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