Chiemsee & Königssee – Ludwig's Versailles and Bavaria's Deepest Lake

The Chiemsee: Bavaria's Sea

At 80 square kilometres, the Chiemsee is Bavaria's largest lake – nicknamed the "Bavarian Sea" since the 19th century. It lies 60 kilometres southeast of Munich in the Alpine foothills of the Chiemgau region, at 518 metres above sea level, with the panorama of the Chiemgau Alps to the south. The lake contains three islands: Herreninsel, Fraueninsel (home to a living monastery) and the tiny, uninhabited Krautinsel.

Schloss Herrenchiemsee: Ludwig's Versailles in Bavaria

King Ludwig II acquired Herreninsel in 1873 and began construction of Schloss Herrenchiemsee in 1878 – as a homage to Versailles and a personal monument to the French Sun King, Louis XIV, with whom Ludwig felt a profound kinship. In some details, the palace actually surpasses the original: the Hall of Mirrors at Herrenchiemsee, at 98 metres in length, is slightly longer than the famous Galerie des Glaces in Versailles.

Ludwig stayed at the palace for only 9 days – in September 1885, shortly before his death. Only a fraction of the planned rooms were ever completed; construction halted entirely after Ludwig died in 1886. Today visitors move through the magnificent state apartments, the ceremonial bedchamber and the Hall of Mirrors – with the pervasive feeling of an interrupted dream.

The Königssee: Germany's Deepest Mountain Lake

The Königssee lies 25 kilometres southeast of the Chiemsee in the Berchtesgadener Land, enclosed in a narrow valley between sheer rock faces. At 190 metres deep, it is Germany's deepest natural lake and the second deepest in the country after Lake Constance. The water is of exceptional clarity – drinking water quality.

The lake is accessible only by boat: no road leads to the shore (except at the departure point of Schönau). Electric boats have glided silently across the water since 1909; at the Echo Wall, boatmen traditionally demonstrate the acoustic properties of the surrounding cliffs with a trumpet fanfare. At the southern end lies St. Bartholomä, a 17th-century baroque pilgrimage church on the lake shore – reachable only by boat, with the Watzmann (2,713 m) as its backdrop.

Timing and the Magic of Early Morning

Both lakes – the Chiemsee and the Königssee – are heavily visited in high season (July and August). The boat trips to Herreninsel and to St. Bartholomä are popular; the Königssee fills to its last parking space on summer weekends. The difference between a tourist experience and a private one lies in the timing: those who sit on the Königssee at 7 in the morning see mist rolling over the water, hear the echo of the first boat's horn, and have St. Bartholomä to themselves. We plan your visit to give you these moments.