Krautinsel is an island located in
Chiemsee
Chiemsee () is a freshwater lake in Bavaria, Germany, near Rosenheim. It is often called "the Bavarian Sea". The rivers Tiroler Achen and Prien flow into the lake from the south, and the river Alz flows out towards the north. The Alz flows in ...
lake. With an area of 3.5 hectares, it is the smallest of the three islands in the Chiemsee (apart from the tiny artificial island of
Schalch west of
Frauenchiemsee
The island Frauenchiemsee, often called Fraueninsel (), is the second largest of the three islands in Chiemsee, Germany. It belongs to the municipality of Chiemsee in the Upper Bavarian district of Rosenheim, which is the smallest municipality in ...
, aka Fraueninsel). The island received its name because vegetables and herbs were grown there in the Middle Ages. Politically, it belongs to the municipality of
Chiemsee
Chiemsee () is a freshwater lake in Bavaria, Germany, near Rosenheim. It is often called "the Bavarian Sea". The rivers Tiroler Achen and Prien flow into the lake from the south, and the river Alz flows out towards the north. The Alz flows in ...
in the
Rosenheim district
Rosenheim is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the south of Bavaria, Germany.
Neighboring districts are, clockwise from the west, Miesbach, Munich, Ebersberg, Mühldorf, and Traunstein, with the Austrian province Tirol across the southern border.
T ...
.
Two nameless small islands 54 and 80 meters south of the herb island form its southern foothills. They are connected to one another by a gravel bank. They each have only a few square meters of space and only offer space for one tree or shrub. These foothills no longer belong to the municipality of Chiemsee like the herb island, but to the unincorporated area of Chiemsee in the district of
Traunstein
Traunstein (Central Bavarian: ''Traunstoa'') is a town in the south-eastern part of Bavaria, Germany, and is the administrative center of a much larger district of the same name. The town serves as a local government, retail, health services, ...
.
Usage
In contrast to the neighboring island of Frauenchiemsee, Krautinsel is uninhabited. In summer it serves as pasture for the cattle of the farmers around Chiemsee. In autumn the cattle are brought back to the mainland by ship. In the Middle Ages, nuns from the Frauenwörth Benedictine convent (Frauenchiemsee) grew vegetables and herbs on the herb island.
Finds from the Stone Age
Traces of
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
settlement were found on the herb island for the first time in 1930. Follow-up examinations from 1993 onwards also brought stone tools from the
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
to light. Among the finds are knives, blades and arrowheads made of flint, flat hatchets made of stone and a flat hatchet made of copper.
[ Alexander Binsteiner, Robert Darga (Hrsg.): ''Steinzeit im Chiemgau'', Verlag Dr. F. Pfeil, München 2012, ISBN 978-3-89937-012-6.]
See also
*
List of islands of Germany
This is a list of all offshore islands that belong to Germany, which are found in the North and Baltic Seas. In addition, some islands in inland waters are also listed.
Largest islands
72 km² are part of Poland
Islands of the Baltic ...
References
Islands of Bavaria
Lake islands of Germany
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