Reit im Winkl is a small village (locally known as a snow-magnet ) located on the German/Austrian border in the southeastern part of
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
in the
Traunstein district, and was previously an immigration and customs control point (prior to the formation of the
Schengen Zone
The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and ...
). It is situated south 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 ...
and southwest of
Ruhpolding
Ruhpolding is the municipality with the biggest area of the Traunstein district in southeastern Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the south of the Chiemgau region in the Alps and next to the Austrian border.
Ruhpolding has a biathlon track. ...
- home of the Biathlon World Cup - in the
Bavarian Alps and facing towards Tyrol. The village lies next to the Austrian states
Tyrol
Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
and
Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the ...
.
Kössen
Kössen is a municipality in the Kitzbühel district in the Austrian state of Tyrol located 24 km north of Kitzbühel as well as 15.50 km north of Sankt Johann in Tirol at the Kitzbühler Ache near the border to Germany.
Geography
K ...
in Tyrol is the next village on the river Lofer, before it joins the confluence of the river
Tiroler Achen. Reit im Winkl has a population of approximately 2,600.
Reit im Winkl is well known as both a certified place of restorative and curative air (Luftkurort) and a
ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...
, offering
alpine skiing
Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...
,
cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...
, both classical and skating, and
snow-boarding, as well as mountain trekking and
hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
. It achieved, in 2012, Germany's first-ever Premium Winter Trails Certification. Snowfall is always plentiful and predictable (even when surrounding areas are bare of snow, Reit im Winkl can be sure of sufficient snow to create premier skiing conditions - in 2012 Reit im Winkl had the deepest snow of 120 cm for a plateau area, which occurred in February, long after snow had melted elsewhere in the region. Reit im Winkl has two alpine skiing areas: 1) Three lifts in the suburb of Blindau (Benzeck) as well as a snow-tubing lift, and the large plateau skiing area at Winklmoos Alm
www.winklmoosalm.de
/ref> which connects with Steinplatte in Austria and is reached by the recently completed, state-of-the-art gondola cableway (bubble lift) from Seegatterl.
In summer, Reit im Winkl enjoys one of the highest counts of sunny days in Bavaria, and is popular with mountain bike
A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...
and nordic walking enthusiasts. Visitors can enjoy swimming in either of the three alpine lake
Alpine lakes are classified as lakes at high altitudes in mountainous zones, usually near or above the tree line, with extended periods of ice cover. These lakes are commonly formed from glacial activity (either current or in the past) but can al ...
s (Weitsee, Mittersee and Loedensee) northeast of Seegatterl, or try their luck at fishing in the trout lake.
Reit im Winkl is popularly known to locals and return visitors as Germany's own Tyrol, and boasts its own home-grown regional specialities such as '' Heumilch'' cheese (cheese made from cows fed exclusively hay pasture), ''heuschnapps'' (a liqueur in which mountain hay and herbs are soaked to produce a distinctive and sweet taste of hay) and ''Reiberdatschi'' (grated potatoes mixed with a little egg and flour and poured as a flat mass into a skillet and fried), popularly eaten with apple mousse.
Suburbs
Reit im Winkl is divided into the suburbs Birnbach, Blindau, Entfelden, Groissenbach, Oberbichl, Seegatterl, Unterbichl and Winklmoos Alm.
History
The first signs of settlement in Reit im Winkl are in the 12th century. The date of the foundation is 1160 when Otto de Rute was named in a document. The accuracy of the document is disputed and some historians put the beginning of the settlement to the middle of the 13th century. Since then it has been part of Bavaria.
Reit im Winkl was part of the parish of Kirchdorf in Tirol
Kirchdorf in Tirol is a municipality in the Kitzbühel district in the Austrian state of Tyrol located north of Kitzbühel as well as north of Sankt Johann in Tirol at the Kitzbühler Ache. By area, Kirchdorf is the second largest municipalit ...
which was itself part of the diocese of Chiemsee from 1275 until 1804.
Historians have assumed the location of the manor of the Herren von Reit (Lords of Reit), on a small hill above the church.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
was created 1929 replacing the old coat of arms which showed a blue chapel on a green hill. The new coat of arms shows the eagle on yellow ground of the diocese of Chiemsee in a corner (Winkl derived from the German word Winkel for corner). The burning log and the sapie (axe like tool to trail logs) on the forest green ground are symbols for the clearing of the forest to create pasture and farm land in 11th and 12th century.
Economy
History
Formerly, Reit im Winkl was mostly dependent on logging and forestry, because of the brevity of the growing season for agricultural production. Trees were logged in summer and transported to storage places with horses or by hand. Logs were transferred to neighbouring Tyrol for sale: in winter either via sleds with a man sitting in front using his feet to brake and control the sled, which resulted in severe accidents occurring regularly, or via dams which were constructed to hold the meltwater during spring in order to raft the timber down the valley - such a dam can be found on display at Winklmoss Alm. Because the orientation of the valley made it impossible to sell the rafted wood to the salt works
A salt evaporation pond is a shallow artificial salt pan designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The Salt pans are shallow and large of size because it will be easier for sunlight to travel and reach the sea water. Natural s ...
of Bad Reichenhall
Bad Reichenhall (Central Bavarian: ''Reichahoi'') is a spa town, and administrative center of the Berchtesgadener Land district in Upper Bavaria, Germany. It is located near Salzburg in a basin encircled by the Chiemgau Alps (including Mount Staufe ...
or 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, ...
- which had an enormous fuel consumption - logs were sent south. In one such contract the wood was sold to the silver works in the Inn valley in Tyrol and as an exchange Tyrol sold logs to the salt works in Bad Reichenhall.
Today
The first tourist to Reit im Winkl, in the year 1858, was King Maximilian II, as reported in the local press. The Strength Through Joy
NC Gemeinschaft (KdF; ) was a German state-operated leisure organization in Nazi Germany.Richard Grunberger, ''The 12-Year Reich'', p. 197, It was part of the German Labour Front (german: link=no, Deutsche Arbeitsfront), the national labour org ...
movement in the Third Reich and the closed borders after the war boosted tourism as the principal source of income in the region. Today, approximately 5000 beds for annual visitor numbers of 90 000 provides an indication of the importance of tourism for Reit im Winkl.
Transport
Reit im Winkl is located along the Deutschen Alpenstraße (B 305) (German Alps Road). Coming from Munich by car it can be reached either from the Munich-Salzburg highway A8 at Bernau or 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 ...
and the Tiroler Achen valley; coming from Salzburg along the Munich-Salzburg A8 at Siegsdorf or Grabenstatt via Ruhpolding
Ruhpolding is the municipality with the biggest area of the Traunstein district in southeastern Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the south of the Chiemgau region in the Alps and next to the Austrian border.
Ruhpolding has a biathlon track. ...
, or through Bad Reichenhall via Berchtesgarden
Berchtesgaden () is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps, s ...
. The Maserer pass (B305, direction Marquartstein
Marquartstein is a municipality in the southeastern part of Bavaria, Germany and is part of the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Marquartstein and Staudach-Egerndach. It is situated in a region called Chiemgau, approximately 10 km south of Lake Chi ...
) has been renovated and widened (most recently at the end of the 20th century) - during periods of heavy snowfall, snow chains
Snow chains, or tire chains, are devices fitted to the tires of vehicles to provide increased traction when driving through snow and ice.
Snow chains attach to the drive wheels of a vehicle or special systems deploy chains which swing under ...
are recommended. The B305 continues through the village, across the border into Austria and follows the river Lofer river to Kössen straight into the Inn valley. Because of the need for transport capacities for the sawmills and logs from the surrounding forest a narrow gauge railway
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...
was built from Ruhpolding to Reit im Winkl in 1923. Following accidents and as a result of the high maintenance costs (winter conditions) the railway was demolished in the 1930s. The causeway
A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...
is used as a bicycle trail in summer and for nordic skiing
Nordic skiing encompasses the various types of skiing in which the toe of the ski boot is fixed to the Ski binding, binding in a manner that allows the heel to rise off the ski, unlike alpine skiing, where the boot is attached to the ski from toe ...
in the winter.
Apart from private car, Reit im Winkl can be reached via public transport - the RVO (Regionalverkehr Oberbayern) runs the following bus services which also connect (in the case of Prien am Chiemsee, Salzburg and Traunstein) with the Deutsche Bahn (train services).
1. 9505 - Reit im Winkl - Prien am Chiemsee
2. 9506 - Reit im Winkl - Inzell
3. 9507 - Reit im Winkl - Winklmoos
4. 9509 - Reit im Winkl - Traunstein
5. 9531 - Oberwössen - Übersee
6. 9535 - Reit im Winkl - Salzburg
Reit im Winkl also has one taxi service, a rental car service, and a minibus rental/coach with driver service.
Personalities
Sons and daughters of the community
* Maria Hellwig
Maria Hellwig (22 February 1920 – 26 November 2010) was a German yodeler, popular performer of volkstümliche Musik (Alpine folk music), and television presenter.
Life
Maria Neumaier was born in 1920 to Heinrich Neumaier, an electrician, an ...
(1920-2010) and Margot Hellwig
Margot Hellwig (born Margot Fischer, 5 July 1941 also in Reit, married as Margot Lindermayr) is a German volksmusik singer.
She is best known as part of Maria & Margot Hellwig, a German mother and daughter volksmusik
Alpine folk music (german ...
(born 1941), interpreters of popular music
* Rosi Mittermaier
Rosa Anna Katharina Mittermaier-Neureuther (; 5 August 1950 – 4 January 2023) was a German alpine skier. She was the overall World Cup champion in 1976 and a double gold medalist at the 1976 Winter Olympics.
Mittermaier competed in alpine sk ...
(born 1950), popular ski racer
* Thomas Klauser (born 1964), ski jumper
Other personalities linked to Reit im Winkl
* Dettmar Cramer
Dettmar Cramer (4 April 1925 – 17 September 2015) was a German association football, football player and coach who led FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich to the 1974–75 European Cup, 1975 and 1975–76 European Cup, 1976 UEFA Champions League, ...
(1925-2015), former German footballer and coach
* Takeo Ischi (born 1947), Japanese singer and yodeller
* Evi Mittermaier (born 1953), ski racer
* Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle
Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle (; born 27 November 1980) is a retired German cross-country skier and biathlete from Reit im Winkl who has competed since 1998. She was born in Traunstein, West Germany. Competing in three Winter Olympics, she won five me ...
(born 1980), cross-country skier and biathlete, active until 2014
References
External links
Reit im Winkl
Winklmoos Alm
Ruhpolding Biathlon World Cup
* ttp://www.dasoertliche.de/Themen/Taxi/Reit+im+Winkl.html Taxi/Hire car/bus services in Reit im Winkl
Reit im Winkl Tourist Bureau Accommodation List of Hotels, Holiday Apartments, Youth Hostels, Pensions, Camping Grounds and Caravan Parks etc in one star to five star categories
Skischool and Snowboardschool Reit im Winkl
Ski Rentall Reit im Winkl
Guesthouse Bergstüberl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reit Im Winkl
Traunstein (district)