Schönau am Königssee is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the district of

Berchtesgadener Land Berchtesgadener Land (Central Bavarian: ''Berchtsgoana Land'') is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the district of Traunstein and by the state of Austria. History Middle ages and early modern era The southern a ...

in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

state 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 ...

. It is located at the northern end of the

Königssee The Königssee is a natural lake in the extreme southeast Berchtesgadener Land district of the German state of Bavaria, near the Austrian border. Most of the lake is within the Berchtesgaden National Park. Description Situated within the Berchte ...

lake.

Geography

Schönau is surrounded by the

Berchtesgaden Alps The Berchtesgaden Alps (german: Berchtesgadener Alpen) are a mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps, named after the market town of Berchtesgaden located in the centre. The central part belongs to the Berchtesgadener Land district of southe ...

; it is the southeasternmost German municipality, bordering on the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n state of

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 ...

at the

Hoher Göll The Hoher Göll is a mountain in the Berchtesgaden Alps. It is the highest peak of the Göll massif, which straddles the border between the German state of Bavaria and the Austrian state of Salzburg. Geography On the Bavarian west side of t ...

massif and the

Steinernes Meer The Steinernes Meer (literally "Rocky Sea") is a high karst plateau in the Northern Limestone Alps. As one of the nine sub-ranges of the Berchtesgaden Alps the Steinernes Meer belongs partly to Bavaria and partly to Salzburg. Location To the no ...

range. The present-day commune was formed in 1978 by the merger of the former Schönau and Königssee municipalities. Since 1984 the municipal area also comprises the formerly unincorporated Königssee lake, the famous St. Bartholomew's Church and the surrounding mountains from the east face of the

Watzmann The Watzmann ( bar, Watzmo) is a mountain in the Berchtesgaden Alps south of the village of Berchtesgaden. It is the third highest in Germany, and the highest located entirely on German territory. Three main peaks array on a N-S axis along a r ...

peak up to the Austrian border in the south, including the eastern part of

Berchtesgaden National Park Berchtesgaden National Park is in the south of Germany, on its border with Austria, in the municipalities of Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden and Schönau am Königsee, Berchtesgadener Land, Free State of Bavaria. The national park was established in 197 ...

. From the lake, the

Königsseer Ache Königsseer Ache is a river of Bavaria, Germany. At its confluence with the Ramsauer Ache in Berchtesgaden, the Berchtesgadener Ache is formed. It passes through the lake Königssee. See also *List of rivers of Bavaria A list of rivers of Bava ...

creek runs down to

Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a 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, south of Berchtesgaden; the ...

. Due to its picturesque setting Schönau largely depends on

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

. It is home to a bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track that is the oldest permanent track in the world, having been constructed in 1968. Passenger services along the lake from Schönau are operated by the

Bayerische Seenschifffahrt The , or Bavarian Lakes Shipping Company, is a company that operates shipping services on several lakes in the German state of Bavaria. Services operate on the Königssee, the Starnberger See, the Ammersee and the Tegernsee. The company w ...

company using

electric boat An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators. While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail pow ...

History

Schönau was first mentioned in a 1456 deed, then one of the eight historic localities (''Gnotschaften'') of the

Berchtesgaden Provostry Berchtesgaden Provostry or the Prince-Provostry of Berchtesgaden (german: Fürstpropstei Berchtesgaden) was an immediate (') principality of the Holy Roman Empire, held by a canonry (a collegiate foundation of Canons Regular) led by a Prince-P ...

. After the

secularisation In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

of the Prince-Provostry, Schönau finally fell to the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German E ...

in 1810.

Notable people

Anton Adner Anton Adner (1705? – 15 March 1822), also known as the Bavarian Methusalem, was a Bavarian artisan of wood, who reportedly is of the oldest people to have lived in that region of Germany. Life Anton Adner was born in 1705, either in Schönau - ...

(1705?-1822), peddler and supercentenarian *

Magda Schneider Magdalena Maria Schneider (17 May 1909 – 30 July 1996) was a German actress and singer. She was the mother of the actress Romy Schneider. Biography Magdalena Maria Schneider was born in Augsburg, Bavaria, the daughter of a plumber. She atte ...

(1909–1996), actress, lived and died in Schönau; her daughter

Romy Schneider Romy Schneider (; born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach; 23 September 1938 – 29 May 1982) was a German-French actress. She began her career in the German genre in the early 1950s when she was 15. From 1955 to 1957, she played the central chara ...

(1938–1982) was raised here May 25, 1945, Herman Goering’s solid gold statutes from his private loot were found by the U.S. Army in a mountainside cave near Schonau am Konigssee.U.S army Records. *

Georg Leber Georg Leber (7 October 1920 – 21 August 2012) was a German Trades Union leader and a politician in the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Biography Leber was born in Obertiefenbach (Beselich). After serving in the Luftwaffe (the Germ ...

(1920–2012), politician, lived and died in Schönau *

Hilde Gerg Mathilde Gerg (born 19 October 1975) is a German former alpine skier. Career She was Olympic Champion in the Slalom at the 1998 Winter Olympics, an astounding win as most of her career she was known as predominantly a speed specialist; with 1998 ...

(born 1975), alpine skier, lives in Schönau *

Felix Loch Felix Loch (; born 24 July 1989) is a German luger and Olympic champion. He has been competing since 1995 and on the German national team since 2006. He has won fourteen medals at the FIL World Luge Championships with twelve golds (Men's singles ...

(born 1989), 2010 & 2014 Olympic luge gold medalist, lives in Schönau *

Rupert Staudinger Rupert Staudinger (born 15 July 1997) is a British-German luger. Born in Berchtesgaden in Bavaria to a German father and a Welsh mother, he grew up in Schönau am Königssee. Staudinger competed for the United Kingdom in the men's singles e ...

(born 1997), competed for the UK luge team in the 2018 Olympics, grew up in Schönau

References

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