The Karwendel is the largest

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

of the

Northern Limestone Alps The Northern Limestone Alps (german: Nördliche Kalkalpen), also called the Northern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germa ...

. The major part belongs to 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 federal state of

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 ...

, while the adjacent area in the north is 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 ...

. Four

chains A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

stretch from west to east; in addition, there are a number of fringe ranges and an extensive promontory (''Vorkarwendel'') in the north.

Geography

The term Karwendel describes the part of the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

between the Isar river and the

Seefeld Saddle The Seefeld Saddle (german: Seefelder Sattel) is a saddle and mountain pass, , in the Northern Limestone Alps in the Austrian federal state of Tyrol. Two major transport routes run over it: the '' Seefelder Straße'' (B 177) and the Mittenw ...

mountain pass in the west and Achen Lake in the east. In the north it stretches to the Bavarian Prealps. In the south the

Lower Inn Valley The Lower Inn Valley (german: Unterinntal) is that part of the Inntal valley through which the Inn (river), Inn river flows from a point a few kilometres west of Innsbruck near its confluence with the Melach downstream to a few kilometres before R ...

with the city of Innsbruck separates the Karwendel from the

Central Eastern Alps The Central Eastern Alps (german: Zentralalpen or Zentrale Ostalpen), also referred to as Austrian Central Alps (german: Österreichische Zentralalpen) or just Central Alps, comprise the main chain of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the adjacen ...

. Other major settlements include

Seefeld in Tirol Seefeld in Tirol is an old farming village, now a major tourist resort, in Innsbruck-Land District in the Austrian state of Tyrol with a local population of 3,312 (as of 1 January 2013). The village is located about northwest of Innsbruck on a pl ...

and

Mittenwald Mittenwald is a German municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria. Geography Mittenwald is located approximately 16 kilometres to the south-east of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It is situated in the Valley of the River Isar, ...

in the west, as well as

Eben am Achensee Eben am Achensee is a municipality in the Schwaz district in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Geography Eben lies in the Achen valley on the shores of the Achensee above the lower Inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers ...

in the east. Neighbouring ranges are the

Wetterstein The Wetterstein mountains (german: Wettersteingebirge), colloquially called Wetterstein, is a mountain group in the Northern Limestone Alps within the Eastern Alps. It is a comparatively compact range located between Garmisch-Partenkir ...

and Mieming Mountains in the west and the

Brandenberg Alps The Brandenberg Alps (german: Brandenberger Alpen) are a sub-group of the Northern Limestone Alps, that run in front of the Eastern Alps for their whole length. They lie entirely in Austria between Achensee in Tyrol, the Inn Valley and the Bavar ...

in the east. The mountaineer

Hermann von Barth Hermann von Barth (5 June 1845 – 7 December 1876) was a famous German mountaineer. Life and career Hermann von Barth was born on 5 June 1845 at Eurasburg (Oberbayern), Eurasburg Castle. He initially studied law in Munich, where he was affili ...

created the tradition of naming the Karwendel chains ranges after the valleys limiting them in the south: Karwendel valley,

Hinterau valley The Hinterau valley (Rear Meadow Valley, German: ''Hinterautal'') is a valley crossing the Karwendel range from east to west. The Isar has its official source in the Hinterau valley. The valley stretches from its western end at Scharnitz Sc ...

and Vomper Loch, Gleirsch valley, Hall valley, and

Inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

valley: *

Northern Karwendel Chain The Northern Karwendel Chain (german: Nördliche Karwendelkette) is the northernmost of the four great, largely parallel mountain chains in the Karwendel in the Alps. It is made from very pure Wetterstein limestone, which has its heart in the K ...

Hinterautal-Vomper Chain The Hinterautal-Vomper Chain (german: Hinterautal-Vomper-Kette), also called the main chain of the Karwendel (''Karwendelhauptkette''), is the longest mountain chain in the Karwendel Alps in Austria. It has numerous peaks that reach heights of 2, ...

(a.k.a. main Karwendel Range), *

Gleirsch-Halltal Chain The Gleirsch-Halltal Chain (german: Gleirsch-Halltal-Kette) or Gleirsch-Halltal Range is a mountain chain in the Karwendel in the Northern Limestone Alps. It follows to the south of the Hinterautal-Vomper Chain, the longest mountain chain in ...

Nordkette The Nordkette, also variously called the North Chain, Northern Range, rarely the Inn Valley Range or Inn Valley Chain (''Inntalkette''), is a range of mountains just north of the city of Innsbruck in Austria. It is the southernmost of the four g ...

(a.k.a. Solstein Range or Inn Valley Range). Side ranges are the

Erlspitze Group The Erlspitze Group (german: Erlspitzgruppe), also called the Seefeld Group, is the southwesternmost side range of the Austrian part of the Karwendel mountains in the Alps. It forms a horseshoe-shaped highland around the valley of Eppzirler Tal an ...

, Soiern Group and Vorkarwendel, Falken Group, Gamsjoch Group and Sonnjoch Group.

Peaks

There are 125 peaks in the Karwendel that reach heights of over 2,000 metres. The most important are listed below together with some notable peaks between 1,800 and 2,000 metres high. *

Birkkarspitze The Birkkarspitze (2749 m) is the highest mountain in the Karwendel range, Austria as well as an ultra prominent peak. It is located within the Innsbruck-Land District of Tyrol, Austria. See also *List of Alpine peaks by prominence This is a lis ...

2,749 m * Ödkarspitze, middle top 2,745 m * Kaltwasserkarspitze 2,733 m * Großer Bettelwurf 2,725 m * Großer Lafatscher 2,696 m * Große Seekarspitze 2,679 m * Hintere Bachofenspitze 2,668 m * Grubenkarspitze 2,663 m *

Kleiner Solstein The Kleiner Solstein is a mountain, high, in the Nordkette in the Karwendel Alps in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Despite its name ("Small Solstein") it towers above its western neighbour, the Großer Solstein ("Great Solstein") () by almost a ...

2,637 m * Speckkarspitze 2,621 m * Hintere Brandjochspitze 2,599 m * Hohe Warte 2,596 m * Laliderer Spitze 2,583 m * Jägerkarspitze, south top 2,579 m * Sonntagkarspitze 2,575 m * Pleisenspitze 2,567 m * Vordere Brandjochspitze 2,559 m * Hochnissl 2,546 m * Stempeljochspitze 2,543 m * Großer Solstein 2,540 m * Östliche Karwendelspitze 2,537 m *

Vogelkarspitze Vogelkarspitze is a mountain of Bavaria, 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 sta ...

2,523 m * Lamsenspitze 2,508 m * Hoher Gleiersch 2,491 m * Wörner 2,476 m * Sonnjoch 2,457 m * Gamsjoch 2,452 m * Erlspitze 2,404 m * Kuhkopf 2,390 m *

Westliche Karwendelspitze Westliche Karwendelspitze is a 2385 m above sea level high mountain in the Karwendel on the border between Bavaria and North Tyrol. The summit is part of the Northern Karwendel chain and is located south-east above Mittenwald Mittenwald is a ...

2,385 m *

Steinfalk Steinfalk (German: Stone Halcon) (elevation ) is a summit in the Falken Group, a subgroup of the Karwendel range in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the A ...

2,348 m * Freiungen, west top, 2,332 m * Suntiger Spitze 2,321 m * Schaufelspitze 2,308 m *

Hafelekarspitze The Hafelekarspitze is a mountain in the so-called North Chain (''Nordkette'') north of Innsbruck in Austria. Location and landscape Below and west of the summit is the top station of ''Hafelekar'', the second section of the Nordkette Cable Car ...

2,269 m *

Soiernspitze At 2,257 metres, the Soiernspitze is the highest mountain in the Soiern Group in the Bavarian Karwendel range. Its summit may be climbed either from ''Seinsbachtal'' or from the ''Soiernhäusern'' by the lakes of Soiernseen in an easy mountain ...

2,257 m *

Rotwandlspitze Rotwandlspitze is a mountain of Bavaria, 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 s ...

2,192 m * Brunnsteinspitze 2,191 m * Schafreuter 2,102 m * Fleischbank 2,026 m * Grasbergjoch 2,020 m * Torkopf 2,012 m * Hölzelstaljoch 2,012 m * Kompar 2,011 m * Mondscheinspitze 2,106 m * Juifen 1,988 m * Schönalmjoch 1,986 m * Demeljoch 1,924 m * Dürrnbergjoch 1,835 m

Alpine huts

In the Karwendel, of the 21

Alpine huts A mountain hut is a building located high in the mountains, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club or some organization d ...

, 18 are run by 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 **Ge ...

or Austrian Alpine Clubs: *Aspach Hut (OeAV Innsbruck) *Bettelwurf Hut (OeAV Innsbruck) *Brunnstein Hut (DAV Mittenwald) *Dammkar Hut (private) *Falken Hut (DAV Oberland/Munich) *Hallerangerhaus (DAV Schwaben) *Hochland Hut (DAV Hochland/Munich) *Höttinger Alm (private) *Karwendelhaus (DAV Männer-Turnverein Munich) *Krinner Kofler Hut (DAV Mittenwald) *Lamsenjoch Hut (DAV Oberland/Munich) *Magdeburger Hut (new) (DAV Geltendorf) *Mittenwalder Hut (DAV Mittenwald) *Nördlinger Hut (DAV Nördlingen) *Pfeis Hut (OeAV Innsbruck) *Pleisen Hut (private) *Rotwandl Hut (DAV Neuland/Munich) *Seewald Hut (DAV Achensee) *Soiernhaus (DAV Hochland/Munich) *Solsteinhaus (OeAV Innsbruck) *Tölzer Hut (DAV Bad Tölz)

External links

Alpenpark Karwendel

Karwendel travel guide

Wikivoyage Wikivoyage is a free web-based travel guide for travel destinations and travel topics written by volunteer authors. It is a sister project of Wikipedia and supported and hosted by the same non-profit Wikimedia Foundation (WMF). Wikivoyage has ...

Northern Karwendel Chain
{{Authority control Mountain ranges of the Alps Northern Limestone Alps Mountain ranges of Tyrol (state) Innsbruck-Land District Mountain ranges of Bavaria