St Bartholomä am Königssee

Our first drop off point on our trip up the beautiful Königssee was at St Bartholomä and as promised in my previous post here is a little information and a few images from our visit.

Arriving at St Bartholomä am Königssee

The church is located at the western shore of the Königssee lake, on the Hirschau peninsula. It can only be reached by ship or by taking a long hike across the surrounding mountains. The current church was built in 1697 in the Baroque style with a floor plan modelled on Salzburg Cathedral.

Abutting the church is a hunting lodge of the same name originally built along with the first church in the 12th century. The lodge has been rebuilt/renovated several times since. Until 1803, it was a private residence of the Berchtesgaden Prince-provosts; after their territory had been incorporated into the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1810, the building became a favourite hunting lodge of the ruling House of Wittelsbach. Today the building is a Gasthaus (German style inn or tavern).

The Hunting Lodge

Approaching the church and hunting lodge from the landing stage the visitor will first arrive at the large wooden structure that is the Fischerei St. Bartholomä.

Fischerei St. Bartholomä

Here one can sample and buy the delicately smoked Königssee trout and the outstanding smoked Königssee charr, an absolute must for all fish lovers.

Fischerei St. Bartholomä

 Leaving the fischerei behind we progress past the church and gasthaus to explore the Hirschau peninsula.

Looking past St Bartholomä and the Hunting Lodge to the mountains

There are a couple of waymarked pathways allowing the tourist to wander along the lake shoreline and through the wooded area. If time allows I urge to explore as we did, you certainly won't regret it.

Looking back to St Bartholomä and the Hunting Lodge from the lake shore

My friend and photo-companion Silvia enjoying the Königssee

As you can see from my photos there was a lot of cloud on the day of our visit, but the views were quite spectacular despite the mountain tops being hidden.

One of the woodland pathways

As well and the church and royal hunting lodge you will find several buildings on the peninsula if you explore.

Lodge

Lodge and farm buildings

Having enjoyed our visit to St Bartholomä and the Hirschau peninsula we made our back to the jetty area to catch the next boat and continue our trip up the lake.

Departure point and weather station

It was a very special day and having gone early we were lucky with the weather. The clouds threatened and although the sun did break through to provide us with a pleasant morning the rain finally arrived, making our return journey along the Königssee and back past St Bartholomä a wet one.

St Bartholomä in the rain

Goodbye to St Bartholomä