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. It is crossed by the Austria–Germany border : the central part belongs to the Berchtesgadener Land district of southeastern Bavaria , Germany , while the adjacent area in the north, east and south is part of the Austrian state of Salzburg ( Salzburger Land ).
5-700: While the highest mountain of the Berchtesgaden Alps is the Hochkönig (2,941 metres (9,649 ft)) located in the Austrian part, the best known peak is the Watzmann massif, the third-highest mountain of Germany at 2,713 metres (8,901 ft). The range also comprises the Obersalzberg slope east of Berchtesgaden, known for the former Berghof residence of Adolf Hitler . The picturesque heart
10-482: Is covered by the glacier known as the " Übergossene Alm ", however this glacier is currently shrinking at a rate of 6.2% per year, and is likely to vanish in the relatively near future. The edge of the summit plateau is surrounded by an almost circular chain of mountains: In 1898, the Österreichischer Touristenklub ( Austrian Tourism Club ) built an alpine hut at the summit. The current building dates from 1985 and can sleep nearly one hundred mountaineers. The massif
15-617: Is formed by the glacial Königssee lake with the famous St. Bartholomew's pilgrimage church and the smaller Obersee , both part of the Berchtesgaden National Park established in 1978. The range also comprises glaciers like the Blaueis as well as the Steinernes Meer high karst plateau. The most important summits of the Berchtesgaden Alps are (groups in order of height): The Berchtesgaden Alps border on
20-558: The Northern Limestone Alps . It lies to the west of the town of Bischofshofen in the Austrian state of Salzburg , 42 km due south of the city of Salzburg . Hochkönig is separated from the rest of the Berchtesgaden Alps, and more specifically from the Steinernes Meer ( stone ocean ) by the mountain pass Torscharte at 2246 m. The summit itself is at the southern edge of a large limestone plateau , which
25-760: The following other mountain groups of the Alps: The Berchtesgaden Alps are included under this name in the generally accepted Alpine Club classification of the Eastern Alps (AVE) as mountain group no. 10 and counted as part of the Northern Limestone Alps . Hochk%C3%B6nig The Hochkönig is a mountain group containing the highest mountain (Hochkönig) in the Berchtesgaden Alps , Salzburgerland , Austria . The Berchtesgaden Alps form part of
#110889