Chiemsee, Freshwater lake in Bavaria, Germany
Chiemsee is a freshwater lake in Bavaria between Munich and Salzburg, surrounded by low shores and the Chiemgau Alps to the south. The water reaches a depth of over 70 meters (230 feet) and stretches across several kilometers with views of rolling hills and forested shorelines.
Glaciers carved the basin during the last ice age around 10,000 years ago, leaving a deep depression in the landscape. In medieval times, monasteries were founded on the islands that remain inhabited today, making the lake a religious and cultural center.
The name comes from Latin lacus Chiemsee and locals often call it the Bavarian Sea, a term still heard around the shores today. On the water, sailboats and small ferries move between wooded shorelines and the three inhabited islands.
Boats run regularly from several docks around the lake, connecting the islands with the mainland. The warmer months between spring and autumn work best for swimming, walking along the shores, or sailing on the open water.
Fraueninsel houses a Benedictine convent from the year 782, where nuns still live and work today. The convent church from the 15th century stands among old gardens where nuns grow herbs for liqueurs and marzipan.
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