Hintersee, Mountain lake in Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden, Germany.

Hintersee is a small mountain lake in the Bavarian Alps, set within the municipality of Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden and enclosed by steep rock faces and dense conifer forest. The lake sits in a rocky basin and stays cold throughout the year.

The lake formed 3,500 to 4,000 years ago when a rockfall from the Blaueistal dammed the Klausbach and created the Zauberwald. Around 1900 the stream was diverted around the lake to slow silting. In the 19th century a painters' colony gathered here, including Carl Rottmann, Ludwig Richter, Wilhelm Busch and Ferdinand Waldmüller, who lodged at the Gasthof Auzinger.

The painter colony at the Hintersee in the 19th century gathered artists of the Munich and Vienna schools, among them Wilhelm Busch, Carl Rottmann, Ludwig Richter and Ferdinand Waldmüller. The Gasthof Auzinger and its predecessor inn served them as meeting place and lodging. The Ramsauer Malerweg runs from Ramsau's village centre through the Zauberwald to the spots where they set up their easels.

The lake is reached on foot from Ramsau through the Zauberwald forest. An electric boat line crosses the water, and rowing and pedal boats can be hired. In winter the lake regularly freezes and is used by ice skaters and walkers; the wild feeding station in the Klausbachtal is about 30 minutes away on foot.

Beneath the surface of the Hintersee lie old tree trunks that sank to the bottom after a landslide long ago. On calm days with good light, they are visible from the shore without any need to dive in.