Watzmann Glacier, Permanent glacier in Berchtesgaden Alps, Germany.
The Watzmann Glacier is a permanent ice field beneath the eastern face of Mount Watzmann at roughly 2200 meters elevation. The ice stretches across about 330 meters in length and about 90 meters in width, making it one of only five recognized glaciers in Germany.
The glacier was much larger in the early 19th century, covering about 30 hectares of area. Since then it has shrunk and broke into separate patches of firn, though it briefly grew to around 10 hectares between 1965 and 1980.
The Watzmann massif and its cirque carry the Watzmann legend, which tells of a cruel king and his family turned to stone, echoed in the names Watzmannfrau and Watzmannkinder for the lesser peaks. The glacier itself is not undisputed as a glacier among scientists, given its small size and low flow velocity.
The glacier lies in the Watzmann cirque below the east face and is not reached by marked trails; climbers approach via the Watzmannhaus (1928 m), reached from Wimbachbrücke or the Hammerstiel car park in Hinterschönau. The ice itself is not accessible to visitors. The nearby Eiskapelle, by contrast, is easily reached from St. Bartholomä.
On the western edge of the ice rest the remains of a Ju 52 aircraft that crashed in October 1940. This historical wreckage has lain beneath the ice for around 80 years and is a rare remnant from an earlier era.
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