Watzmann

At 2,713 m the Watzmann is Germany's third-highest mountain and at the same time one of the most legendary. Its striking profile with Hocheck, Mittelspitze and Südspitze, the so-called “Watzmann children”, shapes the panorama above the Königssee.

Routes on the Watzmann

• Watzmannhaus (1.930 m): The classic approach from Wimbach/Ramsau to the DAV hut, a demanding but non-technical mountain walk.
• Hocheck (2.651 m): The highest point reachable from the Watzmannhaus with via-ferrata sections, already serious alpine terrain.
• Watzmann traverse: The royal tour over all three summits, a long, exposed ridge traverse (via ferrata/climbing), only for sure-footed, head-for-heights, fit mountaineers.

The east face

The Watzmann east face drops around 1,800 vertical metres to the Königssee and is considered the highest rock face in the Eastern Alps. It is a serious high-alpine objective with a long history, reserved for experienced alpinists only.

Safety

The Watzmann demands mountain-rescue operations every year. Weather changes, rockfall and exhaustion are regularly underestimated. A realistic self-assessment, early start times and a look at the mountain weather report are a must. The right gear, from hardshell to emergency kit, we cover in our gear guides.

Background & History

At over 2,700 metres, the Watzmann is the third-highest mountain in Germany and at the same time perhaps the most legend-shrouded. Its striking massif of several peaks towers over the Berchtesgaden region, and its notorious east face drops almost two thousand metres sheer to the Königssee, the highest wall of the Eastern Alps and a legendary objective for alpinists. Like the surrounding Limestone Alps, the Watzmann too arose from the deposits of primeval seas, which were folded up and shaped by glaciers into its present rugged form.

An old legend is woven around the summit group. According to tradition, a cruel king Watzmann once lived here, who with his family tormented man and beast, until the curse of a dying mother overtook him and he, together with his wife and children, was turned to stone. Thus folk poetry explains the group made up of the mighty Watzmann, the Watzmannfrau and the smaller Watzmannkinder, the Watzmann children, which line up as rocky pinnacles. The notorious traverse of the Watzmann over the Hocheck, the Mittelspitze and the Südspitze is considered one of the great ridge walks of the Eastern Alps, while the east face, since its first ascent in 1881, has drawn countless mountaineers and proved fatal to many. The mountain lies in the heart of the Berchtesgaden National Park, in whose forests and rock regions golden eagles circle and chamois roam the slopes.