Visit the King's Lake - Lake Königssee

The Königssee is a natural lake in the extreme southeast Berchtesgadener Land district of the German state of Bavaria. The lake is a part of the Berchtesgaden National Park and is considered to be Germany's most beautiful Lake. Surrounded by the Alps, the Lake certainly looks stunning, just like the view we usually see in paintings.

Königssee appears to be translated literally as "king's lake," but although König in German does actually mean "king," there had not been a Bavarian monarch since the reign of Louis the German until Elector Maximilian I Joseph assumed the throne in 1806. Since the lake was once known as Kunigsee, the name Kuno of local nobles is most likely where it came from. These nobles are mentioned in various historical records pertaining to the donation of the Berchtesgaden Provostry in the twelfth century.

Due to its picturesque setting, the lake and surrounding parklands are very popular with tourists and hikers. Additionally, the surrounding sheer granite cliffs produce a clear echo. It has become customary to pause during boat tours and play a trumpet or flugelhorn to explain the echo. The echo, which was previously shown by firing a cannon, can be heard to reverberate up to seven times.