Chiemsee
Chiemsee is a freshwater lake in Bavaria, Germany, near Rosenheim. It is often called "the Bavarian Sea". The rivers Tiroler Achen and Prien flow into the lake from the south, and the river Alz flows out towards the north. The Alz flows into the Inn which then merges with the Danube. The Chiemsee is divided into the bigger, north section, in the northeast, called Weitsee, and the Inselsee, in the southwest.
The Chiemgau, the region surrounding the Chiemsee, is a popular recreation area.
Origin
The Chiemsee was formed, like many other pre-alpine lakes, at the end of the last ice age about 10,000 years ago from a hollow carved out by a glacier. Originally the lake covered an area of almost, which is about three times its present area. Within 10,000 years its area had shrunk to around. Before 1904 the water level was lowered by about a metre. As a result, large areas of dry land were reclaimed.Islands
There are three main islands on the lake: Herreninsel, the largest, with an area of ; Frauenchiemsee,, also called Fraueninsel ; and the uninhabited Krautinsel,, called by this name because in the Middle Ages it was cultivated with cabbages and other vegetables.- Herreninsel has a palace built by King Ludwig II in 1878 called Herrenchiemsee, which was never completed but was meant to be a replica of the Palace of Versailles. Many of its rooms are open to tourists; tours of the palace and its extensive grounds are conducted throughout the summer.
- Frauenchiemsee, the smaller of the two main islands, houses a Benedictine nunnery, built in 782, as well as a small village. The nuns make a liquor called Klosterlikör and marzipan.