View source for Chiemsee

{{Short description|Freshwater lake in Bavaria, Germany}}
{{for-multi|the municipality|Chiemsee (municipality)|the bishopric|Bishopric of Chiemsee}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name               = Chiemsee
| image              = LakeChiemsee.jpg
| caption            = Satellite view of the Chiemsee
| image_bathymetry   =
| caption_bathymetry =
| location           = [[Bavaria]]
| coords             = {{coord|47|53|24|N|12|28|12|E|region:DE_type:waterbody_scale:500000|display=inline,title}}
| type               = Natural lake
| inflow             = [[Tiroler Achen]], [[Prien (river)|Prien]]
| outflow            = [[Alz]]
| catchment          =
|pushpin_map=Bavaria
| basin_countries    = Germany
| length             =
| width              =
| area               = {{convert|79.9|km2|abbr=on}}
| depth              =
| max-depth          = {{convert|72.7|m|abbr=on}}
| volume             = {{convert|2048|e6m3|abbr=on}}
| residence_time     =
| shore              = {{convert|63.96|km|abbr=on}}
| elevation          = {{convert|518.19|m|abbr=on}}
| frozen             =
| islands            = [[Herreninsel]], [[Fraueninsel]], Krautinsel, Schalch
| cities             =
| reference          =
| embedded = {{Designation list
| embed = yes
| designation1 = Ramsar
| designation1_date = 26 February 1976
| designation1_number = 95<ref>{{Cite web|title=Chiemsee|website=[[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar]] Sites Information Service|url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/95|access-date=25 April 2018}}</ref>}}
}}
[[File:Location Chiemsee.PNG|thumb|Location of Chiemsee in South Germany]]

'''Chiemsee''' ({{IPA|de|ˈkiːmzeː|audio=De-Chiemsee.ogg}}) is a freshwater lake in [[Bavaria]],<ref name=EB1911>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Chiemsee|volume=6|page=132}}</ref> [[Germany]], near [[Rosenheim]]. It is often called "the Bavarian Sea". The rivers [[Tiroler Achen]] and [[Prien (river)|Prien]] flow into the lake from the south, and the river [[Alz]] flows out towards the north. The Alz flows into the [[Inn (river)|Inn]] which then merges with the [[Danube]]. The Chiemsee is divided into the bigger, north section, in the northeast, called {{lang|de|Weitsee}}, and the {{lang|de|Inselsee}}, in the southwest.

The [[Chiemgau]], the region surrounding the Chiemsee, is a popular recreation area.
{{clear|left}}

[[File:Karte Chiemgau.png|thumb|right|High resolution map of the lake within its surrounding region, [[Chiemgau]]]]

== 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]] (a {{lang|de|[[Zungenbecken]]}}). Originally the lake covered an area of almost {{convert|240|sqkm|abbr=on}}, which is about three times its present area. Within 10,000 years its area had shrunk to around {{convert|80|sqkm|abbr=on}}. Before 1904 the water level was lowered by about a metre. As a result, large areas of dry land were reclaimed.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

==Islands==
There are three main islands on the lake: '''Herreninsel''' ("gentlemen's island"), the largest, with an area of {{convert|238|ha}}; '''Frauenchiemsee''', {{convert|15.5|ha|abbr=on}}, also called ''Fraueninsel'' ("ladies' island"); and the uninhabited '''Krautinsel''' ("cabbage island"),<ref name=EB1911/> {{convert|3.5|ha|abbr=on}}, called by this name because in the Middle Ages it was cultivated with [[cabbage]]s and other vegetables.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bgfu.de/kunden/bgfu/bgfu.nsf/0/0c72a4bb3f9d0712c12570ed0049cd29 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2015-06-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151217083850/http://www.bgfu.de/kunden/bgfu/bgfu.nsf/0/0c72a4bb3f9d0712c12570ed0049cd29 |archive-date=2015-12-17 }}</ref>
*[[Herreninsel]] has a palace built by King [[Ludwig II]] in 1878 called {{lang|de|[[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 {{lang|de|Klosterlikör}} ("cloister liquor") and [[marzipan]] ([[almond paste]]).

The smallest island in the lake is the {{lang|de|Schalch}} {{convert|66|m|abbr=on}} west of Frauenchiemsee, which is of square outline, with a side length of only {{convert|4.7|m|abbr=on}} or an area of {{convert|22|m²|abbr=on}}. This tiny island had probably been created artificially to mark a shallow spot for sailboats. There is a [[willow]] on the island, originally planted in 1935, and replaced by a young tree in the 2000s.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}

<gallery widths="190" heights="180">
File:chiemsee010.jpg|View across the Chiemsee with the [[Chiemgau Alps]] in the background
File:Chiemsee Fraueninsel 323.jpg|[[Herreninsel]] with the former Monastery "Kloster Herrenchiemsee" [https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kloster_Herrenchiemsee]
File:Aerial image of the Fraueninsel.jpg|[[Frauenchiemsee|Fraueninsel]] with Monastery "Frauenchiemsee" [https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kloster_Frauenchiemsee] in the foreground
File:Chiemsee021.jpg|[[:de:Krautinsel|Krautinsel]] with (right) a small part of the [[Herreninsel]] island and in the background the Chiemgau Alps
</gallery>

==AFRC Lake Hotel==
On 1 September 1938 the first Autobahn rest house opened on the [[Bundesautobahn 8|A8]] on the outskirts of [[Bernau am Chiemsee]] on the lake's southern shore. From 1945 until 2 September 2003 the building served as an [[Armed Forces Recreation Center]] for the US military, called the Lake Hotel.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stripes.com/news/afrc-resort-at-chiemsee-closes-its-doors-1.11018|title = AFRC resort at Chiemsee closes its doors}}</ref> The building is now an orthopaedic clinic.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons}}
* {{Lakes Germany 2004|Chiemsee|Bavaria|page=17}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Lakes of Bavaria]]
[[Category:Ramsar sites in Germany]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Bavaria]]
[[Category:Alz basin|LChiemsee]]