Reit im Winkl


Reit im Winkl is a small village located on the German/Austrian border in the southeastern part of Bavaria, Germany in the Traunstein district, and was previously an immigration and customs control point. It is situated south of Chiemsee and southwest of Ruhpolding - home of the Biathlon World Cup - in the Bavarian Alps and facing towards Tyrol. The village lies next to the Austrian states Tyrol and Salzburg. Kössen in Tyrol is the next village on the river Lofer, before it joins the confluence of the river Tiroler Achen. Reit im Winkl has a population of approximately 2,600.
Reit im Winkl is well known as both a certified place of restorative and curative air and a ski resort, offering alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, both classical and skating, and snow-boarding, as well as mountain trekking and hiking. It achieved, in 2012, Germany's first-ever Premium Winter Trails Certification. Snowfall is always plentiful and predictable Three lifts in the suburb of Blindau as well as a snow-tubing lift, and the large plateau skiing area at Winklmoos Alm which connects with :de:Steinplatte|Steinplatte in Austria and is reached by the recently completed, state-of-the-art gondola cableway from Seegatterl.
In summer, Reit im Winkl enjoys one of the highest counts of sunny days in Bavaria, and is popular with mountain bike and nordic walking enthusiasts. Visitors can enjoy swimming in either of the three alpine lakes northeast of Seegatterl, or try their luck at fishing in the trout lake.
Reit im Winkl is popularly known to locals and return visitors as Germany's own Tyrol, and boasts its own home-grown regional specialities such as Heumilch cheese, heuschnapps and Reiberdatschi, popularly eaten with apple mousse.

Suburbs

Reit im Winkl is divided into the suburbs Birnbach, Blindau, Entfelden, Groissenbach, Oberbichl, Seegatterl, Unterbichl and Winklmoos Alm.

History

The first signs of settlement in Reit im Winkl are in the 12th century. The date of the foundation is 1160 when Otto de Rute was named in a document. The accuracy of the document is disputed and some historians put the beginning of the settlement to the middle of the 13th century. Since then it has been part of Bavaria.
Reit im Winkl was part of the parish of Kirchdorf in Tirol which was itself part of the diocese of Chiemsee from 1275 until 1804.
Historians have assumed the location of the manor of the Herren von Reit, on a small hill above the church.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was created 1929 replacing the old coat of arms which showed a blue chapel on a green hill. The new coat of arms shows the eagle on yellow ground of the diocese of Chiemsee in a corner. The burning log and the sapie on the forest green ground are symbols for the clearing of the forest to create pasture and farm land in 11th and 12th century.

Economy

History

Formerly, Reit im Winkl was mostly dependent on logging and forestry, because of the brevity of the growing season for agricultural production. Trees were logged in summer and transported to storage places with horses or by hand. Logs were transferred to neighbouring Tyrol for sale: in winter either via sleds with a man sitting in front using his feet to brake and control the sled, which resulted in severe accidents occurring regularly, or via dams which were constructed to hold the meltwater during spring in order to raft the timber down the valley - such a dam can be found on display at Winklmoss Alm. Because the orientation of the valley made it impossible to sell the rafted wood to the salt works of Bad Reichenhall or Traunstein - which had an enormous fuel consumption - logs were sent south. In one such contract the wood was sold to the silver works in the Inn valley in Tyrol and as an exchange Tyrol sold logs to the salt works in Bad Reichenhall.

Today

The first tourist to Reit im Winkl, in the year 1858, was King Maximilian II, as reported in the local press. The Strength Through Joy movement in the Third Reich and the closed borders after the war boosted tourism as the principal source of income in the region. Today, approximately 5000 beds for annual visitor numbers of 90 000 provides an indication of the importance of tourism for Reit im Winkl.

Transport

Reit im Winkl is located along the Deutschen Alpenstraße . Coming from Munich by car it can be reached either from the Munich-Salzburg highway A8 at Bernau or Chiemsee and the Tiroler Achen valley; coming from Salzburg along the Munich-Salzburg A8 at Siegsdorf or Grabenstatt via Ruhpolding, or through Bad Reichenhall via Berchtesgarden. The Maserer pass has been renovated and widened - during periods of heavy snowfall, snow chains are recommended. The B305 continues through the village, across the border into Austria and follows the river Lofer river to Kössen straight into the Inn valley. Because of the need for transport capacities for the sawmills and logs from the surrounding forest a narrow gauge railway was built from Ruhpolding to Reit im Winkl in 1923. Following accidents and as a result of the high maintenance costs the railway was demolished in the 1930s. The causeway is used as a bicycle trail in summer and for nordic skiing in the winter.
Apart from private car, Reit im Winkl can be reached via public transport - the RVO runs the following bus services which also connect with the Deutsche Bahn.
1. 9505 - Reit im Winkl - Prien am Chiemsee
2. 9506 - Reit im Winkl - Inzell
3. 9507 - Reit im Winkl - Winklmoos
4. 9509 - Reit im Winkl - Traunstein
5. 9531 - Oberwössen - Übersee
6. 9535 - Reit im Winkl - Salzburg
Reit im Winkl also has one taxi service, a rental car service, and a minibus rental/coach with driver service.

Personalities

Sons and daughters of the community