GERMANY  |  Bavarian Alps, Germany Travel Guide
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Mittenwald

Violin-making has a history in Mittenwald, Germany (cc)
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Mittenwald

Mittenwald, just east of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, is singularly the most picturesque of all the villages in the Bavarian Alps, which Goethe described as "a living picture book." It enjoys an absolutely stunning setting in the Alps, and is filled with charming Alpine houses and buildings, many of them with elaborate paintings on their façades. It is also a town, one might add, with a long tradition of making exquisite violins, violas and cellos, which dates back to 1684, when Matthias Klotz, a former pupil of the legendary Antonio Stradivari, settled here and started the violin-making industry that continues to this day.

Mittenwald's principal attractions are its pink-colored Church of Saints Peter and Paul, which boasts a typical Bavarian painted façade, and the Geigenbaumuseum (Violin Museum) on Ballenhausgasse, which chronicles the story of violin making in Mittenwald, with scores of historical violins on display, and is practically a place of pilgrimage for violin enthusiasts the world over. Besides which, the town is also at the center of a popular recreation area, with excellent possibilities for hiking, mountain biking and skiing. In fact, the Karwendel ski area here has a 4.2-mile ski slope and the second-highest cable-car route in Germany.

Mittenwald is situated in the Valley of the River Isar in the northern foothils of the Bavarian Alps, at an elevation of 3,028 feet (923 m), approximately 15 miles (24 km) southeast of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It has a population of about 7,500, and is wildly popular with tourists.

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Last updated May 9, 2012
Posted in   Germany  |  Bavarian Alps
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