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Discover Starnberg
A lake town at the gates of Munich: Germany’s fifth-largest lake, the summers of Empress Sisi, the last hours of King Ludwig II, museums, painters and the villages around the shore.
Starnberg lies at the northern end of Lake Starnberg, in Upper Bavaria, about 25 km south-west of Munich. First recorded in 1226 as “Starnberch”, the town grew below the castle of the Wittelsbachs and became the summer retreat of the Munich court and, later, of Munich’s citizens. The magic of Starnberg is a little bit connected to Sisi, Empress of Austria, and to her cousin King Ludwig II of Bavaria — and to the many artists who painted the lake. Start with the lake itself, then follow the royals, the museums and the paths around the shore.
The sights on the map
Click a photo for the name, the page and the (i) photo source. Places without a verified position are listed below only. Map: OpenFreeMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors.
All the sights
- Museum Starnberger SeeLocal history museum founded in 1913 in the historic Lochmann fisherman's house, showing life on the lake and the Wittelsbach court boats such as the rowing barge 'Delphin'.
- Empress Elisabeth MuseumMuseum about Empress Elisabeth ('Sisi') and her family, housed in the former royal railway station of Possenhofen, including the 1865 state waiting room.
- Buchheim Museum of FantasyLakeside art museum opened in 2001 in a ship-like building by Behnisch, Behnisch & Partner, showing Lothar-Günther Buchheim's collection of German Expressionism (Brücke painters) and ethnographic objects.
- Copper Museum FischenPrivate foundation museum (since 2006) in a listed estate in Fischen near the Ammersee, showing one of Central Europe's largest collections of historic copper objects, including court kitchenware from Wittelsbach and Habsburg households.
- Possenhofen CastleLakeside castle where Empress Elisabeth ('Sisi') spent much of her childhood as summer residence of Duke Max in Bayern; today private condominiums, viewable only from outside and from the public park in front.
- Rose IslandThe lake's only island (2.56 ha), off Feldafing, with King Maximilian II's 'Casino' villa (1853), a Lenné rose garden and a UNESCO-listed prehistoric pile-dwelling site; reached by a small ferry from the Glockensteg.
- Votive Chapel of King Ludwig IINeo-Romanesque memorial chapel (1896-1900, architect Julius Hofmann) in the Berg castle park, above the spot where King Ludwig II was found dead on 13 June 1886.
- King Ludwig II Memorial CrossSimple wooden cross standing in the shallow water below the Votive Chapel, marking the place where Ludwig II and Dr. von Gudden were found dead in 1886.
- Berg CastleFormer Wittelsbach summer residence where King Ludwig II spent his last hours in 1886; owned by the Wittelsbacher Ausgleichsfonds and not open to visitors, but part of the park (with the Votive Chapel) is public.
- Starnberg CastleFormer Wittelsbach summer palace on the moraine above the town (first recorded 1244), rebuilt as a Renaissance residence and today home of the Starnberg tax office; its baroque-style garden is freely accessible.
- Starnberg Castle GardenSmall baroque-style garden on the old castle walls between Schloss Starnberg and St. Josef, with a view over the lake.
- St. Joseph's ChurchRococo church (1764-1770, plans by Leonhard Matthäus Gießl) next to the castle, famous for its gilded high altar by Ignaz Günther and frescoes by Christian Wink.
- Starnberg Lake Promenade & UndosaLakeside promenade by the station and boat pier, with the Undosa – a former wave bath (1905-1981) whose site now houses a lake restaurant.
- Andechs AbbeyBenedictine priory on the 'Holy Mountain' above the Ammersee, Bavaria's second-largest pilgrimage site, with a Rococo pilgrimage church and a renowned monastery brewery.
- Lake Ammer (Ammersee)Neighbouring lake about 15 km west of Starnberg (46.6 km², max. depth 81 m), with Herrsching and Dießen at its ends and passenger boats since 1879.
- Lake StarnbergGermany's fifth-largest lake by area (56.36 km², 19.45 km long, up to 127.8 m deep), a Ramsar wetland since 1976.
- Bismarck Tower AssenhausenAbout 30 m tower designed by Theodor Fischer and inaugurated on 1 July 1899, with a colonnade and park above the east shore; only the lower part is accessible, free of charge.
- Ilka Heights (Ilkahöhe)Moraine hill (726 m) above Oberzeismering south of Tutzing, considered the best viewpoint over the lake and the Alps, with the small church of St. Nikolaus and an inn.
- Tutzing Local MuseumSmall museum in a former schoolhouse presenting 3,000 years of Tutzing's cultural history.