Bernau am Chiemsee (, ; officially ) is a municipality in the district of Rosenheim in Germany on the Lake Chiemsee, and a Luftkurort.
The Luftkurort Bernau lies in the Chiemgau area at the southwestern bank of the lake Chiemsee. Bernau is close to the Bundesautobahn 8 (A 8) Munich â Salzburg and the RosenheimâÂÂSalzburg railway. In the south are the Chiemgau Alps (German: Chiemgauer Alpen) with the prominent summit, the Kampenwand. In the east is vast bogland, where peat used to be harvested in large quantities. An old rail station for the transportation of peat in the bog area Kendlmühlfilzen reminds of these times. Rosenheim is 24 km away, Munich 83 km, Kufstein 35 km, Traunstein 26 km, Salzburg 58 km, and Reit im Winkl 25 km.
Bernau has a bathing beach, boat hire, and mooring for the Chiemsee-Schifffahrt at its shore. It is possible to reach the island Herreninsel directly from here.
The cycling route (Uferrundweg) around the lake Chiemsee also passes through one of Bernau's districts called Felden.
Neighbouring municipalities clockwise are ÃÂbersee, Grassau, Aschau, Frasdorf, and Prien.
There are the following land plots of the municipality, also called Gemarkungen: Bernau a. Chiemsee, Hittenkirchen. The municipality Bernau am Chiemsee has 38 districts:
Bernau am Chiemsee belonged to the count Grafen von Preysing. However, it was also part of the Electorate of Bavaria. Bernau was a part of the rule of Hohenaschau, which was equipped with the right of Blutgerichtsbarkeit. Today's municipality came into being in the course of the administrative reforms in Bavaria by the edict of 1818 (Gemeindeedikt von 1818).
During the time of ancient Rome, Bernau was a popular resort for soldiers because of its convenient and healthy location. The outlines of a villa rustica were found here. This indicates the existence of a Roman bath. A Roman tombstone was also found.
The emperor Maximilian I. stayed in Bernau during his campaign against the castle Burg Marquartstein in October 1504. This has been noted on a board at the guesthouse Gasthof zum alten Wirt.
On 1 May 1978, parts of the dissolved municipality Hittenkirchen were incorporated.
Between 1988 and 2018, the municipality grew from 5,073 to 6,980 by 1,907 inhabitants or alternatively by 37.6%.
The majority of the population in Bernau is Catholic. Service takes place in the church St. Laurentius which belongs to the Catholic parish of Bernau. The district Hittenkirchen has its own village church.
20 honorary council members, together with the full-time mayor, make up the municipal council of Bernau am Chiemsee. The composition of this council following the local elections in 2014 is as follows:
In 2010, the municipal tax revenue was 4,745,000 euros, 1,676,000 euros of which were trade tax revenues (net).
Blazon: "In Silber über einem mit zwei durchgehenden silbernen Wellenbalken belegten blauen Dreiberg eine grüne Hausmarke, bestehend aus KreuzkopfvierfuÃÂschaft mit erhöhter linker Mittelkreuzstrebe, Vierfuàhintenendig gekreuzt." (Silver, at the bottom a blue trimount, with two continuous silver waves going through the mount and above a green House mark consisting of a complex pattern.)
The house mark belongs to the innkeeper family Seiser, who have played an important role in the municipality since the end of the 15th century. The green colour has been freely selected. The trimount alludes to the Aschauer coat of arms, which Bernau used to belong to; however, it also stands for the mountains in the Chiemgau area. The waves stand for the position of the town close to Lake Chiemsee. The coat of arms was designed by the engineer and designer Hugo Decker and was approved by the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior in 1956.
The flag is striped green, white, and blue.
In 2010, according to government statistics, there were 281 employees who were subject to social insurance in the manufacturing industry and 338 employees subject to social insurance in the trade and traffic industry in Bernau. 590 employees subject to social insurance were employed in other economic sectors. Altogether, there were 1856 employees subject to social insurance. In the manufacturing sector, there were three businesses, and in the building industry proper, eight. Furthermore, there were 57 farms with an agricultural land of altogether 1394 hectares, of which 1250 hectares were fields not used for agriculture.
A branch of the company Bavaria Yachts is located in Bernau.
In 2010, there were the following educational institutions:
The school teaches grades 1-4, and there are two school classes for each grade.
There are many sports facilities in Bernau for many disciplines. These include football, basketball, tennis, paddleball, volleyball, boccia, beach volleyball, beach soccer, ballooning, biking in the mountains, downhill, skiing, snowboarding and other winter sports, as well as hiking, climbing, Nordic walking, ice skating, squash, windsurfing, surfing, sailing, and water sports. Furthermore, there are three shooting clubs, where it is possible to practice shooting with airguns and air pistols.
Bernau is home to one of the biggest indoor tennis courts in Germany, as well as one of two places in Germany for the new tennis discipline called Padel. There is also a DAV indoor climbing gym. DAV stands for [German Alpine Club] (German: for Deutscher Alpenverein). There are beach volleyball and beach soccer courts at the lake. The lake also offers many opportunities for different water disciplines. Ballooning is offered in the district of Hittenkirchen, as well as in Bernau itself.
Bernau is a popular place for tourists due to its tranquility and its proximity to large cities such as Munich and Salzburg. Popular tourist spots apart from the lake Chiemsee are the castle Bonnschlössl, the guesthouse Gasthof alter Wirt and the Torfbahnhof, an old rail station for the transportation of peat. There are also many typical Bavarian mountain pastures that still run.
There is a tourist information office in the Chiemseepark Bernau-Felden.