Reit im Winkl

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Reit im Winkl


Country	Germany
State	Bayern
Administrative region	Oberbayern
District	Landkreis Traunstein
Population	2,629 source (2002)
Area	70.99 km²
Population density	37 /km²
Elevation	695 m
Coordinates	47°41′ N 12°28′ E
Postal code	84242
Area code	08640
Licence plate code	TS
Mayor	Fritz Schmuck (Neue Liste)
Website	Reit im Winkl

Reit im Winkl is a small village in the southeastern part of Bavaria, Germany, in the Traunstein district. It is situated southwest of Ruhpolding in the Alps. The village area has borders with two states of Austria, Tyrol and Salzburg. The small village of Kössen in Tyrol is the next village following the river Lofer to the confluence into the Tiroler Achen. The Reit im Winkl has a population of approximately 2,600. It is a famous tourist resort, especially for winter sports. The skiing area is located in a district of the village called Winklmoos Alm.

1 Districts
2 History
3 Coat of arms
4 Economy
- 4.1 History
- 4.2 Today
5 Transportation
6 Notable people
7 External links

[edit] Districts

Reit im Winkl with Unterberg Wilder- and Zahmerkaiser

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

At 737 meters, it is worth checking the snow reports prior to booking a ski holiday.

[edit] 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 historiens put the beginning of the sttlement to the mid of the 13th century. Since this time it is 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 assumed the location of the manor of the Herren von Reit (Noble of Reit) on a small hill above the church.

[edit] 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 (Winkl derived from the German word Winkel for corner). The burning log and the sapie (axe like tool to trail logs) on the forest green ground are symbols for the clearing of the forest to create pasture and farm land in 11th and 12 century.

[edit] Economy

[edit] History

In former times Reit im Winkl with its unfavorable climate for agricultural use was mostly depending on the forest. The trees were chopped down in summer and transported to storage places with horses or by hand. There were two major methods for the transportation of the logs down into the valley. In winter the logs were put on sleds and with a man sitting in front using his feet to slow the sled the logs were transported. The work was dangerous and severe accidents occurred regulare. The second method was to build a dam and store the melting water in spring to have enough water for timber rafting, a rebuilt wooden dam is at display in the Winklmoss Alm. The orientation of the valley made it impossible to sell the rafted wood to the saline of Reichenhall or Traunstein which had an enormous fuel consumption. In a contract the wood was sold to the silver works in the Inn valley in Tyrol and as an exchange Tyrol sold logs to the saline in Reichenhall.

[edit] Today

The rise of tourism began in the year 1858 with a visit of King Maximilian II. which was reported in the press. The Strength Through Joy movement in the Third Reich and the closed borders after the war boosted the tourism to the number one source of income in region. Comparing the 2700 inhabitants to the 5000 beds for tourists with a number of 90.000 tourists per year gives an impression of the formative influence of tourism for the village.

[edit] Transportation

Reit im Winkl is located at the Deutschen Alpenstraße (B 305) (German Alpine Street), coming from the highway A8 at the Chiemsee and through the valley of the Tiroler Achen to Reit im Winkl and through Ruhpolding to Reichenhall. The street over the Maserer pass was extended several times in the 20th century, but still is a challenge for poorly equipped tourists on snowy days. One other street is following the Lofer river over the border to Austria from the village Kössen the street goes straight into the Inn valley. The need for transportation 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 some accidents and high maintainace costs due to the conditions in the winter the railway was demolished in the 1930s. The causeway is used as a bicycle trail in summer and for nordic skiing in the winter