Oberstdorf

Oberstdorf village view

Coat of arms

Oberstdorf

Location of Oberstdorf within Oberallgäu district

Coordinates: 47°25′N 10°17′E / 47.417°N 10.283°ECoordinates: 47°25′N 10°17′E / 47.417°N 10.283°E

Country

Government

• Mayor

Laurent Mies

Elevation

815 m (2,674 ft)

Population (2015-12-31)^[1]

• Total

9,638

Time zone

CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)

Postal codes

87561

Website

Official website

Oberstdorf is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in southwest Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. Oberstdorf is one of the highest market towns in Germany. The southernmost point in Germany is located in the municipality.

At the center of Oberstdorf is a church whose tall spire serves as a landmark for navigating around town. The summits of the Nebelhorn and Fellhorn provide dramatic panoramic views of the alps. The Nebelhorn can be reached with a big cable car. Visitors can ride a unique diagonal elevator to the top of the Heini-Klopfer-Skiflugschanze.

Geography

View of Oberstdorf

The Nebelhorn, Oberstdorf's local mountain

Administrative divisions

Oberstdorf consists of the village of Oberstdorf (813 metres above sea level, survey point by the Roman Catholic church) and five other villages:

Kornau , 915 m. In the vicinity is the Söllereckbahn and the Chapel of St. Fabian and St. Sebastian which is rich in art treasures.
In Reichenbach (population: 226) is the 450-year-old Chapel of St. James and the Moorwasser swimming pool.
The little hamlet of Rubi has 175 inhabitants.
Typical of Schöllang are the farm houses around the Baroque onion tower of the parish church. In the vicinity is the 1531 castle church.
The village of Tiefenbach takes its name from trees called Bergkiefer. The village lies on a terrace above the Breitach stream. Tiefenbach has a centuries-old spa tradition thanks to its sulphur spring. As early as the late 15th century counts and other high-ranking people convalesced here to cure their illnesses.

Valleys

View of Oberstdorf from the Gaißalphorn

There is a large number of valleys in the area around Oberstdorf, many of which are not only scenic, but are often starting points for walks in the mountains. The following list shows the main valleys together with their side valleys:

Breitach
- Starzlach
Stillach (Stillachtal or Birgsautal)
- Rappenalpbach (Rappenalptal)
- Warmatsgundbach (Warmatsgundtal)
Iller
Oybach (Oytal)
Trettach
- Dietersbach
- Traufbach

Oytal and Dietersbachtal are separated by the Höfats and Rauheck. Gerstruben, Germany's highest village, lies at the entrance to the Dietersbachtal.

The Rappenalptal is the longest and runs from Germany's southernmost village, Einödsbach, past the Haldenwanger Eck, Germany's southernmost point. At the end of the valley the Schrofen Pass leads to Austria.

Mountains

The Allgäu Alps in the area around Oberstdorf attain heights of over 2,600 metres and belong to the Northern Limestone Alps. The best known summits in Oberstdorf are:^[2]

Fellhorn 2,038 m (Blumenberg of the Allgäu)
Himmelschrofen 1,791 m
Höfats 2,259 m (the most prominent Allgäu "grass mountain")
Kratzer 2,427 m
Großer Krottenkopf 2,656 m (highest mountain of the Allgäu Alps)
Mädelegabel 2,645 m (lies on the Heilbronn Way)
Nebelhorn 2,224 m (with cable car)
Rubihorn 1,957 m (local mountain)
Schattenberg 1,845 m (by the eponymous ski jump)
Schneck 2,268 m (unique shape)
Trettachspitze 2,595 m
Hoher Ifen 2,230 m

Lakes

There are numerous lakes at various heights around Oberstdorf:

Christlessee, drinking water quality, in the Trettach valley
Engeratsgundsee, east of the Großer Daumen
Freibergsee, bathing lake in the Stillach valley
Unterer and Oberer Gaisalpsee
Guggersee by the Krumbach Ridgeway
Hermannskarsee between the Großer Krottenkopf and the Marchspitze
Koblatsee in the Nebelhorn area
Laufbichelsee also on the Koblat of the Nebelhorn
Moorweiher on the Krappberg
Rappensee at 2,047 m
Schlappoldsee by the middle station of the Fellhornbahn
Seealpsee above the Oytal

Sports

In December, before every New Year, Oberstdorf hosts the first part of the ski jumping Four Hills Tournament on the Schattenberg large hill. There is also a ski flying hill, Heini-Klopfer-Skiflugschanze, about seven kilometres to the south. ABC's Wide World of Sports famously featured the Oberstdorf ski flying hill when Vinko Bogataj fell during his jump in 1970, thus becoming known as "The Agony of Defeat".

Germany's modern figure skating center was built on the outside of the town. It has three covered rinks and some of them are accessible to the public, for recreational skating. It is a popular destination with European skaters for training camps.^[3]

Oberstdorf hosts the annual Nebelhorn Trophy figure skating competition and has hosted the German Figure Skating Championships twelve times. It has also hosted the 1982, 2000, and 2007 World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

Mountain bikers start their Transalp tour in Oberstdorf on the Schrofen Pass to Riva del Garda.^[4]

Notable people

The famous alpinist Andreas Heckmair, who participated in the first ascent of the North Face of the Eiger in 1938 lived in Oberstdorf until his death in 2005.
Gertrud von Le Fort (1876-1971) author, lived in Oberstdorf from 1925 till her death on 1 Nov 1971
The ski mountaineer and extreme sports athlete Toni Steurer was born in Oberstdorf.
The 2010 German Vancouver Olympic Team Members Christina Geiger and Gina Stechert (both Alpine Skiing), David Speiser (Snowboard Cross), Johannes Rydzek (Nordic Combined), Nicole Fessel and Katrin Zeller (both Cross-Country Skiing), Daniel Herberg (Curling) and Michael Neumayer (Ski jumping) live in Oberstdorf
The prominent German luthier Florian Jäger lives and works in Oberstdorf.
Oberstdorf was home to Chonrad Stoeckhlin (1549–1587), the "Shaman of Oberstdorf", a German herdsman who was accused and executed for the crime of witchcraft after experiencing a series of visions. His is one of the most detailed accounts of witchcraft in the German Alps during the "Burning Times" of the Early Modern Era.

Sister cities

Megève, France.

References

↑ "Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes". Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik und Datenverarbeitung (in German). June 2016.
↑ Kompass walking, cycling and ski touring map: Sheet 03 Oberstdorf, Kleinwalsertal (1:25,000). ISBN 978-3-8549-1231-6 (as at: 2009).
↑ Flade, Tatjana (July 22, 2011). "Carolina Kostner Attends Camp In Oberstdorf, Germany". IFS Magazine. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
↑ Transalp on the Heckmair Route

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oberstdorf.

Official website

Towns and municipalities in Oberallgäu
Altusried Bad Hindelang Balderschwang Betzigau Blaichach Bolsterlang Buchenberg Burgberg im Allgäu Dietmannsried Durach Fischen Haldenwang Immenstadt Lauben Missen-Wilhams Obermaiselstein Oberstaufen Oberstdorf Ofterschwang Oy-Mittelberg Rettenberg Sonthofen Sulzberg Waltenhofen Weitnau Wertach Wiggensbach Wildpoldsried

Four Hills Tournament
Tournaments	1953 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17
Ski jumping hills	Schattenbergschanze (Oberstdorf) Große Olympiaschanze (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) Bergiselschanze (Innsbruck) Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze (Bischofshofen)
International Ski Federation FIS Ski Jumping World Cup

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