Bernau am Chiemsee

Topography 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 – Salzburg and the Rosenheim–Salzburg 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 was 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 municipality Neighbouring municipalities clockwise are Übersee, Grassau, Aschau, Frasdorf, and Prien. Community organisation The land plots of the municipality, also called Gemarkungen, are as follows: Bernau a. Chiemsee, Hittenkirchen. The municipality Bernau am Chiemsee has 38 districts: == History ==

Before the establishment of the municipality 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 granted 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. Incorporation On 1 May 1978, parts of the dissolved municipality Hittenkirchen were incorporated. Population development Between 1988 and 2018, the municipality grew from 5073 to 6980, by 1907 inhabitants or by 37.6%. == Religion ==

The majority of the population in Bernau is Catholic. Services take place in the church St. Laurentius, which belongs to the Catholic parish of Bernau. The district Hittenkirchen has its own village church. == Politics ==

Municipal council Twenty 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: Mayor Local authority finances In 2010, the municipal tax revenue was 4,745,000 euros, 1,676,000 euros of which were trade tax revenues (net). Coat of arms and flag Blazon: "In Silber über einem mit zwei durchgehenden silbernen Wellenbalken belegten blauen Dreiberg eine grüne Hausmarke, bestehend aus Kreuzkopfvierfußschaft mit erhöhter linker Mittelkreuzstrebe, Vierfuß hintenendig 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. == Economy and infrastructure ==

Economy 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. The 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. Traffic • Rail traffic: Bernau am Chiemsee is one of the stops (German: Haltepunkt) on the Rosenheim–Salzburg railway route, which is part of the main route Munich–Salzburg–Vienna. The train station has two train tracks and two side platforms, and was opened together with the railway route on 7 May 1860. In 2003, the train station building was modernized and now also includes a kiosk. There is also the Chiemseeringlinie, a bus service with a cycle compartment that drives to designated stops in towns and villages around Lake Chiemsee during the summer. During this time, the Chiemsee-Schifffahrt also moors in Felden. • Bus traffic: Bernau am Chiemsee is serviced by two bus links that are part of the regional traffic company Regionalverkehr Oberbayern. There is a connection to Aschau im Chiemgau, Sachrang, Prien am Chiemsee, Marquartstein, and Reit im Winkl via the bus routes 9502 and 9505. • Road traffic: In the northwest lies the Autobahn access point Autobahnanschlussstelle 106 Bernau of the Autobahn A 8 that crosses here with the main road Bundesstraße 305. Education In 2010, there were the following educational institutions: • Three nurseries with 200 places that were visited by 171 children. • A primary school with 10 teachers that teach 178 pupils in eight school classes. The school teaches grades 1-4, and there are two school classes for each grade. Sport 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. Tourism 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 livestock. There is a tourist information office in the Chiemseepark Bernau-Felden. Wellness and rehabilitation clinic • Medical-Park Chiemsee (a recognized rehabilitation clinic with the specialist areas of orthopedics, traumatology, and sports medicine). The clinic is housed in a building that used to be an old Autobahn service area building called Rasthaus am Chiemsee. == Special buildings ==

• Parish Church St. Laurentius • Medieval church St. Bartholomäus im Ortsteil Hittenkirchen • Hotel Bonnschlössl • Water tower in Bergham • War memorial im Hittenkirchen • Statues "Griechische Weisen" in the schoolyard of the primary school in Bernau • Pillar "Seisersäule" at the entrance to the Catholic parish church St. Laurentius • Museum of the old peat train station Torfbahnhof • The prison in Bernau (Justizvollzugsanstalt Bernau) can accommodate about 850 inmates and is therefore one of the largest prisons in Bavaria • Wayside chapel in Aufing • Forest chapel near Hitzelsberg • Place of prayer Mariengrotte in Kraimoos • Chapel near Kalvarienberg/Hitzelsberg == Well-known personalities born in Bernau ==

• Hugo Decker (1899–1985), member of the German Bundestag MdB (Bavaria Party), Parliamentary leader of the Föderalistische Union (1951–1953) • Raimund Eberle (1929–2007), jurist and chief administrator (Regierungspräsident) of Upper Bavaria from 1975 to 1994 • Wilfried Klaus (born 1941), actor == Well-known personalities buried in Bernau ==

• Karl Chmielewski (1903–1991), German war criminal • Fritz Odemar (1890–1955), German actor • Elisabeth Flickenschildt (1905–1977), German actress • Hans Klein (1931–1996), German politician file:Bernau Gasthof Okt.2011.JPG|Traditional guesthouse Gasthof zum alten Wirt in the heart of the village file:Chiemsee019.jpg|View from Urfahrn of Bernau across the lake Chiemsee file:Kampenwand Hauptgipfel HQ.jpg|Mountain close to Bernau, the 1664m high Kampenwand == References ==