Zwei Flößer erklären die Geschichte der Flößerei am Modell — ©Tourismus Lenggries

History and background

Familie bei einer Laternenwanderung vor der Denkalm — ©Tourismus Lenggries, Foto: A. Greiter

Lantern hike for the whole family

Historical village tour with the raftsman

Ortsansicht mit Kirche und Brauneck im Hintergrund im Sommer — ©Tourismus Lenggries, Ch. Bäck

The name Lenggries

The first mention of the village Lenggries happenend around 1205 in a document found in a monastery in a town of Lower Bavaria. This document lists a man named “Udalricus de Lengingriez” which can be translated to “Udalrich from Lenggries”.

The municipality of Lenggries is surrounded by mountains and the river Isar, in the scenic region called “Isarwinkel” (“recess of the Isar”). The name of Lenggries stems from the riverbanks of the Isar which are full of gravel and called “langes Gries” in German (meaning a long bank of gravel). The second time Lenggries was mentioned in a document was in 1257. The signatory of it is “Wernherus Cellerarius de Lengingriez”. “Cellerarius” is the latin word for an estate manager.

Between 1808 and 1818, Lenggries evolved into an independent political municipality, but stayed under the control of the castle “Schloss Hohenburg” until 1848.

In June 1905, Germany’s first “Kraftpost”-line started operating between Bad Tölz and Lenggries. “Kraftpost” were a means of transport which combined the transportation of post and persons by a motor vehicle. In 1924, Lenggries was linked to the railway system and since then, tourism started to flourish in the region.

Today, Lenggries has a surface of 242 square kilometres and is therefore the biggest municipality in Bavaria.

The village Fall and the reservoir “Sylvensteinsee”

The reservoir

By looking at the Sylvenstein lake, you can not see that it is not natural but created by man. This reservoir was built between 1954 and 1959 to protect against floods and as a retention reservoir in case of droughts.

Today, the Sylvenstein lake is also a popular destination for swimming or doing different kinds of water sports.

The small village of Fall

The village Fall got its name from a waterfall near the village, which does not exist anymore due to the creation of the Sylvenstein reservoir.

In the past, numerous celebrities came to Fall for their hunting vacations. For example Ludwig II. of Bavaria, the king who built Bavaria’s beautiful castles, like the Neuschwanstein castle. He also built himself a hunting lodge in Fall and a chapel in Vorderriß near Fall. The chapel is located on private property and therefore not open to the public.

The original village of Fall was not at the same place, where the village is now. Originally, the village was consisted of wooden houses. It also had an inn, a chapel which was built in 1740 and forestry office. When the constructions of the reservoir began in 1954, the village and its people had to move as “Old-Fall” was located where the artificial Sylvenstein lake was supposed to be created. The population was forced to resettle in “New-Fall” which lay a few hundred meters away. The buildings of “Old-Fall” were blasted during the construction works and in 1959 the whole surface of the original town was flooded by the Sylvenstein lake.

The foundation walls of “Old-Fall” can only be seen during long dry periods. The church tower jutting out of the water is a myth: the church building has been completely demolished.

Ein historisches Foto von zwei Flößern auf der Isar — ©Tourismus Lenggries

Timber rafting

One of the oldest crafts in Lenggries

In the past, it was thanks to timber rafting, that trade with places as far away as Vienna was possible for craftsmen in Lenggries. Therefore, timber rafting was one of the most important industries in Lenggries.

The local history museum has a special exhibition on timber rafting in Lenggries.

In 2009, the municipality of Lenggries was awarded the title of “village of timber rafting” by the International Timber Raftsmen Association.

more informations

Eine Axt auf einem Baumstamm — ©Tourismus Lenggries

The woodworkers

Working with wood on the mountains was and still is a hard job.

Depending on the season, woodworkers would use different modes of transport to get the freshly cut trees out of the forest in the 19th and 20th century. In winter, they used big sledges to bring the trunks down from the mountains to the valley. In summer, the woodworkers would benefit from the streams flowing down the mountains, which would take the tree-trunks with them.

In the valley, the wood would be brought to a sawmill, or it would be transported by raft downriver on the river Isar.

This work was very difficult and dangerous, which is why some of the woodworkers died during their work. Today, you can still see memorials for these passed workmen in the mountains.