Train Peak

The Zugspitze, at 2,962 meters (9,718 ft) above sea level, is the highest peak in the Wetterstein Mountains and Germany’s tallest mountain. The massif is located southwest of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria and in northern Tyrol (Austria). The border between Germany and Austria runs over its western summit. South of the mountain lies the Zugspitzplatt, a karst plateau with numerous caves. Three glaciers cling to the Zugspitze’s slopes: the Northern Schneeferner (27.9 hectares), the Höllentalferner (24.7 hectares), and the smaller Southern Schneeferner (4.8 hectares).

The first documented ascent of the Zugspitze took place on August 27, 1820, by Josef Naus, a Bavarian army lieutenant and surveyor, his assistant Maier, and mountain guide Johann Georg Tauschl.

In 1854, on the occasion of his marriage to Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary (“Sisi”), Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria gifted the eastern part of the Zugspitze summit to his cousin Prince Ludwig (who was not yet king and only nine years old at the time).

Today, there are three standard routes to the summit: from the northeast via the Höllental, from the southeast through the Reintal, and from the west across the Austrian Schneekar. The Jubiläumsgrat, connecting the Zugspitze with Hochblassen and the Alpspitze, is one of the most famous ridge traverses in the Eastern Alps. For climbers, there are numerous accommodations nearby, including the Münchner Haus on the west summit and the Wiener-Neustädter-Hütte on the western flank.

The first cable car, the Tyrolean Zugspitze Railway, was built in 1926 by the Leipzig company Adolf Bleichert & Co. and originally terminated at a ridge station (Kammstation) at 2,805 m (9,203 ft) before being extended to the summit station (2,951 m / 9,682 ft) in 1991. A cogwheel train, the Bavarian Zugspitz Railway, has run through the northern flank since 1930, ending at the Zugspitzplatt, where another cable car ascends to the summit. A third cable car, the Eibsee Cable Car, opened in 1963 and was replaced in 2017 by the more advanced Zugspitze Cable Car. Together, the Bavarian Zugspitz Railway and the Eibsee Cable Car transport around 500,000 visitors annually. In winter, several ski lifts operate a ski area on the Zugspitzplatt. Climate research is conducted at the meteorological station (established in 1900) and the Schneefernerhaus research station.