Schliersee

Schliersee is smaller, quieter, and less fashionable than Tegernsee but hardly less beautiful. The different histories of the Tegernsee and the Schliersee are made clear in the names local people have long given them: the Tegernsee is Herrensee (Masters' Lake), while the Schliersee is Bauernsee (Peasants' Lake), although today Schliersee has come up in the world somewhat. There are walking and ski trails on the mountain slopes that ring its placid waters. The lake is shallow and often freezes over in winter, when the tiny island in its center is a favorite hiking destination. The one drawback in town is the heavy and fast traffic; Schliersee is on the road to the skiing areas of Sudelfeld and Spitzingsee.

Schliersee was the site of a monastery built in the 8th century by a group of noblemen. It subsequently became a choral academy, which eventually moved to Munich. Today only the restored 17th-century Schliersee church, in the middle of town, recalls this piece of local history. The church has some frescoes and stuccowork by Johann Baptist Zimmermann.