Wrapped in silence - a photo on Flickriver

Wrapped in silence

            An unknown couple on the eastern lakefront of the Kochelsee (in English: "Lake Kochel") with the mountain Herzogstand (in English: "Duke’s High Seat")  in the distance, Bavaria, Germany

Some background imformation:

When we visited this place, the air pollution was rather severe. A lot of Saharan dust had reached southern Germany and that’s why the sky looks rather grainy and opaque in all my photos taken on that day. I remember having heard about Saharan dust reaching Germany for the first time about fifteen or twenty years ago. But I cannot remember Saharan dust having reached Germany already at the end of March. That’s much too early. For me the trend is quite disturbing and I summarize such trends under the heading "climate change". Obviously, we really have dealt ill with our planet. I fear for the future, actually.

The Kochelsee is a lake located about 70 kilometres (43 miles) to the south of Munich on the edge of the Bavarian Alps. The lake lies within the municipal areas of the communities of Kochel am See ((in English: "Kochel by the Lake") and Schlehdorf. It was created during the last glacial period of the current ice age by the Loisach-Isar glacier. The bottom of the glacier scraped out the lakebed. The basin then filled with water at the end of the glacial period while the northern end of the lake silted up forming bogs. Thus, the northern shore is bordered by bog lands and the southern edge of the lake lies up against the mountains.

The Loisach river flows into the lake at Schlehdorf and out of the lake at Kochel am See. Hence, it’s the Loisach river that provides the lake‘s consistent water level. The river flows through both Tyrol, Austria and Bavaria, Germany. It is a 113-kilometre-long (70-miles-long) left tributary to the Isar river whose source is near Ehrwald in Austria. It flows past the Bavarian town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen and after flowing 25 kilometres northeastbound supplies the Kochelsee with water. The Loisach then flows out of Kochelsee and joins the Isar at the town of Wolfratshausen.

The Herzogstand is a mountain on the edge of the Bavarian Alps. Geographically, it still belongs to the Bavarian foothills of the Alps and hence, cannot compete with the much higher mountains of the High Alps in terms of elevation. However, with its elevation of 1,731 metres (5,679 feet) it is still a quite impressive mountain that dominates its surroundings.

Maximilian II, King of Bavaria from 1848 to 1864, had a hunting lodge built underneath today's so-called Herzogstand House in 1857. And his successor, King Ludwig II, had a royal lodge built further up the mountain in 1865. The Herzogstand Cable Car, runs to Herzogstand-house at 1,575 metres (5,167 feet) above sea level, and then continues on to the summit of Farnkopf at 1,627 metres (5,338 feet).

The commune of Kochel am See, where I took this photo, is a little town in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen.  It has almost 4,200 residents. The town is home to the Franz Marc Museum, which is dedicated to the famous German painter Franz Marc, who loved the area around Kochel and also bought a house there. The museum exhibits paintings from Franz Marc and other well-known expressionists (mainly from the artist circle "Blauer Reiter"), such as Wassily Kandinsky, August Macke. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Alexej von Jawlensky.

Apart from its scenery, the Kochelsee (in English: "Lake Kochel") and the Franz Marc Museum, the settlement is known for the Blacksmith of Kochel, who may be considered as a local folk hero. According to legend, he was a soldier in the army of the Holy League during the Great Turkish War. As the word is, he was only armed with a rod when he stood in front of the city gate of Belgrade. With his rod he rammed the gate and forced an entrance for his comrades-in-arms, so that Belgrade could be conquered in 1688. 

Later, legend has it that the Blacksmith of Kochel led a Bavarian farmers' rebellion against the imperial troops of the Habsburg Emperor Joseph I during the War of the Spanish Succession. This rebellion culminated in the Sendlinger Mordweihnacht (in English: "Sendling Christmas Massacre") of 1705. In literature, the smith is described as a man of over 70 years of age, yet great in stature and power. For the revolt, he supposedly armed himself with a spiked club of his own making that weighed over 50 kg (100 pound) . In the night of the massacre, the smith fought in the ranks of the rebels at the Sendling Parish Church. There he died heroically, the last man to fall. Well, at least that's the legend.

Taken in: Germany / Bavaria / Landkreis Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen / Kochel am See (show map)

Taken on: March 30, 2024

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Sets appears in: • Bavaria, Germany 2005 - 2024 • Landscapes - Germany more » • Lakes • Spring « less

Groups appears in: • Germany • Landschaft/Landscape more » • European Vacation • Bayern • Germany, Deutschland • bavaria • Voyageurs du monde: Sweeper active ( Post 1 Comment 2). • LANDSCAPES DREAMS -Please comment on two (2)!!! • Strictly GeoTagged (no 30/60 limit) • Landscape Beauty ! • The concept is Europe • * Perspectiva Central * (post 1 / comment 2) « less

Camera: Canon EOS 77D, f/18.0, 1/800 sec, 24mm, ISO 1600 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 77D
Lens:	TAMRON 18-400mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD B028
Aperture:	f/18.0
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/800)
Focal Length:	24mm
ISO:	1600
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Spot
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 25.6 (Windows)
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