Zugspitze, Bavaria, Germany

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2,962 metres high

The highest point in Germany

Zugspitze looms high over the cosy town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen – and, in fact, over all of Germany.

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The Zugspitze (/ˈzʊɡʃpɪtsə/ ZUUG-shpit-sə, German: [ˈtsuːkˌʃpɪtsə] ⓘ; lit. '[avalanche] path peak'), at 2,962 m (9,718 ft) above sea level, is the highest peak of the Wetterstein Mountains and the highest mountain in Germany.

Panorama Alps view at Zugspitze, Bavaria,  Germany

View from the Zugspitze platform looking north toward Germany.

Notice the lake Eibsee in the middle and the town of Grainau to the right.

Zugspitze from Ehrwald, Tyrol, Austria

View at the mountain Zugspitze from the Austrian village Ehrwald

Location

Tyrol, Austria
Bavaria, Germany

Physical map of Germany

The Zugspitze lies in the Wetterstein range, a chain of limestone peaks marking the border between Austria and Germany and stretching from Ehrwald in the Tyrol through to Mittenwald in Bavaria.

At 2962m, it is both the highest mountain in Germany and in the Wetterstein range itself.

View from the Alpspitze of the Zugspitze summit and the Höllentalferner glacier in 2007

The Zugspitze (/ˈzʊɡʃpɪtsə/ ZUUG-shpit-sə, German: [ˈtsuːkˌʃpɪtsə] ⓘ; lit. '[avalanche] path peak'), at 2,962 m (9,718 ft) above sea level, is the highest peak of the Wetterstein Mountains and the highest mountain in Germany.

It lies south of the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, and the Austria–Germany border is on its western summit. South of the mountain is the Zugspitzplatt, a high karst plateau with numerous caves. On the flanks of the Zugspitze are two glaciers, the largest in Germany: the Northern Schneeferner with an area of 30.7 hectares and Höllentalferner with an area of 24.7 hectares. Shrinking of the Southern Schneeferner led to the loss of glacier status in 2022.

Annotated aerial photograph of the Zugspitze massif

Zugspitze-Wettersteinkamm

The Zugspitzplatt above the Reintal valley in 2006

The Platt or Zugspitzplatt is a plateau below the summit of the Zugspitze to the south and southeast which lies at a height of between 2,000 and 2,650 m (6,560 and 8,690 ft). It forms the head of the Reintal valley and has been shaped by a combination of weathering, karstification and glaciation. The area contains roches moutonnées, dolines and limestone pavements as a consequence of the ice ages. In addition moraines have been left behind by various glacial periods.

The Platt was completely covered by a glacier for the last time at the beginning of the 19th century. Today 52 percent of it consists of scree, 32 percent of bedrock and 16 percent of vegetation-covered soils, especially in the middle and lower areas.

Linderhof Palace

Eibsee

Partnachklamm

Tiroler Zugspitz Arena

Alpspitze

Hot air balloon over the Zugspitze, Bavaria, Germany

Hot air balloon over the Zugspitze, Bavaria, Germany

If Germany's tallest mountain wasn't high enough for you, we can lift you to even greater heights. While visitors who summit the 9,700-foot Zugspitze may contend with snowdrift-whipping winds, passengers aboard this hot air balloon are carried by the gusts, enjoying a sense of stillness and silence no matter how stiff the breeze. Of course, that's no excuse to leave the hat and scarf at home: Sometimes cruising thousands of feet above solid ground, a balloon's basket can be a bracingly cold place, especially over alpine settings where the Earth is elevated to begin with.

hot-air-balloon-over-snowy-alps-hp-huber

The north face of the Zugspitze seen from the Eibsee lake

The Eibsee in front of the Zugspitze: woods on the northern shore

Alpine choughs on the Zugspitzeck

The Höllentalferner in 2009

Nördlicher_Schneeferner

The Northern Schneeferner and winter sport infrastructure in 2009

Alpen_Zugspitze_Gipfelkreuz_Bayern

Summit cross on the Zugspitze

Aerial photograph of the summit

View from the Gatterl into the Reintal

View from the Höllentalanger Hut towards the Zugspitze

Western section of the arête: view from the Middle Höllentalspitze to the Zugspitze

Zugspitze_Airview

The "Zugspitze", the highest mountain in Germany as seen from an aircraft. View from West, with mountains in Wetterstein around and valley Reintal with fog or clouds from above.

View from the Zugspitze platform looking toward Austria

Zugspitze_panorama

View from the Zugspitze platform looking south toward Zugspitzplatt (Germany). The gold summit cross (on the left) marks the highest point in Germany.

View of the Zugspitze from the Höllental

The Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain