Starnberg is a Kreis in the southern part of Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Fürstenfeldbruck

Fürstenfeldbruck (district)

Fürstenfeldbruck is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the city of Munich and the districts of Munich, Starnberg, Landsberg, Aichach-Friedberg and Dachau.-History:...

, Munich

Munich (district)

Munich is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It borders the districts of Dachau, Freising, Erding, Ebersberg, Rosenheim, Miesbach, Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, Starnberg, Fürstenfeldbruck, and surrounds district-free city Munich itself, which is the district seat.-History:The history of the region is...

, Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen

Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen

Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by Austria and the districts of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Weilheim-Schongau, Starnberg, Munich and Miesbach.- History :...

, Weilheim-Schongau

Weilheim-Schongau

Weilheim-Schongau is a Kreis in the south of Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are Landsberg, Starnberg, Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Ostallgäu.-Geography:...

 and Landsberg

Landsberg (district)

Landsberg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Aichach-Friedberg, Fürstenfeldbruck, Starnberg, Weilheim-Schongau, Ostallgäu and Augsburg.- History :...

.

Starnberg and the Hochtaunuskreis

Hochtaunuskreis

The Hochtaunuskreis is a Kreis in the middle of Hesse, Germany and is part of the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Neighbouring districts are Lahn-Dill, Wetteraukreis, district-free Frankfurt, Main-Taunus, Rheingau-Taunus, Limburg-Weilburg.The Hochtaunuskreis and the Landkreis Starnberg...

 regularly compete for the title of Germany's wealthiest district.

Geography

Main geographic feature of the district are the five lakes - the Starnberger See and Ammersee

Ammersee

Ammersee is a lake in Upper Bavaria, Germany located southwest of Munich between the towns of Herrsching and Dießen am Ammersee. With a surface area of approximately , it is the sixth largest lake in Germany. The lake is located at an elevation of , and has a maximum depth of . Like other Bavarian...

, as well as the smaller Weßlinger See, Wörthsee and Pilsensee. The lakes were formed by the glacier

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

s of the last ice age

Ice age

An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...

. Hence the district is also called Fünf-Seen-Land (five lake county).

History

The district was created in 1902, when the Bezirksamt München II was dissolved, and the new Bezirksamt Starnberg and Bezirksamt Wolfratshausen were created. Starting in 1939 they were called Landkreis. In 1972 two municipalities (Bachhausen and Höhenrain) from the district Wolfratshausen were added to the district. In the 1978 communal reform the previously 42 municipalities were merged into the current 14 ones.

Partnerships

Since 1982 the district has a partnership with the district Bad Dürkheim

Bad Dürkheim (district)

Bad Dürkheim is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Kaiserslautern, Donnersbergkreis and Alzey-Worms, the city of Worms, the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, the city of Neustadt/Weinstraße, the districts of Südliche Weinstraße, the city of Landau , the district...

 in Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....

. Since 1981 it also has a partnership with the Taipei County

Taipei County

New Taipei City is the most populous city of Taiwan. The area includes a substantial stretch of Taiwan's northern coastline and surrounds the Taipei Basin...

 (now New Taipei City), which developed after a delegation of parachutists

Parachuting

Parachuting, also known as skydiving, is the action of exiting an aircraft and returning to earth with the aid of a parachute. It may or may not involve a certain amount of free-fall, a time during which the parachute has not been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal...

 from Taiwan stayed in Starnberg for the 1980 parachuting world championship in Altenstadt/Schongau

Schongau, Bavaria

Schongau is a small town in Bavaria, near the Alps. It is located along the Lech, between Landsberg am Lech and Füssen. It has about 12,000 inhabitants...

.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms show the Bavarian diamonds in the background, with a yellow lion and eagle in front. The two animals were the symbol of the Counts of Andechs-Meranien, who ruled the area until 1248.

Towns and municipalities

Towns	Municipalities
Starnberg Starnberg The city of Starnberg is in Bavaria, Germany, some 30 km south-west of Munich. It lies at the north end of Lake Starnberg, in the heart of the "Five Lakes Country", and serves as capital of the district of Starnberg...	Andechs Andechs The Benedictine abbey of Andechs is a place of pilgrimage on a hill east of the Ammersee in the Landkreis of Starnberg in Germany, in the municipality Andechs. Andechs Abbey is famed for its flamboyant Baroque church and its brewery... Berg Berg, Upper Bavaria Berg is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany.It is most famous for the royal Castle Berg.... Feldafing Feldafing Feldafing is a municipality in Starnberg district, Bavaria, Germany, and is located on the west shore of Lake Starnberg, southwest of Munich.- History :... Gauting Gauting Gauting is a municipality in the district of Starnberg, in Bavaria, Germany with a population of approximately 20,000. It is situated on the river Würm, southwest of Munich and is a part of the Munich metropolitan area.- Geography :... Gilching Gilching Gilching is a municipality in the district of Starnberg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 13 km north of Starnberg, and 22 km west of Munich . The quarters Argelsried, Neugilching and Geisenbrunn belong to the municipality of Gilching.... Herrsching Herrsching Herrsching am Ammersee is a municipality in Upper Bavaria, Germany, on the east shore of the Ammersee, southwest of Munich. Population is some 8,000 in winter, increasing to 13,000 in summer....  (Ammersee)	Inning am Ammersee Krailling Krailling Krailling is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany.... Pöcking Pöcking Pöcking is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria in Germany. Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria, consort of Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria-Hungary, grew up here in the Possenhofen Castle as daughter of Duke Max in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria. Otto von Habsburg, Crown... Seefeld Seefeld, Bavaria Seefeld is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany. The town lies on the western shore of the Pilsensee . It is connected to the Bavarian capital city of Munich by the S-Bahn line S8. Seefeld is notable for its castle , a seat of the Toering noble family of Bavaria.... Tutzing Tutzing Tutzing is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany and is situated on the west bank of the Starnberger See south of Munich... Weßling Weßling Weßling is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany.... Wörthsee Wörthsee Wörthsee is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany....

External links

• Five Lake County tourist information
• Starnberg information (English)