Starnberg Travel Guide

Rose Island is Lake Starnberg's only island and site of a royal villa of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. He was particularly attached to this place and made frequent renovations and remodelings of the small garden and the villa, which is called casino. Guests on the island were the composer Richard Wagner, Empress Elisabeth of Austria and Czarina Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. The villa is today a small museum and open to the general public.

Villa Hours: May - October 15: 12 pm - 6pm. Closed Mondays. Closed October 16-April.

Villa Admission: 3 € Adults, 2 € Concessions.

For the collections of Lothar-Günther Buchheim – painter, photographer, publisher, author of art books and novels – architect Günter Behnisch has designed an open and multi-segmental structure that reflects the museum's extraordinary diversity. The legendary core of the collection, works of Expressionism predominantly by the artists' group Brücke (1905–1913), are shown in spacious halls. The more intimate rooms of the towers are reserved for the collections of folk art and ethnological artistry, as well as for Buchheim's own work. A unique architectural feature is the deck that is suspended twelve-meters high over the lake, providing museum visitors with a view of the town of Starnberg and the Alps.

Hours: April through October: Tuesday - Sunday and holidays 10am – 6pm. November - March: Tuesday to Sunday and holidays 10am – 5pm.

Admission: 8.50 € Adults, 3.50 € Concessions, 18 € Family card.

Schloss Berg has been owned by the ruling house of Wittelsbach since 1669. Its fame stems from the fact that it was the final residence of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. All the Gothic details added to the castle by King Ludwig in the mid-19th century have been removed, the Schloss returned to its appearance as it would have looked in the 17th and 18th centuries. The castle is still privately owned and not open to the public, and a gatehouse blocks a view of its facade. From the lake, summer foliage blocks the view, though it can be seen from the lake in winter. Although you can't go inside, you can wander through the former grounds of the castle, which have been turned into a public park. It is located in Berg on the eastern shores of Lake Starnberg.

The young Empress Elizabeth, known throughout her life as Sisi, used to spend her summer holidays in Possenhofen on Lake Starnberg with her parents, brothers and sisters. She and members of her family as well as Kings, the Emperor and the nobility spent some time in the magnificent stateroom – now used by the museum. At that time this room served as an arrival and departure hall of the station.

Individual guided tours – approximately 1 hour – are offered.

Hours: Open May 1st through October 15th, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 2pm - 6pm.

Admission (includes guided tour): 4 € Adults, 3 € Concessions, 1 € Children.

The permanent collection of this Regional Museum deals with one part of rural life and work, and the other with the court of the Wittelsbach and Lake Starnberg. The property was once owned by a noble family, Tutzing, which leased the farm, but had sole rights for use of the first floor, and remnants of their life are part of the exhibition.

Hours: Tuesday - Sunday 10am - 5pm.

Admission: 3 € Adults, 2 € Concessions, 7 € Family card.