Ammersee
lake in Upper Bavaria, Germany
Ammersee (German pronunciation: [ˈamɐˌzeː] ; English: Lake Ammer) is a Zungenbecken lake in Upper Bavaria, Germany, southwest of Munich between the towns of Herrsching and Dießen am Ammersee. With a surface area of approximately 47 square kilometres (18 sq mi), it is the sixth largest lake in Germany. The lake is at an elevation of 533 metres (1,749 ft), and has a maximum depth of 81 metres (266 ft). Like other Bavarian lakes, Ammersee developed as a result of the ice age glaciers melting. Ammersee is fed by the River Ammer, which flows as the Amper out of the lake. Like neighbouring Lake Starnberg - deeper, bigger in surface area, similar in shape - it is a popular location for watersports.
Ammersee and the Amper are part of the ancient Celtic amber trading route leading to the Brenner Pass. The word Ammer is a 13th-century form of Amper, the Celtic *ambra, deriving from the Indo-European *ombh-, *mbh- "wet, Water".
Passenger services have operated on the lake since 1879. Today they are operated by the Bayerische Seenschifffahrt company, using a mixture of historic paddle steamers and motor ships.
The public source identifies “Ammersee” as lake in Upper Bavaria, Germany. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Ammersee, lake and Upper.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Ammersee”, the useful work is to connect “lake in Upper Bavaria, Germany” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q265336. VIAF identifies the subject as 240306954. The Library of Congress control number is sh85004526. Authority coordinates are 48.000, 11.117. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1879.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Ammersee”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Ammersee primary sources, Ammersee archive and Ammersee research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Ammersee” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.