Garmisch-Partenkirchen - City of Germany

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region, not far from the border with Austria.

The 1100-year-old towns themselves were separate communities until the mayors of Garmisch and Partenkirchen were forced by Adolf Hitler to combine the two in 1935 in anticipation of the 1936 Winter Olympic games. The towns remain united and are casually known as Garmisch much to the dismay of the residents of Partenkirchen. Most visitors will notice the slightly more progressive feel of Garmisch while the fresco-filled, cobblestoned streets of Partenkirchen offer a glimpse into times past. Early mornings and late afternoons in pleasant weather often find local traffic stopped while the dairy cows are herded to and from the nearby mountain meadows.

South of Garmisch-Partenkirchen is the Partnach Gorge and the Zugspitze, the highest mountain of Germany.