Do you want to get up high again? Of course, we could go straight to the Alps and enjoy the views over the Berchtesgadener Land. Or go to the fairytale knight’s castle near Riedenburg! There are probably more than enough beautiful mountains with panoramic views around Munich. One of the most beautiful, however, is the elevation near Lake Starnberg: you should definitely visit the Ilkahöhe.
Viewing balcony over Lake Starnberg
The Ilkahöhe is located at 726 meters on the western shore of Lake Starnberg near Tutzing. It is often referred to as the longest viewing balcony on Lake Starnberg . From here, you can not only look out over the entire lake, but also see as far as the Bavarian Alps – from the Zugspitze to the Chiemgau Alps.
There are numerous viewing benches along the 800-metre-long ridge. Perfect if you come here for a walk or want to organize a small picnic with a mountain view. If you’ve run out of date ideas in Munich, this is the place for you… If you fancy a bite to eat, you’ll find the former forester’s lodge right at the foot of the Ilkahöhe, which is now a popular restaurant with a large beer garden.
As the Ilkahöhe is so easy to reach – all you have to do is take the S-Bahn to Tutzing – it is an ideal destination for easy hikes. The climb to the top is easy. Then you can either walk for just under an hour to the viewpoint and back. Or you can continue around Lake Deixlfurt and back to the train station in Tutzing, which takes around 3 hours in total. Our insider tip: also visit the Sisi Castle on Lake Starnberg!
Glacial times and ancient resting place on the Ilkahöhe
Of course, these facts are no longer a secret. But did you know that there are other stories surrounding the Ilkahöhe? For example, the hill is named after Princess Ilka von Wrede? She is the only surviving child of the last Count von Vieregg of the Oberzeismering estate, to which the elevation belongs. During the war of 1870/71, she received several awards for her outstanding aid work and care of wounded soldiers.
She also has a prominent resting place on the Ilkahöhe. The grave of the famous German actor Benno Sterzenbach lies in the cemetery next to the St. Nikolaus branch church. He was best known as Inspector Leipold in “Der Kommissar”. The cemetery and church are located right next to the inn at the bottom of the hill.
Geologically speaking, the Ilkahöhe is the remains of a lateral moraine that was formed by the Würm Glacier during the Würm Ice Age. This was the most recent and last ice age in the Alpine region, which ended around 10,000 years ago. The enormous force of the ice formed the basin of today’s Lake Starnberg – and with it the Ilkahöhe that is so popular today.