The Watzmann mountain (2.713 m / about 9000 ft) - is the superstar of the "Berchtesgadener Land" as it towers above the valleys below. Not surprising that the mountain's imposing outline is used in numerous regional tourist and product logos. On its eastern side, Lake Königssee lies at its feet with the highest rock face in the Eastern Alpine Range, the famed Watzmann East Face. On the western side, the mountain looks over the unusual landscapes of the Wimbach Valley. Mount Watzmann's three peaks are called Hocheck, Mittelspitze and Südspitze. A good 500 meters below Mittelspitze the ridge of the so-called Watzmann children rise up from the Kleiner Watzmann (also called Watzmannfrau).

Its eastern face is a sheer climb of close to 2,000 meters and can only be scaled by experts. However, good hikers can reach the summit via another trail that leads past a large overnight hut called Watzmannhaus. Even for those who do not scale Germany's second-highest peak, a photo of the Watzmann is a must for every visitor to Berchtesgaden!

As the second-highest mountain in Germany, it has always attracted mountaineers from near and far. Especially the East Wall of "King Watzmann" remains a challenge for even the best mountain climbers.

The mountain is popular with tourists due to its proximity to the city of Salzburg: less than 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) south of the city centre and within easy reach by bus, for example city bus line 25 to Grödig, which runs every 15 minutes on weekdays. Several trails lead to the top, though most people prefer the Untersbergbahn cable car.

According to a king in the mountain legend, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa is asleep inside Mt. Untersberg until his resurrection. His beard is said to be growing longer and longer around a round table and to have grown round two times. Myth says that when the beard has grown three times around the table the end of the world has come. When Frederick leaves the mountain, there will be no further Holy Roman Emperor and the last great battle of humankind will be fought on the Walserfeld, a pasture at Wals, west of Salzburg. There is a similar legend for the Kyffhäuser Mountain in Thuringia.

Other legends say that it is Charlemagne waiting inside the Untersberg, taken care of by the Untersberger Mandln, small dwarf-like creatures. Every hundred years he awakes and when he sees the ravens still flying around the Untersberg he sleeps for another century. The Alpine tradition of the Untersberg Wild Hunt has recently been revived. There are also legends about the cave system below the mountain.