Prien am Chiemsee is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the main gateway to Lake Chiemsee, largest lake in Bavaria. The market town Prien am Chiemsee is the biggest settlement on Chiemsee, the “Bavarian Seaside”. The town is a climatic health resort and only Kneipp spa in Upper Bavaria.
Prien had been founded in the middle of the 12 century around 1158, as an administrative centre for the Count of Falkenstein. The western Chiemgau valley has, however, been a popular place of settlement for centuries, with both the Romans and Celts having settled here.
The name “Prien” comes from the Celtic word for the river that flows through Prien “Brigenna” - the river that flows from the mountains. Prien was principally a settlement for craftsmen during the Middle Ages. All sorts of craftsmen came from all over the parish and from 1400 specifically from the crafts quarter called “Am Gries”. Through the centuries, these trades came to provide the economic backbone for the region.
For a long time, the population of the town remained relatively constant, with just 300 residents registered at the beginning of the 19 Century.
Town's modern population is around 10,000. This rapid rise in population happened after opening of the Munich-Salzburg railway line in 1860. Railway brought in the first wave of out-of-town visitors, and this trend only gained momentum when the King’s Castle at Herrenchiemsee opened to the general public in 1886. Chiemsee-Schifffahrt, the Chiemsee public boating company, expanded its operations accordingly.
Nowadays, tourism is the town’s main source of income.
