Traditions & culture

Living traditions and customs

Berchtesgaden is far more than spectacular mountain scenery and peaceful natural beauty. This is a place where living traditions and vibrant culture still shape everyday life. Amid historic farmhouses, majestic churches, and high mountain pastures, you’ll encounter customs, festivals, and people deeply rooted in local history, faith, and community. Seasonal traditions, craftsmanship, regional cuisine, music, traditional dress, church and faith, and so much more—Berchtesgaden is a place where tradition still lives on.

Traditions throughout the year

Whether on Palm Sunday, during the Almabtrieb—the traditional cattle drive from the alpine pastures—at church festivals, or through cherished Christmas customs, these traditions—and many more—shape Berchtesgaden’s cultural heritage. And you’re invited to experience them firsthand, to discover what makes this place so uniquely alive.

  • Spring

    Discover spring traditions in Berchtesgaden, from Palm Sunday and Aperschnalzen to maypole raising and miners’ festivals rooted in Alpine heritage.

  • Alpine summer

    From alpine farming and rustic alpine pasture huts to the traditional cattle drive — the Almabtrieb — alpine summer in Berchtesgaden brings living customs and mountain culture to life.

  • The quiet time

    From Buttnmandl runs and Kloeckl singing to Christmas shooting and Saint Nicholas traditions, the quiet season in Berchtesgaden keeps Alpine customs alive.
Das ehemalige Augustiner Chorherrenstift Höglwörth

Church and faith

In Berchtesgaden and the Rupertiwinkel region, faith remains an essential part of everyday life and community. Religious devotion is deeply rooted—and you feel it everywhere. Discover the beauty of our pilgrimage churches, wander mindfully from church to church, and experience the harmony of nature and spirit at an open-air service high in the mountains.

Church & faith