Staatliche Vogelschutzwarte Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Despite showing up in an observatory directory, the Staatliche Vogelschutzwarte Garmisch-Partenkirchen is not a stargazing site at all - it's a Bavarian state bird protection station on the slopes of the Wank mountain.

About Staatliche Vogelschutzwarte Garmisch-Partenkirchen

The name "Vogelschutzwarte" gives it away: this is a bird protection station, run by the Bavarian State Office for the Environment (Bayerisches Landesamt für Umwelt), dedicated to ornithological research, bird monitoring, and species protection advocacy. It works closely with local authorities, planning offices, scientific institutions, and volunteer ornithologists across Bavaria.

History

It was founded in 1909 as the "Staatliche Bayerische Station für Vogelschutz" (State Bavarian Station for Bird Protection), moved to Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1931, and has been at its current site on the south slope of the Wank mountain since 1959.

Location & getting there

The station is at Gsteigstraße 43 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, Germany, part of our Europe region listings, on the mountain's south-facing slope.

Visiting Staatliche Vogelschutzwarte Garmisch-Partenkirchen

As a working research station rather than a visitor attraction, it isn't set up for public tours in the way a museum or observatory would be. If you're interested in its bird conservation work, the Bavarian State Office for the Environment's own site is the place to look for current information.

See your named star from here

This particular station watches birds rather than stars, but Garmisch-Partenkirchen's mountain setting still offers a genuine night sky above it. Browse the star catalogue or choose a naming package for the coordinates of a star named through star-register.eu, then look for it from wherever you're staying nearby.