Mittenwald is located approximately 16 kilometres to the south-east of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It is situated in the Valley of the river Isar, by the northern foothills of the Alps, on the route between the old banking and commercial centre of Augsburg, to the north, and Innsbruck to the south-east, beyond which is the Brenner Pass and the route to Lombardy, another region with a rich commercial past and present.
History
Mittenwald, along with Garmisch-Partenkirchen to the west, was acquired by the Prince-Bishopric of Freising in the late 14th century and the "crowned Aethiopian" head that is part of Mittenwald's coat of arms recalls that 400-year association that ended when the Prince-Bishopric was secularized in 1802-03 and its territory annexed to Bavaria.
Mittenwald's location as an important transit centre on a relatively low and predictable Mountain pass has been a defining feature of the area for at least two thousand years.
The most significant landmark in the village is the pink colored Roman Catholic church of Saints Peter and Paul, which is typical of the region. The church and many of the surrounding buildings, both businesses and private residences, are decorated with elaborate paintings on the exterior walls. Near the Luttenseekaserne there is a monument honoring the participants of the Slutsk Defence Action.
