Scharnitz Pass

The Scharnitz Pass is a narrow section of the upper Isar valley in the Northern Limestone Alps. It lies at a height of about on the Austro-German border between the states of Bavaria and Tyrol. Its name derives from the village of Scharnitz immediately to the south.LocationThe Scharnitz Pass lies east of the Wetterstein Mountains and west of the Karwendel. It is located in the upper valley of the River Isar between Mittenwald in the north and Scharnitz in the south. The Isar valley floor narrows from about 900 metres to under 300 metres as a result of the eastern flank of the Arntalköpfle, a subpeak of the Arnspitze Group. East of the pass rises the Rotwandlspitze; to the southwest of which is the Brunnensteinspitze.TransportRoadThe German B 2 federal highway, which approaches from Mittenwald to the north, and the Austrian Seefelder Straße (B 177), which runs through Scharnitz and Seefeld (Tyrol) and continues over the Seefeld Saddle, meet at the Scharnitz Pass. Both roads are part of the E 333 European Road.