Traunstein is a small city in the far southeast of Bavaria, named after the River Traun and sitting close to the Austrian border. It has a well-preserved medieval town centre built around a wide Stadtplatz — a classic elongated Bavarian market square — and the Romanesque-Gothic tower of St. Oswald's church at its head. Pope Benedict XVI — born Joseph Ratzinger — grew up nearby and attended the gymnasium here, a fact the town marks with quiet civic pride.
The Hofbräuhaus Traunstein, one of the oldest breweries in Bavaria, has been producing beer on the same site since 1612 and is a quietly serious institution — better known for its quality than for its fame. The surrounding area is good walking country, with the Chiemgau Alps to the south and the Chiemsee, Bavaria's largest lake, within easy reach to the west. The city itself is quiet and unhurried — a practical base rather than a destination in itself, but worth a stop on the route between Munich and Salzburg.