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One of the earliest references to this area was around the 11th Century when the area was the hunting ground of a wealthy Lord Perther, who was from teh Salzburg area. He had a small overnight cabin built, which in old German was known as a "Gaden". Hence the area was first recorded as Perther´s Gaden and over the years changed to Berchtesgaden.
From around the year 1100, the area belonged to Count Irmgard from the Sulzach region. Legend has it that that his wife, Countess Irmgard, became so worried about him while he was away hunting that, in thanks for his safe return, she founded the Augustiner Monastery. The monks' favourite hobby was hunting so more the manual tasks, like farming, were left to the people who came here to work. They rented land from the monastery and, in return for allowing them to settle there, they gave the monastery a proportion of their crops. These settlements were called "Lehen", which comes from the old German word for rent.
The main change in the area came in the 12th century, due to salt. However it was in 1517 that the first salt mine opened in Berchtesgaden together with one nearby where the train station now stands and another one in Schellenberg. These became very important industries.
After the Napoleonic Wars in 1803 the area finally became part of Bavaria in 1810.