Chiemgau (German pronunciation: [ˈkiːmɡaʊ]) is the common name of a geographic area in Upper Bavaria.
The name Chiemgau and Chiemsee together with the place name Chieming allegedly go back to the Old High German personal name Chiemo (7th/8th century).
Chiemgau was for a long time closely connected with the Bavarian dukes and also the prince-bishops of Salzburg.
The production of salt, which existed from 1619 till 1912, had a big cultural and economical influence on the Chiemgau.
For this reason the Chiemgau is a hilly countryside with numerous grasslands, forests and fens; additional there are plenty of lakes of which the biggest one is the Chiemsee.