Berchtesgaden, Upper Bavaria (Achental), earlierPerchterscadmen,Perhtersgadem,Berchirchsgadem,Berchtoldesgadem; the word underwent a Latin distortion ofOld High Germanparach, Romancebareca 'hay shed'. After the basic meaning was forgotten, a variant word of Old High Germangadem 'room, one-room hut' was added, implying the same meaning: 'hay shed'. Cf. Old High Germanmuosgadem, 'spice room'.
There was afolk etymology that supported a derivation based on the legendary figure ofFrauPerchta (Berchta), a woman (Holle <Holda 'well disposed, dear') with good and bad changing features, who was venerated onPerchtertag (Epiphany) and was sworn to during the Perchta procession.[3]
The first known record of the area, from 1102, mentions the area's richsalt deposits.Salt mining began in the area in 1517, and subsequently produced much of Berchtesgaden's wealth.[4]
The former Royal Palace at Berchtesgaden, originally anAugustine monastery
Berchtesgaden came under the rule of theKingdom of Bavaria in 1810. It soon became popular with the Bavarian royal family, theHouse of Wittelsbach, who often visitedKönigssee and maintained a hunting residence in the former Augustinian monastery (still used today byFranz, Duke of Bavaria). Tourism began to evolve, and several artists came to the area, which reportedly gave rise toMalereck ("painters' corner") on the shore of the Königssee in nearbySchönau am Königssee. The most famous author who lived in Berchtesgaden wasLudwig Ganghofer.
To serve as an outpost of the GermanReichskanzlei (Imperial Chancellery), Berchtesgaden and its environs (Stanggass) saw substantial expansion of offices, security, and support services, mainly on the Obersalzberg. Included in the town were anew railway station, with a reception area for Hitler and his guests, and an adjacent post office. The Berchtesgadener Hof Hotel, where famous visitors such asNeville Chamberlain andDavid Lloyd George stayed, was substantially upgraded.
Even though a fearedAlpine Fortress last stand of the Nazi regime in the Alps failed to materialize late in World War II, the Allies launched a devastating air raid on the Berchtesgaden area in the spring of 1945. The April 25bombing of Obersalzberg did little damage to the town. On 4 May 1945, forward elements of the7th Infantry Regiment of the3rd Infantry Division arrived[6] and received the town's surrender.[7]
After the war, Berchtesgaden became a military zone and most of its buildings were requisitioned by theU.S. Army. Hotel Platterhof was rebuilt and renamed theGeneral Walker Hotel in 1952.[8] It served as aU.S. Armed Forces Recreation Center through theCold War and beyond.[9] Remnants of homes of former Nazi leaders were demolished in the early postwar years, though traces of some remained. In 1995, fifty years after the end of World War II and five years afterGerman reunification, the AFRC Berchtesgaden was turned over to Bavarian authorities to facilitate military spending reductions mandated within theBase Realignment and Closure program by the U.S.Congress andPentagon during the administration ofPresidentBill Clinton.[9] The General Walker Hotel was demolished in 2000–2001.
In 1986, Berchtesgaden was a first-round candidate city to host theXVI Olympic Winter Games to be held in 1992. The vote eventually went toAlbertville,France, in October of that year.[10]
Aerial view of BerchtesgadenBerchtesgaden in the morning
The Hotel Türken, which was near the Nazi buildings and was often used by the SS and then by theGeneralmajor of the Police, was badly damaged in 1945. It was rebuilt in 1950 and reopened as a hotel before Christmas.[11] Visitors can still explore the historic underground hallways and tunnels that had been used by the Nazis.[12][13][14]
In 1972, local government reform united the then-independent municipalities of Salzberg, Maria Gern, and Au (consisting of Oberau and Unterau) under the administration of the town of Berchtesgaden. Another suggested reform uniting all remaining five municipalities in the Berchtesgaden valley (Bischofswiesen, Ramsau,Marktschellenberg, andSchönau am Königssee) failed to gain enough popular support; it passed in Berchtesgaden but failed elsewhere.
The Berchtesgaden National Park was established in 1978 and has gradually become one of Berchtesgaden's largest draws. Mass tourism is confined to a few popular spots, leaving the rest to nature-seekers. Other tourist draws are theKönigssee, thesalt mine, theKehlsteinhaus, open seasonally as a restaurant, and theDokumentationszentrum Obersalzberg museum about the area's history, operated by the MunichInstitut für Zeitgeschichte since 1999.[15][16][17]
The Bavarian state government facilitated the erection of a hotel, which opened in 2005 and is operated by theInterContinental Hotels Group.[16] Since May 2015, the hotel has been the Kempinski Berchtesgaden.[18][19]
The municipality counts the following villages (Ortsteile): Am Etzerschlößl, Anzenbach, Hintergern, Metzenleiten, Mitterbach, Oberau, Obergern, Obersalzberg, Resten, Unterau, Untersalzberg I, Untersalzberg II, and Vordergern.
Karl Bartos, (born 1952), electronic musician, former electronic percussionist in the bandKraftwerk
Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), psychoanalyst, owned a house for family holidays in Schönau near Obersalzberg. His villa was taken over during the Second World War by Heinrich Himmler.
Georg Hackl, (born 1966), first Winter Olympics competitor to win five consecutive medals with consecutively two silver and three gold medals in the men's singleluge event
Adolf Hitler, (1889–1945), leader of theNazi Party and German dictator 1933–1945; owned theEagle's Nest mountain retreat in Berchtesgaden
In the 1760s, several anonymous toy symphonies (including the famousToy Symphony often attributed toHaydn orLeopold Mozart) were composed at Berchtesgaden, then a manufacturing centre for toy instruments.[20] Some of the instruments used for these can be seen in theMuseum Carolino Augusteum in Salzburg.[21]
^Translated by Carl Masthay, St. Louis, 2012, from Wilhelm Sturmfels and Heinz Bischof:Unsere Ortsnamen im ABC erklärt nach Herkunft und Bedeutung, Bonn, 1961, Ferdinand Dümmlers Verlag.
^The Mysterious World of Salt – Salzbergwerk Museum tourist information leaflet.
