Obersalzberg is a mountainside retreat situated above the market town ofBerchtesgaden inBavaria,Germany. Located about 120 kilometres (75 mi) south-east ofMunich, close to the border withAustria, it is best known as the site ofAdolf Hitler's former mountain residence, theBerghof, and of the mountaintopKehlsteinhaus, popularly known in the English-speaking world as the "Eagle's Nest".[1] The Kehlsteinhaus today serves as a restaurant and tourist attraction. The rest of the Nazi-era buildings were demolished in the 1950s, but that history is preserved in theDokumentationszentrum Obersalzberg museum, which opened in 1999.
The name of the settlement area derives from therock salt deposits in the formerPrince-Provostry of Berchtesgaden. Salt mining atPherg is documented since the 12th century and a major salt mine opened in 1517.[2] It was destroyed in 1834 but rebuilt and named the "Old Salt Works". The rectangular layout and some components still exist.[3]
The area was part of the provostry's eight localities (so-calledGnotschaften) mentioned in the first land register of 1456 and was ruled by the Augustinian abbey. From 1517 the Petersberg gallery was built, the first of the Berchtesgaden salt mines which became the economic base of the Prince-provostry. The area was annexed by Austria in 1805 and then ruled by France in 1809–1810. With Berchtesgaden it wassecularised in 1803 and passed to theKingdom of Bavaria in 1810.[4]
Salzberg [de] was re-established as a Bavarian municipality in 1817. Plans by Nazi authorities to merge it with Berchtesgaden were not carried out and Salzberg was not incorporated into Berchtesgaden until 1972. It was the scene of the filming ofThe Sound of Music's last scene where thevon Trapps were escaping into what was thought to beSwitzerland and to their freedom.[5]
In 1877 Mauritia Mayer, a pioneer in Alpinetourism, opened thePension Moritz boarding house in Obersalzberg. In the late 19th century German intellectuals like Mayer's close friendRichard Voss, artists such asJohannes Brahms,Ludwig Ganghofer,Joseph Joachim,Ludwig Knaus,Franz von Lenbach,Peter Rosegger andClara Schumann as well as industrialists likeCarl von Linde began using the area as both a summer and winter vacation retreat. The Obersalzberg boarding house was leased to the former racing driver Bruno Büchner in the early 1920s. When he acquired the property in 1928, he renamed itPlatterhof inspired by Richard Voss' novel Zwei Menschen.
The scenic landscape and sweeping mountain views also attracted Adolf Hitler, who in 1923 visited his fellow party member and anti-semite,Dietrich Eckart at the Obersalzberg boarding house,[6] shortly before theBeer Hall Putsch and his imprisonment atLandsberg. It was in a cabin on the premises where, after his release from custody in 1925, he dictated Part Two ofMein Kampf, which earned him large royalties.
He became so fond of the area that by 1928 he began using his royalty income to rent a smallchalet nearby calledHaus Wachenfeld[6] from the widow of aBuxtehude manufacturer. Hitler put his half-sisterAngela Raubal in charge of the household, together with her daughterGeli.
Several months after theNazi seizure of power (Machtergreifung) in January 1933,Chancellor Hitler purchasedHaus Wachenfeld and began making a series of three important renovations. The first included window shutters and a small office, followed a year later by a winter garden and stonework; finally, the most extensive in 1935–1936 when the once modest chalet was finally transformed into the sprawling landhaus with a series of extensions, a bowling alley in the cellar, and a giant window that could be lowered to provide a panoramic view. The house became known as theBerghof or Mountain Court in English.[6]
Among other buildings in the area was theKehlsteinhaus ("the house on Kehlstein mountain", called the "Eagle's Nest" by English speakers) atop the summit of the Kehlstein, a rocky outcrop, that was used for Nazi Party meetings and to host dignitaries; the building had no beds. It was presented to Adolf Hitler in 1939, on his 50th birthday, but he only visited the site on 14 occasions, because of a fear of heights among the reasons;Eva Braun used it more frequently.[7][8]
Around Hitler's home, severalNazi leaders such asHermann Göring,Martin Bormann andAlbert Speer acquired residences.[9] By 1935–36 Party Secretary Bormann had all residents of Obersalzberg either bought out or evicted, and the area evolved into a retreat for high-level Nazis with a cinema, a school for young children, an SS barracks, and an underground shooting range. Most of the original buildings were demolished. The Berghof became something of a German tourist attraction during the mid-1930s.[10] This led to the introduction of severe restrictions on access to the area and other security measures. A large contingent of theSS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler was housed in barracks adjacent to the Berghof. Under the command ofObersturmbannführerBernhard Frank, they patrolled an extensive cordoned security zone that encompassed the nearby homes of the other Nazi leaders. The Obersalzberg area comprised three security zones.[6]
The so-calledFührersperrgebiet ("the Führer's autonomous area") shielded Hitler and his staff from public access. Two other security zones protected the heavily expandedSS andSD barracks, support staff, guest houses, undergroundbunkers, and air-raid shelters.
In 1938 Bormann also had the Kehlsteinhaus lodge erected on a rocky promontory, including a lift system from the upper end of the access road. Hitler seldom visited it, though he and his mistress Eva Braun spent much time at Obersalzberg. From 1937 the GermanReich Chancellery maintained asecond seat in the nearby village ofBischofswiesen with Hitler receiving numerous guests of state at the Berghof.
With the outbreak of war extensive anti-aircraft defences were installed, including smoke generating machines to conceal the Berghof complex from hostile aircraft. Further, the nearby former Hotel zum Türken was turned into quarters to house theReichssicherheitsdienst (RSD) SS security men who patrolled the grounds of the Berghof.[11] SeveralHeer mountain troop units were also housed nearby. Hence, the British never planned a direct attack on the compound.[12]
Hitler spent much of August 1939 at the Berghof, making final plans for the invasion of Poland.[6] His last known visit was on 14 July 1944.
The premises – except for the Kehlsteinhaus – were heavily damaged by an Alliedair raid on 25 April 1945. On 4 May, four days afterHitler's suicide in Berlin, retreating SS troops set fire to the villa as Hitler had previously ordered.
Only hours later, theU.S. 3rd Infantry Division arrived at Berchtesgaden along with theFrench 2nd Armoured Division. The Obersalzberg area was placed under the U.S. administration.[6]At the time, the Berghof still contained destroyed paintings, evening gowns, medical equipment, and a wine cellar.[13][14] The house was looted by American troops.
The Berghof's shell survived and had been attracting tourists until 1952 when the Bavarian government decided to demolish the buildings so they would not become a Nazi shrine.[15] On 30 April, the Berghof, the houses ofGöring andBormann, the SS barracks, theKampfhäusl, and the teahouse were all destroyed.[16] In total, over 50 Obersalzberg Nazi buildings were destroyed.
The Platterhof, which had been a hostel for visitors to the area, was not destroyed since it had been turned into the General Walker Hotel for U.S. troops after the war. It was demolished in 2001.[17]
The nearby Hotel zum Türken, often used by the SS, later occupied by Hitler's bodyguard, and then theGeneralmajor of the Police, was badly damaged in 1945. It was rebuilt in 1950 and reopened as a hotel before Christmas.[18][19]
The nearbyDokumentationszentrum Obersalzberg museum, opened in 1999, provides historical information on the use of the mountainside retreat during the war, and about the history of National Socialism; visitors can tour the bunker complex. (Access to the bunkers was closed for construction in September 2017 and remained closed in July 2018 "until further notice".)[20][21] The museum is operated by theInstitut für Zeitgeschichte (Institute of Contemporary History).[22][23]
The Berchtesgaden National Park, billed as "the only National Park in the German Alps", was established in 1978 and has gradually become one of Berchtesgaden's largest draws. The park attracts 1.5 million visitors per year. Mass tourism is confined to a few popular spots, leaving the rest to nature seekers.[24] The trail system covers 250 kilometres (155 miles).[25][26]
In 1995, the entire area was returned to the Bavarian state government that facilitated the erection of a hotel (operated by theInterContinental Hotels Group), which opened in 2005.[27][6] Since May 2015, the InterContinental hotel has been renamed the Kempinski Hotel Berchtesgaden.[28][29] Other tourist draws are theKönigssee, thesalt mine where visitors can tour the pumping hall, some tunnels and the museum.[3]TheKehlsteinhaus (Eagle's Nest) is open seasonally as a restaurant.[30][31] During one of the bus trips to the restaurant, visitors can see the ruins of some Third Reich buildings.[32]
On 18 October 1938, the French Ambassador,André François-Poncet visited the Kehlsteinhaus, while later commenting on the experience he used the term 'Eagle's Nest' in his description of the event, in doing so he coined a new name for the building, a name that has been used ever since.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
47°37′52″N13°3′21″E / 47.63111°N 13.05583°E /47.63111; 13.05583
