Made after WWII, this charming silent travelogue shows Berchtesgaden. Berchtesgaden is a municipality in the German Bavarian Alps. It is located in the south district of Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria, near the border with Austria, some 30 km south of Salzburg and 180 km southeast of Munich. To the south of the city the Berchtesgaden National Park stretches along three parallel valleys.
Berchtesgaden is often associated with the Watzmann, at 2,713 m the third-highest mountain in Germany (after Zugspitze and Hochwanner), which is renowned in the rock climbing community for its Ostwand (East Face), and a deep glacial lake by the name of Königssee (5.2 km²). Another notable peak is the Kehlstein mountain (1,835 m) with its Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle’s Nest), which offers spectacular views to its visitors.
The area of Obersalzberg was purchased by the Nazis in the 1920s for their senior leaders to enjoy. Hitler’s mountain residence, the Berghof, was located here. Berchtesgaden and its environs (Stanggass) were fitted to serve as an outpost of the German Reichskanzlei office (Imperial Chancellery), which sealed the area’s fate as a strategic objective for Allied forces in World War II. Some typical Third Reich buildings in Berchtesgaden include the railway station, that had a reception area for Hitler and his guests, and the post office next to the railway station. The Berchtesgadener Hof Hotel was a hotel where famous visitors stayed, such as Eva Braun, Erwin Rommel, Joseph Goebbels and Heinrich Himmler, as well as Neville Chamberlain and David Lloyd George. The hotel was demolished in 2006. There is a museum on the spot now, called Haus der Berge.
A number of other relics of the Nazi era can still be found in the area, although only a few of them are still well preserved. There is the Kehlsteinhaus (nicknamed “Eagle’s Nest” by a French diplomat), which was built as a present for Hitler’s 50th birthday in 1939. The remnants of homes of former Nazi leaders—such as Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring and Martin Bormann—were all demolished in the early postwar years.
The Platterhof was retained and served as a holiday and recreation retreat (Armed Forces Recreation Centers) for the American military. It was known as the General Walker Hotel. It was demolished in 2000. The only remaining fully intact buildings are the former SS HQ at Hotel Zum Türken, Albert Speer’s house and the Kehlsteinhaus. A small part of the Platterhof is also still there. The information centre on the mountain is the former guesthouse Höher Göll. It has an entrance to the Obersalzberg bunker system.
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