Berchtesgaden

Berchtesgaden is a German municipality in the Bavarian Alps with a population of around 9,000.

Related Topics:
German - Bavarian Alps

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It is located in the district of Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria, close to the border with Austria, 30 km south of Salzburg and 180 km south-east of Munich.

Related Topics:
Berchtesgadener Land - Bavaria - Austria - Salzburg - Munich

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It is situated north of the Berchtesgaden National Park.

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Berchtesgaden is in close proximity to the third highest mountain in Germany, the fabled Mount Watzmann (2713 m), and a deep glacial lake by the name of Königssee (5.2 km²).

Related Topics:
Watzmann - Königssee

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Also there is the Kehlstein mountain (1835 m), at the top of which is the Kehlsteinhaus (popularly known as Eagle's Nest), with remarkable views.

Related Topics:
Kehlstein - Kehlsteinhaus - Eagle's Nest

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Villages near Berchtesgaden are fore example Ramsau and Schönau.

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The area was historically noted for its salt mines. The neighboring area of Obersalzberg mountain (literally Upper Salt mountain) was appropriated by the Nazis for their senior leaders to enjoy in the 1930s, one of Hitler's residences, the Berghof (demolished in 1953, ruins removed in 1996) was located here. Berchtesgaden and its surrounding areas (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.

Related Topics:
Obersalzberg - Nazis - Hitler - Berghof - Stanggass - Reichskanzlei - Allied forces - World War II

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A number of other relics of the Nazi era can still be found in the area, although only few of them are still well-preserved. There is the Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle's Nest), which was built as a birthday present for Hitler's 50th birthday and owes its continued existence only to lucky circumstances, which saved it from the brink of demolition. There is the former Gestapo HQ at Hotel Zum Türken, the remnants of homes of former Nazi leaders such as Hermann Göring, Albert Speer, and Martin Bormann. Notable and a for the population of Berchtesgaden massive railway station, then Hotel Platterhof, which was rebuilt by and renamed the General Walker Hotelhttp://www.thirdreichruins.com/platterhof.htm in 1952 and a number of bunkers and fortifications.

Related Topics:
Nazi - Kehlsteinhaus - Eagle's Nest - Gestapo - HQ - Hermann Göring - Albert Speer - Martin Bormann - Hotel Platterhof - General Walker Hotel

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After the war, all of these buildings were seized by the U.S. Army and served as an integral part of the U.S. Armed Forces Recreation Center (AFRC) for the duration of the Cold War and beyond. In 1995, 50 years after the end of World War II and 5 years after German unification, the AFRC Berchtesgaden was turned over to Bavarian authorities to accommodate budgetary cuts resulting from Base Realignment and Closure under President Clinton. The General Walker Hotel was demolished shortly thereafter to make room for a new bus depot serving the bus line to the Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle's Nest) and a new InterContinental Hotel Resorthttp://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/ic/1/en/hd/zceha. The former guesthouse "Hoher Goell" now serves a new documentation center. It's the first German museum of its kind to chronicle the entire span of the World War II in one spot.

Related Topics:
U.S. Army - Cold War - 1995 - World War II - Base Realignment and Closure - President Clinton - Kehlsteinhaus - Eagle's Nest

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