Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Hitler's Eagles Nest - Berchesgarten, Germany

Hitler lived in Berchesgarten, Germany for many years of his life. The mountains are just beautiful, and the scenery breathtaking. The Eagles Nest, a home on top of a huge mountain, was given to Hitler as a Birthday present for his 50th by the Nazi party. This is one of the only buildings that still exists from the WWII era in Germany as it was not bombed. It is said that Hitler had virtigo, so he never actually spend a night in this home. You can see the building in the series 'A Band of Brothers'.


Berchtesgarten itself was a beautiful small town in the Valley of the Obersalz mountains.



First, we took a 20 minute bus ride winding around the mountain to reach this tunnel. Once inside, you walk down a 124 meter path to an elevator. This is all original and very over the top.



Then, you reach an elevator that is encased in bronze. Apparently, Hitler was claustrophobic, so the elevator is large and the bronze is so shiny it reflects like mirrors to enhance it's size. Mom and I are waiting for it to arrive. The elevator then goes up 124 meters to reach the home (yes, the same length as the tunnel).




In the home is a large marble fireplace given to Hitler from Mussolini. Besides a large heavy bookcase, this is the only remaining original piece in the home. French and American troops pillaged the entire place. If you look closely at the corner of the fireplace, you can see chips missing. Soldiers chipped out pieces of the fireplace as well.

This is a picture taken by a soldier immediately after the French and Americans took over the location. At this point, Hitler had already killed himself in Berlin.


This is an after shot of the same location.

It was a very cloudy day, so the mountain was in the clouds. The four of us took the opportunity to look over the edge without being afraid of heights because you couldn't see meters in front of you.










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