Trains, Trains, Trains....Episode VI

Oh man, the time is flying by, lets see, one day of travel and this is the fourth day of experiencing the most beautiful place I have ever seen, Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps. Well, Richard and I did our duty this morning, Chapel, and now we are off for another wonderful day.

Is this place for real, yes........Obersalzberg Kehlsteinhaus ("Eagle's Nest")

Without a doubt, the most popular tourist site on the Obersalzberg now is the Kehlsteinhaus. In English, this building is called the "Eagle's Nest," even though this is not a translation of the German name (simply "House on the Kehlstein (Mountain)"


Hitler used the Kehlsteinhaus only to show off to visiting dignitaries, and he probably did not visit it himself more than twenty times, as he did not like the height and the perceived dangers of lightning and the elevator. Bormann himself and Eva Braun did far more entertaining in the Kehlsteinhaus than did Hitler.

The Kehlsteinhaus was the pinnacle of Bormann's building mania on the Obersalzberg, literally and figuratively. It was an engineering marvel of its day the house was built on a rocky spur of the Hoher Göll mountain, some 2700 feet above the Obersalzberg (6017 feet above sea level). To reach this spur, a mountain road of some four miles was blasted into the mountainside, using only one hairpin curve, and five tunnels. The house itself is reached by a tunnel driven 407 feet into the mountain, at the end of which is a large brass elevator that rises 407 feet to the building.

Main reception room in the 1940s. The fireplace was of red Italian marble, a gift from Mussolini, and the carpet was a gift from the Japanese ambassador.

This room is today a popular restaurant. The fireplace suffered at the hands of souvenir hunters, with many chipped pieces missing along the edges.

Another dinning room.

The Scharitzstübe or Scharitzkehlzimmer was a cozy room just off the main room.

This room is often erroneously called the Eva Braun Room today

The Kehlsteinhaus hosted a reception after the wedding of Eva Braun's younger sister Gretl to SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein, of Himmler's staff, on 3 June 1944.

Hitler rests on the sun terrace during a private visit to the Kehlsteinhaus (probably in 1939)

Although the Kehlsteinhaus was a designated target for the April 1945 Royal Air Force bombing attack, it was not hit. Apparently it was too small a target, and too difficult to pick out of the surrounding area from above. The "Eagle's Nest" became a popular stop for visiting GIs (for awhile, only officers were allowed to ride the elevator, and enlisted men had to use the footpath). Due to intense lobbying by the Berchtesgaden district administrator and the Bavarian government, the Kehlsteinhaus was spared from the 1951-52 destruction of Nazi ruins,

Beleave it or not, its still there..............

Well surely you folks know the rules by now, if you liked taking this little journey with me, leave me a little note, if not blame Skittles.............