Hitler spent over one-fourth
of his time in power at the Berghof
Where is the Eagle’s Nest and What Will I Find There?
The Berghof became a second seat of power
during the Third Reich but is no longer standing.
The Eagle’s Nest was built as a diplomatic teahouse for Adolf Hitler.
The mountaintop structure and the road leading to it were considered
to be a great engineering feat at the time.
The so-called “Eagle’s Nest” (Kehlsteinhaus) was built as a teahouse for Adolf Hitler and his acolytes on Kehlstein Mountain at an elevation of 6,017 ft / 1,834 m. Due to its unusual position it was considered to represent a unique engineering feat at the time.
However, few visitors realize that Hitler’s home (called the Berghof) and southern headquarters – his second seat of power – was located on Obersalzberg, at the foot of the Eagle’s Nest mountain.
Due to its high elevation, the Eagle’s Nest generally does not open until mid-May. The exact opening date is not usually known until about 2 weeks prior to the expected opening and is subject to weather conditions. The Eagle’s Nest officially closes at the end of October but early snowfall sometimes forces an earlier closure.
Learn everything about the Eagle’s Nest with its neighboring historic WWII sites, and, weather permitting, enjoy stunning panoramic views!
A trip to the Eagle’s Nest, located on a mountain summit at over 1,800 m / 6,000 ft in elevation, is always a memorable experience. Specially equipped mountain buses travel 4 miles / 6,5 km up Germany’s highest road, transporting passengers to the original brass-lined elevator that carries them another 124 m / 400 ft into the Eagle’s Nest. In clear weather the views of the Bavarian and Austrian Alps are spectacular.
However, unlike other tours on offer, our half-day group tours and private tours emphasize the historical significance of the whole mountain, not just the Eagle’s Nest teahouse, and include a visit to these important WWII related sites. Our guides also show you how Obersalzberg served as the cradle of the Nazi party and became a stage on which world history was enacted. In fact many of Hitler’s ideas and decisions that led to war and the Holocaust can be traced back to this very idyllic mountainside.
Join us for a history-rich, three-part educational tour that includes the construction and use of the Eagle’s Nest, a descriptive driving tour of the Obersalzberg compound (the former Nazi southern HQs) where we can view numerous original structures and the site of Hitler’s former home and headquarters.
The “Berghof,” Hitler’s former home and headquarters: On the driving tour of Hitler’s former alpine compound, we stop to visit to the historically significant site of Hitler’s former home (now a ruin). Known as the “Berghof,” the sprawling structure – once famed for its extensive terrace – is located on a promontory on the flank of the Obersalzberg mountain far below the more-famed “Eagle’s Nest.” Hitler’s 30-room Berghof estate became the venue for national and international political decision-making, a place visited by foreign heads of state and frequented by Nazi leaders, as well as by members of European high society who were often hosted by the “lady of the house”, Eva Braun.
On the one hand, the repeated focus on the dictator’s presence on the mountain lent him the German roots that he did not possess, on the other, it created an image of the Nazi leader as a man living close to the common people in an idyllic alpine countryside. Hitler and his home on the Obersalzberg provided a subsequent mass-merchandizing of the politician as an allegedly friendly and hospitable man who made time to receive and welcome hordes of German admirers and followers.
Photos of these large pilgrimage-like events, as well as postcards and picture-books of Hitler relaxing with, and entertaining, his associates such as Goebbels, Göring, Speer and Bormann, were widely distributed in an effort to create a Hitler myth. This “superstar” spotlighting was extraordinarily successful in contributing to Hitler’s popularity both before and after his rise to power. With the additional use of photographs, our narrativ brings to light the historic importance of the Berghof site and the dark designs made there on a political and military level as well.
What tour to book?
Our skip-the-line tours are available between mid-May and late October as follows:
We highly recommend visiting the excellent historical interpretative center “Dokumentation Obersalzberg” with access to the underground bunkers either in the morning before our historical tour or in the afternoon if you are joining one of our private morning tours. For more information see Documentation Obersalzberg.
