Day Two – 25 Sep 2008
We spent the morning on the Königsee. All boats on the Königsee have to be electric. They have not allowed any gas-driven motors since the beginning of the 1900’s. At one point on the boat ride, they stopped the boat and a trumpeter played – the song echoing several times along the walls of the mountains.
We spent the morning on the Königsee. All boats on the Königsee have to be electric. They have not allowed any gas-driven motors since the beginning of the 1900’s. At one point on the boat ride, they stopped the boat and a trumpeter played – the song echoing several times along the walls of the mountains.
This picture was taken between the lake and this church.
In the afternoon we took a tour of Obersalzburg and the Eagle’s Nest. Our guide was an American who grew up in Europe and specialized in the history of this area. Obersalzburg is the area where Hitler lived and, therefore, his top leadership also had homes there. Since Hitler would spend several months at a time here, his leadership would follow him. They also built (or confiscated) their homes here and most of them had their families live here. NO ONE entered this area unless on official business so it was very secure for them.
The Eagle’s Nest was NOT where Hitler lived, but was a gift for his 50th birthday. He only visited a few times – something like 14 times. In today’s economy, if you take the cost of the gift divided by the number of times he visited, each visit would have costed $10m.
The Eagle’s Nest was NOT where Hitler lived, but was a gift for his 50th birthday. He only visited a few times – something like 14 times. In today’s economy, if you take the cost of the gift divided by the number of times he visited, each visit would have costed $10m.
Today there is not a lot left of the buildings in this area. In 1952 when this area was turned over to the Bavarian government from the US military forces, the Bavarian government completely destroyed the buildings. For instance, Hilter’s home was totally razed, all of the debris hauled off and the area re-planted with quick growing plants. Here is a picture of what used to be the driveway to his home.
In the 1990’s after the US Military turned over the hotel which they had used for their R&R, it, too, was totally razed and hauled away. Only a smaller outbuilding remains and is currently a museum giving the history of this area.
In addition to the homes there, they had dug over 6 miles of bunkers underneath the mountain. They could have survived in these bunkers for over 6 months and still continued to run the war from there. Only a small portion is now available for viewing.
In addition to the homes there, they had dug over 6 miles of bunkers underneath the mountain. They could have survived in these bunkers for over 6 months and still continued to run the war from there. Only a small portion is now available for viewing.
1 comment:
Wow! Thanks for sharing. I don't blame them for completly demolishing Hitler's home. Can't wait to see a picture of Eagle's Nest. Sounds interesting.
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