Obersalzberg

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Obersalzberg bunker.

Obersalzberg is a mountainside near Berchtesgaden in Bavaria, Germany. The area is mostly known for being the location of Adolf Hitler's beloved mountain residence, the Berghof.

In the 19th century Germans started going there for vacations. The area is very beautiful and the mountain view is sweeping. Hitler first visited Obersalzberg in 1923 and was so fond of the place that in 1928 he rented Haus Wachenfeld (Berghof). In 1933 he bought the Berghof estate and started to rebuild and expand it. Other Nazi leaders such as Hermann Göring and Martin Bormann also bought estates in the area and by 1935-36 all residents of Obersalzberg were either bought out or kicked out and the area was blocked from public use as a so-called Führersperrgebiet. The area was heavily expanded with military installations for security and support staff, hotels, underground bunkers and air raid shelters. Hitler and Eva Braun spent much time in Obersalzberg in the 1930s. Hitler's last known visit was in July 1944.

The RAF bombed the area on April 25, 1945 and a little of Obersalzberg was damaged. Since then the government of Bavaria has gradually destroyed or buried almost every trace of the Berghof. Today the area serves tourists again, including the 5-star hotel, InterContinental Resort Berchtesgaden, built on the hill where Göring's residence was. Although universal agreement that the Berghof remains had to be covered up the decision to build a resort literally on top of the dark history is a controversial one. As one of Germany's biggest "war tourism" incomes the Obersalzberg could soon be known as a popular golf course rather than the dark past it carries. There is an information centre on the mountain about the second world war in the former Gastehaus Höher Göll.