High in the Bavarian Alps, above the town of Berchtesgaden, stands one of Europe’s most controversial luxury hotels. Guests walk manicured paths through alpine gardens, relax by an ornamental pond, and enjoy one of Germany’s most exclusive resort experiences. But this serene setting has a dark past. The hotel, known as the Landhaus Göring, once sat at the highest point of the Obersalzberg, overlooking Adolf Hitler’s Berghof below.
It was built as a mountain retreat for Hermann Göring, Hitler’s second-in-command and head of the Luftwaffe. The story begins not with destruction, but with ambition. Where Hitler went, his inner circle followed. Göring’s house was appointed with expensive furnishings, and artwork was displayed salon-style on the walls.
Beneath the property, a bunker system was carved into the mountain. Martin Bormann, Hitler’s private secretary, ensured that Göring’s bunker was never connected to the main tunnel network that linked Hitler’s Berghof to other facilities. This was a deliberate move to keep Göring’s access limited. Members of the SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler patrolled constantly, checking identification passes and maintaining one of the most secure locations in all of Germany.
In June 1944, Allied intelligence confirmed that Hitler was directing the German response to the Normandy landings from the Berghof. The Obersalzberg, with its known bunker systems and symbolic importance, seemed like the natural headquarters for a defense. It qualified on both counts. The Allies decided to bomb the area.
On April 25, 1945, the raid took place. Over 1,000 people were killed, around 200 were taken prisoner, and approximately 180 aircraft were lost on operations. The squadron involved was the Royal Australian Air Force’s No. 460 Squadron, based at Binbrook Station in Lincolnshire.
Before their Anzac Day parade could begin, the squadron’s 20 Lancasters had to return from one more mission to the Bavarian Alps. The mission presented unique challenges. Some bombers had to orbit the target area searching for the correct approach, while German anti-aircraft batteries opened fire. Over 1,400 long tons of bombs fell on the Obersalzberg, including four massive 12,000-lb Tallboy bombs, designed to penetrate deep bunker systems.
The results were mixed in terms of the primary targets. Two Lancasters were shot down by German anti-aircraft fire. One aircraft from No. 460 Squadron was hit shortly after dropping its bombs.
The pilot managed a forced landing near the German town of Traunstein, and all crew members survived. Several other Lancasters sustained damage, with one making an emergency landing near Paris. On May 4, 1945, forward elements of the US Army’s 15th Corps, specifically the 7th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division, reached the area and received the surrender of remaining German forces in Berchtesgaden. French forces from the 2nd Armored Division also arrived.
In a race to be first, Captain Laurent Touyeras and his driver overtook the struggling French half-tracks and became the first Allied soldiers to reach the still-burning Obersalzberg. American and French soldiers engaged in a looting spree that, according to historian Despina Stratigakos, was unmatched by any other town occupied by Allied forces. American photojournalist Lee Miller, who arrived at the Obersalzberg shortly after its capture, observed the thoroughness of the plundering with a mix of satisfaction and concern. Instead of concentrating the evidence of Nazi crimes in controlled museum settings, thousands of objects ended up in private hands, often without proper context or understanding of their provenance.
Göring himself was captured on May 9, 1945, five days after American forces secured the area. He was taken into custody by the US 7th Army. The exact details remain somewhat unclear, as some sources say the meeting occurred at Fischhorn, while others say Göring was intercepted on the road near Radstadt and taken to the Grand Hotel at Kitzbühel. Almost immediately, the ruins of the Obersalzberg began attracting visitors.
This was precisely the outcome both the German and Allied authorities wanted to prevent. The rubble itself was not simply left where it fell. Instead, it was systematically removed and dispersed, carted away to prevent any fragments from becoming relics or memorial objects. The authorities feared that such remnants could inspire nostalgia, provide focal points for extremist movements, or simply serve as painful reminders of a period most Germans wanted to forget.
After the demolitions, the Obersalzberg settled into a new identity as an American military recreation area. The sites where the Nazi leaders’ homes once stood became overgrown with vegetation, gradually returning to something approaching their natural state. Then in the 1990s, after German reunification and as the generation with personal memories of the war was aging, attitudes began to shift. This led to treasure hunters visiting both Carinhall in Brandenburg and the Obersalzberg, searching for artwork and valuables they believed might still be hidden.
The luxury hotel that now stands on the site was built in the early 2000s. Defenders of the hotel said the Obersalzberg had been a tourist destination long before the Nazis arrived. In the late 19th century, artists, intellectuals, and industrialists such as Johannes Brahms and Clara Schumann had visited the area, drawn by its natural beauty. Returning the site to tourist use, they argued, was actually restoring its original character rather than dishonoring it.
The hotel does offer guided walks around the property that acknowledge its historical significance, though the emphasis is clearly on luxury accommodation rather than historical education. The Hotel zum Türken, which survived the bombing and was returned to its original owners after the war, allows visitors to explore another section of the bunker system and provides more affordable lodging. These questions remain unresolved: Should a place so steeped in Nazi history be transformed into a luxury resort? Is it a respectful reminder of the past, or a disturbing erasure of it?
The hotel was, by all accounts, a beautiful building in a spectacular natural setting. And now, luxury hotel guests enjoy mountain views from approximately the same spot where Göring once stood. If anything, the controversy has only grown. Some of the looted artifacts are still missing, and the echoes of history are never far away.
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