The Berghof was Hilter’s house in the Bavarian alps, very close to the border with Austria, his home country. In fact, Austria can easily be viewed from the area. Literally translated from German, “Berghof” means “Mountain” and “Hof” means “farm” – so the Berghof is the “Mountain Farm”. The house was originally called Haus Wachenfeld. Hitler rented it for several years, before finally buying it. After Hitler bought the house, it was significantly re-built and enlarged. It was also renamed Berghof to enhance the idea that Hitler was giving all of his available resources to Das Reich (”the empire”), for the same kind of reason that Hitler would never allow himself to be seen with Eva Braun in public.
There have been several attempts to destroy the house, first of all by the RAF, and laterly by the government. However, there are still a number of ruins from the house if you look carefully. Apparently the site has been used to dump significant amounts of rubbish, fill and general rubble from various bits of building work on the Obersalzberg (such as the demolition of the Platterhof), so a good number of the items that can be found here most likely are not the remains of the Berghof.
The Hotel zum Türken, with the Berghof to the right – note the rear and front driveways.
Wide angle panoarama of the site of the remains of the Berghof/Haus Wachenfeld, showing Hotel zum Türken to the left
The Berghof’s rear drive way. The house would be situated in the area of trees, straight ahead from the centre of the photo.
A period photo from a similar angle
The front driveway.
A period photo from the same kind of angle. The tree on the right is known as the Bormann Tree since it was planted by Reichsleiter Martin Bormann. Several attempts to destroy this tree, but it grew back each time, although there is now so much growth in the area that it’s difficult to tell whether the final attempt was successful. It would appear, however, that it was.
Retaining wall next to the front driveway.
Retaining wall
The retaining wall is still very obviously visible.
There appears to be a blocked up doorway further down the wall. I’m not sure if this is an entrace to the bunker system or not.
There are various pipes set into the concrete here. The area appears to have been tiled at one point.
I believe this is part of the drainage/sewerage system rather than part of the bunkers.
Pipes embedded in the ground.
Could these remains be part of the walls? They don’t appear to be too regular and solid to be fill.
If you follow the rough path from the front drive way, you will eventually get to these tarmac remains. I believe that these must be part of the original driveway.
View down to the road that runs below the ruins.
Period photos
Ruins of the Berghof after the war (U.S. Army photo; U.S. National Archives, RG 342-FH)
Map of Third Reich sites in Obersalzberg/Berchtesgaden
This map contains the following items
- Hotel zum Türken
- Berghof rear driveway
- Berghof front driveway
- Berghof
- Berchtesgaden Railway Tunnel portal
- Hotel Intercontinental
- Pond on site of former Landhaus Göring
- Coal bunker
- Kehlsteinhaus/Eagle’s Nest/Teehaus
- Kehlsteinhaus/Eagle’s Nest/Teehaus tunnel portal
- Dokumentation Obersalzberg/Gastehaus Höher Goll
- Bormann’s Gutshof
- Teehaus on Mooslahnerkopf/Moslanderkopf
- Albert Speer’s House
- Albert Speer’s Bunker
- Center of map
- map
- Hotel zum Türken
- map
- Berghof rear driveway
- map
- Berghof front driveway
- map
- Berghof
- map
- Berchtesgaden Railway Tunnel portal
- map
- Hotel Intercontinental
- map
- Pond, was the site of Goering’s house
- map
- Coal bunker
- map
- Kehlsteinhaus/Eagle’s Nest/Teehaus
- map
- Kehlsteinhaus/Eagle’s Nest/Teehaus tunnel portal
- map
- SS Kaserne
- map
- Dokumentation Obersalzberg/Gastehaus Höher Goll
- map
- Bormann’s Gutshof
- map
- Teehaus on Mooslahnerkopf/Moslanderkopf
- map
- Albert Speer’s House
- map
- Albert Speer’s Studio
Great photos…was out there in Aug of 08, much overgrown, strange as the Kehlsteinhaus is open for business (tourists!). bunkers under the Zum Türken were excellent and recommended!!
Comment by de cayless, Martin — November 8, 2008 @ 5:19 pm
Chris. You have a skill to be proud of. I like the combination of your photographs especially as I am ex RAF from many years ago, a family connection to Duxford, and Berchtesgaden with our business.
What drew you to the subjects concerned? Bob
Comment by Bob Lewis — December 30, 2008 @ 11:00 pm
Hi Bob, Thank you for your kind comments. I’m not really sure where I got my interests from. I learnt German in school and went on the German exchange twice (to Augusburg), and have loved Bavaria and Germany in general since then. I’ve always enjoyed history, and have been interested in WW2 since I can remember. My most distant memories must be watcing ‘Allo ‘Allo as a little boy, maybe no more than 10! I’ve always liked mechanical stuff like trains/steam locos and cars, so being able to watch WW2 warbirds at airshows is something that appeals to me greatly
I’ve wanted to go to Berchtesgaden for a few years, but it was finally feasible in 2008 due to finances, having my driving license for sufficient time, and being old enough — 24 — car rental is expensive if you’re under 25!
Nice website :)
Comment by admin — January 1, 2009 @ 12:44 am
You have done a remarkable job of posting these pictures. Congrats. They evoked memories of my visits to this site. I just want to add a couple of points. If you climb the rubbish mountain via the path which leads to the documentation centre (you have to take a left detour after walking some distance) you can climb up and see the upper half of one of the two chimneys along with some part of the roof. It stands out even amongst the rubbish. If you paste a couple of pictures of world dignitaries climbing up the stairs of haus wachenfeld (which are now in complete ruins), it will have a striking effect. I have traveled in the jungle farther away from haus wachenfeld and discovered a complete row of old rooms which housed german soldiers. The structure is intact. I am a history buff myself and have traveled extensively in Germany. Congrats once again
Comment by S.M.Joglekar — January 6, 2009 @ 2:09 pm
I enjoyed your website very much, esp. the Berchtesgaden section. So many sites tease you with tiny, low-resolution images, but yours are very impressive. Thank you for sharing them. Gary
Comment by Gary Boothe — January 21, 2009 @ 11:18 pm
Hi Chris,
My wife and i will be travelling to Saltzburg in May 2009 for a weeks holiday and look forward to visiting the Berghof ect. I have found your site very informative and helpful. Well done.
COLIN
Comment by Colin Fribbens — February 15, 2009 @ 4:04 pm
Thank you for pictures from Germany , manny thanks !
Comment by Mihai — March 18, 2009 @ 12:57 pm
HI Chris
I was at the Berghof remains this weekend 12th April 09, and after a couple of previous visits could never quiet orientate the position of the Berghof. Anyway thanks to your comparison of the old and new pictures I can now visualize which way the building was facing. Excellent website. I have taken some of the very same pictures this weekend prior to finding your website this evening! so could compare with yours.
Nice to know other people still find this place of interest. I find it both fascinating and eerie at the same time.
Thanks alot.
Comment by Ange Turner — April 13, 2009 @ 10:03 pm
[...] website by a Chris Howells who took photos of famous WWII sites throughout France and Germany. Berghof/Haus Wachenfeld | chrishowells.co.uk [...]
Pingback by Great Website of WWII sites today - World War II Forums — May 21, 2009 @ 2:17 pm
Fantastic
Comment by David Bell — May 22, 2009 @ 10:01 pm
Sorry, but your information is incorrect. Berghof means Mountain Court when translated. The word “hof” in German means “court”
Comment by Leonard — July 14, 2009 @ 1:45 pm
Leonard,
As much as I appreciate any corrections, I believe that you are incorrect. According to dict.leo.org, Der Hof is translatable to “Farm yard”. Doing a google search for ‘”mountain farm” berghof’ gives quite a few hits including various books that confirm that this is a valid translation.
Thanks.
Comment by admin — July 22, 2009 @ 9:23 pm
Great photos. I was at the Berghof site this july and many of my own photos overlap yours. Saw the bunker system under the Hotel Turken, what was left of Hitler’s Berghof and after 30 minutes of searching a semi-tree-covered, muddy forest walk path found the location of the “Teehaus” with the Aussicht (the view point with the timber fence known from those movies shot of Hitler & Co by Eva Braun in 1936-44), across the golf course from the Berghof site.
Such a beautiful area, and at the same time one can’t escape the horror that stemmed from these sites. Hitler came up with most of his sinister plans, like the final solution, while at the Berghof. I’m not a spiritual person at all, but still got a really humbling feeling that really, this is where it happened -coupled with a fascination for the historical significance of the area. Hitler spent more than a third of his time in power here.
If you’re going there, bring a detailed map and careful instructions on how to get to the individual sites, especially for the Teehaus. These sites are almost impossible to find thanks to a total lack of signs and tourist info combined with post-war removals and heavy growth of trees. Göring’s house site is now part of a fancy hotel garden and the Teehaus was totally leveled just a couple of years ago.
(Hof (Ger) can have several meanings, like office, house, court, home, public building, HQ and so on, not all in a literal sense of course. You get the idea.)
Comment by Fredrik — July 29, 2009 @ 11:12 pm
Hi Chris. I really liked your photos, especially of the retaining wall as these can be clearly seen from the old photos of the view of the Berghof as seen from the window of Bormann’s house. Cheers. Mike…
Comment by Mike Brooks — September 8, 2009 @ 9:51 pm
I agree with others that your photos are fantastic, good detail. I have become fascinated with the history of this area after seeing a photo of my mother looking out of the Berghof’s picture window. The room was a dusty ruin and there was no glass in the window. I believe she and my father were there in 1950, but could have been earlier. I understand it being a huge tourist draw. Dad was part of Allied armed forces occupation of Germany after the war, and mom was a steno for the military. Both from Ft Worth TX but met in Germany. Obersalzberg is now at the top of my list for a visit. It looks like a fantastically beautiful place to explore. I appreciate the history of places. Thank goodness dad was a prolific photographer back in the day. Take care.
Comment by Lenora Strebeck — November 3, 2009 @ 9:53 pm
Hi Chris. Thanks to your site, I had to visit it myself 2 weeks ago, got some good photos as it was snowing at the time (can email on if required)the bunkers under the Hotel Turken were the best (bring €2.60 for the gate !!)and then a visit to the Documentation Centre is also worth it as it gives a view of the bunker system from the other side of the hill. Is any part of Bormanns house still standing ? Cheers. Mike…
Comment by Mike Brooks — November 5, 2009 @ 11:39 pm
Hi Chris,
I love these pictures. I was trying to take a tour of the Berhof but they told me it was off limits to tourists. Apparently not. I am trying to find the exact location using Google Earth. I can see Eagle’s Nest (Kehlsteinhaus). The Hotel Turken is a few hundred feet northeast of here. Is the Berhof slightly west on Hinterek street?
Thanks,
Jerry
Comment by Gerardo — November 19, 2009 @ 8:21 pm
Gerardo: If you look down the Mt. road from the zum Tuerken the rear driveway and the front driveway to the Berghof is right under the Tuerken. You can walk back the driveway and the retaining walls are to the left and a plaque describing the area to the right. If you follow the trail you will come to the Documentation Center, a very good tour.
Comment by J. Barrie Boas — January 30, 2010 @ 2:03 am
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Pingback by Krigets skönhet » Blog Archive » Bayern/Berghof 2010 juni — February 7, 2010 @ 10:09 am
You have done a remarkable job. I want to know or get the construction plans of the Berghof. I’m a three-week trip in August 2009 in Berchtesgaden going again in 2011. This time, the trip will be different thanks to
your information.
Thank you,
Mikke!
Comment by Mikke Fugere — March 2, 2010 @ 2:51 am
Hi Chris. I am doing my second trip to the Berghof in August of this year(2012) My first trip was in 2008.Looking at your photos makes me go ‘cold turkey’ and cant wait to return. I do “Now and Then” as a hobby and covered Berlin, Cologne, Nurnberg and did the whole of Belgium that included the ‘Battle of the Bulge’. Will be going back to Berlin in a year or two.
Well done on your photos. I will be taking enough rubble from the Berghof back home as for it’s very much in demand by collectors.
Greg
greg.menego1@gmail.com
Comment by Greg Menego — July 10, 2010 @ 6:06 pm