Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [304]
From mid-May to October, the Eagle’s Nest is open to visitors. To get there, drive or take bus 849 from the Hauptbahnhof to the Kehlstein bus departure area. From here the road is closed to private traffic and you must take a special bus (www.kehlsteinhaus.de; per person €15; 8.55am-4pm) up the mountain (35 minutes). The final 124m stretch to the summit is in a luxurious, brass-clad elevator. The Eagle’s Nest now houses a restaurant that donates profits to charity.
SALZBERGWERK
Once a major producer of so-called ‘white gold’, Berchtesgaden has thrown open its salt mines ( 600 20; adult/child €14/9; 9am-5pm May-Oct, 11.30-3pm Nov-Apr) for fun-filled tours (90 minutes). The brand-new SalzZeitReise exhibition opened here in 2007, and sees visitors donning protective overalls and taking a special train into the depths of the mine. Down below, the highlights include the crossing of a 100m-long illuminated lake containing the same concentration of salt as the Dead Sea, and the brightly lit, interactive treasure chamber where visitors learn about the history of salt mining in the Alps. It’s usually only around 12°C down there, so bring a sweater.
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Activities
HIKING
The wilds of the 210-sq-km Berchtesgaden National Park offer some of the best hiking in Germany. A good introduction is a 2km trail up from St Bartholomä beside the Königssee to the notorious Watzmann-Ostwand, where scores of mountaineers have met their deaths. Another popular hike goes from the southern end of the Königssee to the Obersee. For details of routes visit the Nationalpark office Click here, or buy a copy of the Berchtesgadener Land (sheet 794) map in the Kompass series.
SKIING
The Jenner-Königssee area ( 958 10; daily pass adult/child €26.50/14.10) at Königssee is the biggest, most varied of five local ski fields. For equipment hire and courses, try Skischule Treff-Aktiv ( 667 10; www.treffaktiv.de; Jennerbahnstrasse 19, Schönau).
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HITLER’S MOUNTAIN RETREAT
Of all the German towns tainted by the Third Reich, Berchtesgaden has a burden heavier than most. Hitler fell in love with nearby Obersalzberg in the 1920s, and bought a small country home, later enlarged into the imposing Berghof.
After seizing power in 1933, Hitler established a part-time headquarters here and brought much of the party brass with him. They bought, or often confiscated, large tracts of land and tore down farmhouses to erect a 7ft-high barbed-wire fence. Obersalzberg was sealed off as the fortified southern headquarters of the NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers’ Party). In 1938, British prime minister Neville Chamberlain visited for negotiations (later continued in Munich) which led to the infamous promise of ‘peace in our time’ at the expense of Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenlands.
Little is left of Hitler’s Alpine fortress today. In the final days of WWII, the Royal Air Force levelled much of Obersalzberg, though the Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s mountaintop eyrie, was left strangely unscathed. The historical twist and turns are dissected at the impressive Dokumentation Obersalzberg.
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WATZMANN THERME
Berchtesgaden’s thermal wellness and fun pool complex ( 946 40; Bergwerkstrase 54; tickets per 2/4/12hr €8.80/11.40/16.30; 10am-10pm) has several indoor and outdoor pools with various hydro-therapeutic treatment stations, a sauna and inspiring Alpine views.
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Tours
Experience the sinister legacy of the Obersalzberg area, including the Eagle’s Nest and the underground bunker system, on a four-hour guided tour with Eagle’s Nest Tours ( 649 71; www.eagles-nest-tours.com; adult/concession €48/45; 1.15pm mid-May–Oct). Buses depart from the tourist office and reservations are advised.
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Sleeping
Berchtesgaden has plenty of private rooms from €25 per person; ask at the tourist office. Campingplatz Mühlleiten ( 4584; www.muehlleiten.eu; Königsseer Strasse 70; campsite/person €7/5.90) and Camping Grafenlehen ( 4140; www.camping-grafenlehen.de;