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Chiemsee
Autobahn Rasthaus
Chiemsee is a large resort lake in southern
Bavaria, and was chosen by Adolf Hitler to be the site of the first Rest House
of the Autobahn system. One of the earliest of Hitler's Autobahns was the route
between Munich and Salzburg, since Hitler traveled this way often en route to
his home on the Obersalzberg. Hitler wanted the
best for this Autobahn, including a route that passed by the shore of Chiemsee
lake. This required quite a bit of engineering work, as the planners wished to
route the highway closer to the mountains where the land was firmer, and the
lakeside route required additional roadbed preparation. However, Hitler's wishes
were fulfilled, allowing a large Rasthaus complex to be built directly on the
shore of the lake, which opened in 1938. This complex served its function for
only a few years, before being used as a hospital during World War II.
Following the end of
the war, this complex was taken over by the U.S. Army and for many years this building was the Lake Hotel, part of the U.S. Armed Forces
Recreation Center at Chiemsee. However, the AFRC closed its Chiemsee
facilities in September 2003, and following the return to the German government, the
facilities remained closed to the public for several years. In the fall
of 2011 a health clinic was opened in the partially renovated main building.
Unfortunately, the interior of this historic building was broken up into
offices, and the complex is now closed to the general public. (Google
Maps link)
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This plaque
at the
entrance to the Rasthaus explains the history. The English translation was
installed by AFRC. 2012 note - This
plaque has been reconditioned, as seen below, but the English translation
plaque has been removed. |
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Architectural model of the Chiemsee Rasthaus
complex. The main building was on the lake shore, with associated buildings on
the other side of the Autobahn. (from Official Catalog of the 1st
German Architecture and Crafts
Exhibition, in the Haus der Deutschen Kunst in Munich,
January-March 1938 (author's collection)
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The Autobahn Rasthaus
at Chiemsee in the late 1930s, and the same view in 2001. (period postcard) |
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Similar views from a
different angle, showing the entrance portico. (period photo from Frau Prof. Gerdy
Troost, "Das Bauen im neuen Reich," Bayreuth, 4th edition, 1938) |
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The
entry area now looks like this, with considerable changes to the classic
design done during the renovations. |
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A
winter scene from a period postcard, with the same view in 2012. |
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| Another period view of the main building
of the Chiemsee Rasthaus, with a closer view of a secondary entryway and another
history plaque. |
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Views of the Rasthaus
from the lake side, showing Hitler (below) in a boat at the Rasthaus dock, ca. 1939.
(above
- from Frau Prof. Gerdy Troost, "Das Bauen im neuen Reich," Bayreuth, 4th
edition, 1938; below - National Archives, RG 242-HB;
bottom - 1941-dated postcard in author's collection ) |
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This wing was completely renovated in 2011, and now
bears little resemblance to its original appearance. |
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| On the
left, Hitler's Führerzimmer; on the right, Hitler visits with
his adjutants and staff. (courtesy Ralf Hornberger; period
postcard) |
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period
postcard views of the interior area of Adolf Hitler's Führerzimmer
dining area. It is now part of a larger dining room for the clinic
patients. Below is a view of the room before the clinic was built.
(above - author's collection; below- photo donated) |
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| Above - More
period color postcard views of the main dining hall. Below is a view of
the empty hall before the clinic was built. (above - author's
collection; below - photo donated) |
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| The period color postcard views
above show the Aufenthaltsraum, or main lounge. The view below
shows the lounge before it was subdivided into offices for the clinic.
(above - author's collection; below - photo donated) |
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| A cupola
/ clock tower on the end of the main side wing retains its period
"Mermaid" weather vane. On the right, the "mermaid"
logo from a 1938 postcard. |
One obvious reminder of the American
Forces Recreation Center remains today at the Chiemsee Rasthaus site.
American military personnel and their families could ride a special boat to the
Herreninsel island to visit Schloß Herrenchiemsee.
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Surprisingly,
under the AFRC the
Chiemsee Lake Hotel still retained original Third Reich sculpture decoration
(and as of 2019 it was still there). The statue
seen in the photo at left, on the terrace overlooking the lake behind the hotel, is the
Fritz Klimsch work "Die Schauende"
(The Looker, modeled by Martha Nabel of Berlin), featured in the grand opening exhibition in the Haus
der Deutschen Kunst in Munich, July 1937 (more views here). Today this sculpture is known as the
"Chiemsee Mermaid." (postcard from the 1937 Haus der
Deutschen Kunst exhibition) |
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It is unclear just when
"Die Schauende" was placed on the Chiemsee terrace. Third Reich
period
photos do not show the work in this location, but it was apparently there
shortly after the end of World War II. The photo at the left is undated,
but it was in a collection of other photos dated to the summer of 1945.
The photo on the right was taken in the 1950s. It may be that the American authorities moved the sculpture from
its 1945 location (Munich?) to Chiemsee. (left - Carl Campbell
Collection; right - courtesy Frank Tompkins) |
Click here to visit
another Chiemsee site associated with the Third Reich.
Click here
to visit a similar Autobahn Raststätte in Thüringen.
Return to the "Third
Reich in Ruins" homepage
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