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Obersalzberg
Hotel zum Türken
Legend says the "Türkenhäusl"
was named for a veteran returning from a war against the Turks in 1683.
Local innkeeper Karl Schuster
bought the "Little Turk House" in 1911 and converted it to a guesthouse. It
soon became one of the most popular stops in the region, entertaining the likes of
Johannes Brahms, Clara Schumann, Bavarian Prince-Regent Luitpold, and the Crown Prince and
Princess of Prussia. Early Nazis Dietrich Eckart and Adolf Hitler ate lunch
there in 1923.
In the late 1920s the
Türken found itself in the unenviable position of becoming Adolf Hitler's
neighbor, when he rented and later bought the adjacent Haus
Wachenfeld for his home. Karl Schuster was a somewhat outspoken
critic of the Nazi takeover of the Obersalzberg, since this ruined his business, and he
joined the majority of his neighbors who were forced to sell out to the Nazis and leave
the area in late 1933. The building was first used by the SS-Führerleibwache, Hitler's
personal bodyguard. Martin Bormann, manager of the
Obersalzberg, later assigned the building to the Reichssicherheitsdienst
(RSD), the high-level Security Service responsible for Hitler's safeguarding (some
references say the Haus Türken housed the Gestapo, but the RSD was a separate
organization). In practice, the ex-hotel served as a headquarters for the round-the-clock
SS guard detachment, and also as a telephone communications center.
The building was severely damaged
in the April 1945 bombing attack (being immediately adjacent to Hitler's Berghof
home), and
heavily plundered by the local population and Allied soldiers. Nevertheless, Karl Schuster's
widow and their daughter Therese
Partner were determined to get the family's property back. Against opposition from
the authorities, Therese Partner began to rebuild, and in 1949, she was finally rewarded by being
permitted to repurchase the building (the building was not
given back to the family by the government). She immediately set about refurnishing and reopening
the Hotel zum Türken, which again took its place as one of the most popular guest
houses in the area. (Google
Maps link)
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| The Haus
Türken in the 1930s. The view above right is a close-up from a photo
showing Adolf Hitler greeting a child in the Berghof driveway - note the
Nazi flag flying to the right of the Türken. Below, Hitler in the
Berghof driveway below the Türken, and a view from the area of Martin
Bormann's house overlooking the Türken and the Berghof. (above
- period postcards; below left - Hans
Quassowski, ed., "Zwölf Jahre: 1.Kompanie Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler,"
Rosenheim, Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft, 1989) |
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| On the
left is a 1934-dated postcard view of the Haus Türken, with Hitler's
Haus Wachenfeld seen behind. The postcard view on the right shows the
Türken ca. 1936, with the new Berghof behind. Of interest in this view
is the large opening on the left side of the Türken, which led into a
wagon storage area behind the building. This opening was later closed off (see all the other
side views on this page), but its outline can still be seen in the
plaster of the Türken side wall today. (period postcards) |
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The SS guard detachment marching to
Haus Türken and the same view today. (All modern photos on this
page taken and published here by permission of the late Frau Ingrid Scharfenberg,
Hotel zum Türken.) |
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The SS
guard presents arms in front of the hotel, with the guard house in the foreground.
The windows on this side of the house were popular with the SS guards, who
could see from there whether Martin Bormann, the "Lord of the
Obersalzberg," was at home. |
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Under
RSD control, the Türken entryway featured an iron grating with SS runes
in a circle. The iron grating is still there, but the SS runes are
naturally gone; a close examination today shows where the iron circle was
cut out. The front doors are original to 1911, and even the original door
lock was in use until about 2004. (The chalk markings above the door are a
Catholic commemoration of Epiphany (Three Kings Day), January 6 - the year
is shown on either side of C+M+B - Christus Mansionem Benedicat -
Christ Bless This House (not the names of the Three Wise Men, as is often
believed). (many thanks to the contributor who donated this
image!) |
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Hitler's admirers gather at the
Haus Türken and in the road at the foot of the Berghof driveway, hoping to catch a
glimpse of their Führer. The front steps are now gone, but the rock retaining wall is still visible. |
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Hitler greets Gen. Karl Litzmann
(World War I hero - the "Lion of Brzeziny") at the end of the Berghof driveway, near the road below the Haus Türken. Note the
footbridge across the road, just to the left of the Haus Türken - this dates this photo
to the early 1930s, when the Berghof was still Haus Wachenfeld. In addition, Haus Hudler
(later taken over by Bormann) does not appear to have been remodeled yet in this photo,
and it appears that Dr. Seitz's sanatorium can still be seen behind the Haus Türken.
Martin Bormann's plans would radically change that whole area. Standing
behind Hitler is his personal adjutant Wilhelm Brückner. (from Hoffmann,
"Hitler
in seinen Bergen," 1938; author's collection) |
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Eva Braun (left) and friends on
the road in front of the Haus Türken. With Eva is Hanni Morell (wife of Dr. Theo
Morell), (unknown), Albert Speer's wife Margarete, and Sofie Stork (an
artist friend of Eva's and Hitler's). The
modern view (1981) shows that the hotel was not rebuilt exactly in the same style as
pre-1945. (National
Archives, RG 242-HB) |
The man who took the pictures -- in
the center of this photo is
Heinrich Hoffmann,
Hitler's official photographer, who took the
majority of period photos showing Adolf Hitler.
This photo was
taken in the road just below the Haus Türken.
(National Archives RG 242-HB)
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| The Stube, or parlor of the
Haus Türken ca.1930. The visitors include Josef "Fleck" Rasp (right), Adolf
Hitler's closest neighbor. (from Florentine Hamm, "Obersalzberg,
Wanderungen zwischen Gestern und Heute," Munich, 1941 (author's collection) |
The Rasp
family lived in the Freidinglehen farmhouse, immediately below Hitler's house (see
aerial view here). In 1936, following the conversion
of Haus Wachenfeld to the Berghof, in accordance with Martin Bormann's plans to close off
the Obersalzberg to the public, the Rasp family was moved and the farm was razed.
(National
Archives, RG 242-HB) |
Hitler greets his neighbor Rasp. This photo was
often used for propaganda purposes, showing Hitler as a genial
and respectful neighbor. (from Hoffmann, "Hitler in seinen Bergen," 1935;
author's
collection)
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| These modern photos show
some of Karl Schuster's original wood carvings on the ceiling of one of the Türken public
rooms. |
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| The
postcard view above likely dates from the 1920s, and shows the main
dining area, the "Eberwein Zimmer." This area had to be extensively rebuilt following the war -
on the right is a view of part of the room today. |
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The Haus
Türken as it appeared in May 1945, shortly after the Allied occupation, and as
the hotel
appears today. ("The Epic of the 101st Airborne," 101st Airborne
Division Public Relations Office, Auxerre, France, 1945) |
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GIs
inspect the ruins of the Türken in May 1945, with corresponding views in May
2005.
In a similar photo that appeared in Life magazine (21 May 1945
issue), the Türken was identified as "Hitler's Chalet." This
was a common mistake in 1945 publications (and in some later ones as well,
including even recent works), which often labeled photos of
the Türken as the Berghof. (This may have been the result of confusion
between Haus Wachenfeld and the Berghof - some may have thought that Haus
Wachenfeld still existed as a separate "chalet" and that these
were its ruins.) What appear to be darker blotches on the walls in the
1945 photos were actually camouflage
netting hanging down. (above - U.S. Army Signal Corps Photo, National Archives RG
111-SC; below - courtesy Chris Munz) |
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| More
views of the Türken ruins in 1945. The aerial reconnaissance photo
below shows a direct bomb hit on the side wing of the Türken, with
damage to the Kindergarten building behind. (below - U.S.
National Archives) |
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| These photos show the
proximity of the Hotel zum Türken to the Berghof. On the left, a view from the late 1930s
or early 1940s; on the right, the rebuilt Hotel zum Türken seen in the early 1950s,
before the destruction of the Berghof ruins (seen on the right). (postcard on
right from author's collection) |
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basement of the Türken had three prisoner cells; these were probably used
to detain members of the SS guard force and Obersalzberg administration
for infractions that required locking up for a short time. The walls and
ceilings were blackened by fire, said to be from the bombing attack of 25 April
1945, but possibly from fires intentionally set to burn documents or other
items (the building itself was not set on fire by the bombing).
The view on the left is from a 1950s period postcard. |
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common with most buildings on the Obersalzberg, the Hotel zum Türken had underground
passageways linking it to other buildings. In addition to the traditional air raid shelter/bunker system under the hotel, linking to the
systems of Hitler and Bormann, a smaller access tunnel led behind the hotel and under the
hill to the Modellhaus basement. |
Note - The Hotel zum Türken continued to be
operated as a hotel until 2018, but has remained closed
since 2019. The hotel was sold in late 2020 and its future is unclear at this
time.
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My guide
book to Third Reich sites in the Berchtesgaden and Obersalzberg area has
been published by Fonthill Media.
"Hitler's
Berchtesgaden" is available at Amazon and other retailers (the
Kindle version is also available from Amazon). |
For further information, including Internet links, check
the Bibliography page.
Continue to other Obersalzberg sites - Hitler's
Berghof, Bormann's and Göring's houses, Platterhof, Gästehaus and Kampfhäusl, bunker system,
Kehlsteinhaus, SS barracks, Gutshof and Teehaus,
SS guard houses,
miscellaneous buildings, other miscellaneous
area buildings.
 Return to the Third Reich in Ruins homepage
Guided Tours
For personal guided tours in
English of Third Reich sites in Berchtesgaden and on the Obersalzberg (and other
local sites) from a certified and accredited local tour guide, contact:
Tom Lewis
+49-(0)1602-641-800
atobersalzberg@sky.com
BEGAFILM
- Historic Films About Berechtesgaden and the Obersalzberg
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