Greetings from the Eagle’s Nest: The Kehlsteinhaus One Year Before the Fire

Germany
Written by Stefan W.
Father and son standing on a bench in front of the wooden summit cross with an edelweiss on the Kehlstein
Greetings fromthe Eagle's Nest

Kehlsteinhaus, Berchtesgaden · Bavaria, Germany · October 2025

A mountain-top house above the clouds, a golden elevator through the rock, and a visit that now feels even more special.

Update, November 2026: one year after our visit, the Kehlsteinhaus was largely destroyed by a fire on October 23, 2026. Police arrested a suspect for arson. The building is closed, and Bavaria's interior minister has said he expects it to be rebuilt. These photos show it the way we saw it, just one year earlier.

On the afternoon of October 17, 2025, after our morning on the Obersalzberg, Philipp and I went all the way up to the Kehlsteinhaus, known in English as the Eagle's Nest. It sits on a rocky ridge at 1,834 meters (about 6,000 feet), high above Berchtesgaden. Getting there is half the adventure: a special bus up a mountain road, a long stone tunnel, and a golden elevator straight up through the rock.

A note before you read on

We visited the Eagle's Nest for historical and educational reasons only: to see with our own eyes where this history happened, and to remember its victims. We do not support or glorify the Nazi regime, its ideology or anything connected to it in any way. Places like this matter because they remind us what must never happen again.

Our visit, step by step

  1. Bus Up the Kehlsteinstraße, only by special bus
  2. Tunnel 124 meters into the mountain
  3. Elevator 124 meters up in the golden elevator
  4. Explore The house, the fireplace and the history gallery
  5. Summit The cross with the edelweiss
  6. Walk Back down on foot, about 10 minutes
getting there

The bus up the mountain

Private cars aren't allowed on the Kehlsteinstraße. It's a narrow road about 6.5 km long that climbs some 800 meters through five tunnels, and only the special buses drive it. Grab a window seat: the road clings to the cliff, and the valley drops away below you. Through the larch trees, the view stretches all the way to the mountains around the Königssee.

View from the bus window onto the steep Kehlsteinstraße with autumn larches and cloudy peaks
Everyone glued to the window
View through larch branches over the Berchtesgaden valley toward the Königssee and cloudy mountains
Looking down the valley
into the rock

The tunnel and the golden elevator

The bus drops you at a stone portal carved into the cliff. From there, a 124-meter tunnel lined with granite blocks leads straight into the mountain. At the end are heavy brass doors, scratched all over with names and initials from decades of visitors. Behind them waits the famous elevator: polished brass and mirrors everywhere, and it carries you another 124 meters up through the rock in less than a minute. It feels like stepping into a time capsule.

Stone tunnel portal at the foot of the Kehlstein with autumn larches and rock walls above
The way in
Long arched granite tunnel with lanterns leading into the Kehlstein
124 meters into the mountain
Heavy arched brass doors with a weathered patina at the end of the Kehlstein tunnel
The brass doors
Close-up of brass covered in scratched names and initials
Decades of scratched initials
Visitors stepping into the brass-lined Kehlsteinhaus elevator with its round lights
All aboard the golden elevator
above the clouds

The Kehlsteinhaus

The house was built in 1937–38 on Martin Bormann's orders, in just 13 months, and twelve workers died during construction. After the war it became a mountain restaurant and a place to learn about this history. A carved wooden sign with two ibexes and the Berchtesgaden coat of arms hangs on the granite wall. Up here the clouds came and went the whole time; one minute we were in fog, the next the house appeared out of the mist.

Carved wooden Kehlsteinhaus 1834 m sign with two ibexes and the Berchtesgaden coat of arms
1,834 meters
Gravel path along the ridge leading to the stone Kehlsteinhaus surrounded by clouds
The house in the clouds
Visitors on the terrace of the Kehlsteinhaus next to the granite building in the fog
The terrace in the fog
Stone stairs along the granite wall of the Kehlsteinhaus with a jackdaw flying and the valley far below
A jackdaw keeping us company
inside

Stone, wood and a marble fireplace

Inside, the big round room is lined with sandstone blocks under heavy wooden beams. Its most famous piece is the red marble fireplace, a gift from Mussolini. Look closely and you'll see chipped edges: Allied soldiers broke off pieces as souvenirs after the war. Another room is paneled entirely in knotty pine, with deep window seats looking straight into the clouds. In the arcade, a history gallery with panels tells the story of the house and the Obersalzberg.

Red Italian marble fireplace with chipped edges and a cast-iron back plate dated 1938 in the Kehlsteinhaus
The marble fireplace, chipped by souvenir hunters
The round room of the Kehlsteinhaus with the marble fireplace, sandstone walls and wooden beams
The round room
Pine-paneled room with wall lamps and window seats in the Kehlsteinhaus
The pine-paneled room
View through a wooden window of clouds and mountain ridges far below
A window full of clouds
Man standing in the stone arcade with history panels at the Kehlsteinhaus
In the history gallery
a break

The restaurant

The round room is now the restaurant, with wooden tables, candle-style wall lamps and big windows. Sitting there with clouds drifting past outside is something you won't forget. It isn't cheap, which is no surprise on top of a mountain, but the setting is one of a kind.

Restaurant in the round room of the Kehlsteinhaus with wooden beams, sandstone walls and tables
Lunch in the round room
Wide view of the Kehlsteinhaus restaurant with the counter and the marble fireplace
Wood, stone and candlelight
our verdict

5 / 5

★★★★★
SeeRestaurant$$$
Where
Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle's Nest), Obersalzberg, Berchtesgaden
Height
1,834 m (about 6,000 ft)
Price
$$$ High, but it's a once-in-a-lifetime spot
Status
Closed after the October 2026 fire
the top

The summit cross

Behind the house, a short path climbs to the top of the Kehlstein and its wooden summit cross, decorated with a big edelweiss. Philipp and I took our picture there with snow on the rocks behind us and clouds pouring over the ridges. Then came the best tip of the day: take the golden elevator up, but walk down. The path back to the bus stop only takes about 10 minutes, and the views along the way are fantastic.

Father and son in front of the Kehlstein summit cross with an edelweiss and cloudy mountains
Philipp and me at the summit cross
Father and son selfie at a wooden railing with forested mountains and the valley below
On the walk down

Tip: elevator up, walk down. It takes only about 10 minutes, and you get the views all to yourself.

Good to know

Status
Largely destroyed by fire on October 23, 2026 and closed. Check berchtesgaden.de for news on rebuilding.
Getting up
Only by special bus on the Kehlsteinstraße, then the 124 m tunnel and 124 m elevator
Season
When open, roughly May to October, depending on snow
Weather
It's often in the clouds. Bring a warm jacket, even in summer.
Our tip
Elevator up, walk down: about 10 minutes
see you on the road

Did you get to visit the Eagle's Nest before the fire?

Tell me in the comments, or send me a question if you're planning a trip to Berchtesgaden.

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Stefan W.

Stefan Weihermueller has loved wood-working from a very young age, but it wasn't until he worked for many years in the manufacturing field and gained experience in programming that the idea for his business Custom Wood Design was born.

www.custom-wood-Design.com
Next

Greetings from Berchtesgaden: A Historic Train Station and the Obersalzberg