The Platterhof, originally a farm called the ‘Steinhauslehen’ was acquired in 1877 by Mauritia ‘Moritz’ Mayer. This single-minded, enterprising lady set about turning the property into a guesthouse, renaming it ‘Pension Moritz’. This led to a considerable increase in the number of visitors to the area; but it was not until 1888, when the railway arrived in Berchtesgaden that the region was really thrown open to tourism. The area had a reputation as an ‘air cure resort’ attracting people for the quality of the mountain air and beautiful scenery. Mauritia Mayer died on 1 March 1897. However her sister Antonie continued running the business until 1919. The property then changed hands. On 26 July 1919 two doctors from Berlin, Ernst and Eugen Josef bought the business. In 1921 they installed one Bruno Büchner, a former engineer and pilot to run the guesthouse on a concessionary basis. Büchner and his wife purchased the property in July 1928. On making his first visit to the area in 1923, Adolf Hitler readily found accommodation at Pension Moritz where his friend Dietrich Eckart was a regular patron.
Martin Bormann, ‘Lord of the Obersalzberg’ purchased the guesthouse in March 1937, by which time it had already been renamed Gasthaus ‘Der Platterhof’. Between 1939 and 1941 the Platterhof underwent reconstruction on a massive scale. However, once again, and on Hitler’s instructions, as with Haus Wachenfeld the old building was ‘incorporated’ into the new one, thus preserving as much of the original guesthouse as possible. Boasting absolute luxury the new Volkshotel (People’s Hotel) opened on 1 September 1941. This was to be a ‘national people’s hotel’, built to accommodate the ordinary people during their pilgrimage to the Obersalzberg. The initial concept, that any German citizen could spend a night in the 150-bed hotel for the sum of just 1 Mark, proved transitory. In reality, Bormann’s wish to ever-increase the privacy and seclusion of the Führer on the mountain meant that the new hotel quickly became a place to accommodate high-ranking officers, members of the Nazi hierarchy and visiting dignitaries. The life of ‘Volkshotel Platterhof’ was short-lived; the hotel, having received guests for a mere eighteen months was given over to operate as a military hospital due to the deteriorating war situation and remained as such until the end of the Second World War.
During the bombing of the area in April 1945 the Platterhof complex suffered considerable damage, particularly the employee’s accommodation block; the main hotel itself survived the attack relatively well. The Platterhof then lay unused for a number of years. Nonetheless, the hotel was destined to survive the demolition of all former Nazi buildings on the Obersalzberg carried out in 1952. The restored Platterhof, having been renamed ‘General Walker Hotel’ re-opened for business in 1953. Bormann’s former ‘Volkshotel’ served as a recreational facility for US forces until 1996 when the entire area was returned to the Bavarian State. Amid much controversy the hotel was demolished in 2000.
Following research of the Obersalzberg archives and on examining some of the older parts of the former Platterhof in 1999, a beam from the original Steinhauslehen bearing the date 1671 was uncovered. The existence of this beam confirmed that the Nazis had indeed preserved the original Steinhauslehen when they constructed the new Platterhof between 1939 and 1941. The very presence of this ancient beam, under German law for the preservation and protection of historic sites, should have prevented demolition the following year. However the idea of preserving the former Nazi Volkshotel on the Obersalzberg was obviously something the authorities felt uncomfortable with and demolition went ahead regardless. The former site of the Platterhof is now a car-park serving the nearby recently constructed Documentation Centre, while the adjacent bus terminal caters for those wishing to visit the Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle’s Nest).
Postcards numbers 210 to 214 depict Pension Moritz in the early days when it was still a simple guesthouse offering relaxation amid beautiful surroundings. Postcards numbers 215 to 228 depict the later Platterhof as rebuilt under Martin Bormann’s direct influence.