Platterhof Silver find.
Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2015 4:25 pm
Hello all.
On my recent trip to Berchtesgaden I was offered this wooden crate of silver from the Platterhof Hotel - it now sits in my bunker and what a fine collection it is. There are other crates out there that will surface soon, some containing original wall lights and the very rare tall coffee pots which are incredibly hard to find in recent years.
I am very happy with this find as it was not expensive and the great hotels quality certainly speaks for itself!! I particularly like the silver ice-cream dishes tilted slightly so the ice-cream melts towards the patron, and small porcelain creamer jugs -beautiful items.
Its all marked Gebruder Hepp Pforzheim & Gebr. Hepp 90.
I will have more time this coming weekend to post more of the photos and items I found, I am running as usual but will make time on Saturday to sit down and fill out our pages. Have a nice oil painting to show you and a very, very special musical item from the Speer House.
A little history:
On 20 June 1936 the Nazi Party took possession of the Hotel Platterhof. During the next years the entire hotel was renovated and a great many buildings were torn down. The only exception was the original ground floor of the old Pension. The Skyline Room was added and the bed capacity raised to 200. It became among the most modern and luxurious hotels in Europe. Additionally, as part of the renovations and construction, the Platterhof was connected to other official buildings and retreats used by the Nazi party through a series of bunkers and tunnels.
Ideally designed to be a national hotel, it served primarily as secluded sanctuary for high-ranking Nazi dignitaries and high-profile guests. Lavish parties and state functions were hosted at the Platterhof, and it was prized for the pristine beauty and protection offered by the towering Alps. By 1943 however, the direction of the war required that the Platterhof be utilized as a military hospital.
Following the Berchtesgaden/Obersalzberg bombing raid of April 1945, the heavily damaged Platterhof stood vacant and crumbling for a number of years. The US Army rebuilt the hotel in 1952 and designated it an Armed Forces Recreation Center. Many original fixtures, furnishings and design pieces taken from the Platterhof, and other notable Reich buildings in the area were used in the reconstruction and the hotel, now renamed after General Walker, was again restored to its status as one of Europe's grandest hotels.
The General Walker Hotel remained in operation until the property was returned to the German government in 1995. The United States military had come to the decision to close and consolidate all of the AFRC hotels in southern Germany into one central facility in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort, opened in 2004. Prior to the General Walker hotel's final destruction in 2000, many of the historical and highly valuable furnishings and fixtures were plundered from the abandoned building.
Only a small ruin of a building remains, and a section of wall from the Skyline Room. The site of the hotel has been turned into a parking lot - (courtesy of WIKIPEDIA).
Its a real crime what happened to this hotel, but many items from the internal areas can still be found.
Some may disagree, but it was my decision to clean the silver, as I have no intention in the immediate future to sell any of it. It was ALL very black when I took it from the box, but has cleaned up to look like almost new. One day I plan to sit down and eat from it all
On my recent trip to Berchtesgaden I was offered this wooden crate of silver from the Platterhof Hotel - it now sits in my bunker and what a fine collection it is. There are other crates out there that will surface soon, some containing original wall lights and the very rare tall coffee pots which are incredibly hard to find in recent years.
I am very happy with this find as it was not expensive and the great hotels quality certainly speaks for itself!! I particularly like the silver ice-cream dishes tilted slightly so the ice-cream melts towards the patron, and small porcelain creamer jugs -beautiful items.
Its all marked Gebruder Hepp Pforzheim & Gebr. Hepp 90.
I will have more time this coming weekend to post more of the photos and items I found, I am running as usual but will make time on Saturday to sit down and fill out our pages. Have a nice oil painting to show you and a very, very special musical item from the Speer House.
A little history:
On 20 June 1936 the Nazi Party took possession of the Hotel Platterhof. During the next years the entire hotel was renovated and a great many buildings were torn down. The only exception was the original ground floor of the old Pension. The Skyline Room was added and the bed capacity raised to 200. It became among the most modern and luxurious hotels in Europe. Additionally, as part of the renovations and construction, the Platterhof was connected to other official buildings and retreats used by the Nazi party through a series of bunkers and tunnels.
Ideally designed to be a national hotel, it served primarily as secluded sanctuary for high-ranking Nazi dignitaries and high-profile guests. Lavish parties and state functions were hosted at the Platterhof, and it was prized for the pristine beauty and protection offered by the towering Alps. By 1943 however, the direction of the war required that the Platterhof be utilized as a military hospital.
Following the Berchtesgaden/Obersalzberg bombing raid of April 1945, the heavily damaged Platterhof stood vacant and crumbling for a number of years. The US Army rebuilt the hotel in 1952 and designated it an Armed Forces Recreation Center. Many original fixtures, furnishings and design pieces taken from the Platterhof, and other notable Reich buildings in the area were used in the reconstruction and the hotel, now renamed after General Walker, was again restored to its status as one of Europe's grandest hotels.
The General Walker Hotel remained in operation until the property was returned to the German government in 1995. The United States military had come to the decision to close and consolidate all of the AFRC hotels in southern Germany into one central facility in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort, opened in 2004. Prior to the General Walker hotel's final destruction in 2000, many of the historical and highly valuable furnishings and fixtures were plundered from the abandoned building.
Only a small ruin of a building remains, and a section of wall from the Skyline Room. The site of the hotel has been turned into a parking lot - (courtesy of WIKIPEDIA).
Its a real crime what happened to this hotel, but many items from the internal areas can still be found.
Some may disagree, but it was my decision to clean the silver, as I have no intention in the immediate future to sell any of it. It was ALL very black when I took it from the box, but has cleaned up to look like almost new. One day I plan to sit down and eat from it all