The Road
The Birth of the Project
Bormann (pictured left) had been more than familiar with the Kehlstein area, being as he and his family were living at the Kehlalm cottage, located at a height of some 1724 metres at the bottom of the Kehlstein mountain overlooking the Obersalzberg. Bormann had always been keen on the idea of making other areas of the mountain more accessible, and these ideas became something more of a reality following a discussion with the then chief inspector of German roads, Dr. Fritz Todt, in 1936.
Bormann described his plans to Dr. Todt, who was himself fairly familiar with the area. The roads chief acknowledged that the task would take considerable planning and work to achieve, but that essentially it was more than possible. Todt put his stamp of approval on the Reichsleiter's plan by offering his personal support, and what was to become one of the largest engineering projects of its kind was underway.
The Project Begins
Although Dr. Todt was ultimately responsible for the project, its initial planning fell to state engineer August Michahelles. On November 8th 1936 Michahelles met with Reichsleiter Bormann, who was able to exert the maximum pressure by suggesting that Hitler had wanted to see the road ready by the following spring.
Although the Führer was not even aware of what was going on, the pressure brought to bear by Bormann was not lost on Michahelles, who immediately got to work. A mere two days later, he was to present Bormann with the first drafts. Bormann acted on Michahelles' blueprints immediately, and between this time and the end of 1936 his office had purchased over 900 acres of land on the north side of the Kehlstein from the Bavarian State Forests Administration. The total cost for these lots amounted to 800,000 Reichsmarks - 7.5 million DM (£2.5 million).
After Dr. Todt also approved Michahelles' plans, no time was lost in getting the construction underway. Again, Bormann was influential in pushing everyone to the maximum. When the building began, there were a number of parties involved, including two construction companies. This was reshuffled at the beginning of April 1937, when a new office was created for the Obersalzberg and Kehlstein area. This office was placed under the jurisdiction of State Engineer Hans Haupner. After reviewing the plans and taking on board more suggestions from Bormann - including the latter's wish to utilise the southern side of the mountain and build a whole new road in the process - Haupner finally decided on two options, both of which were presented to Bormann.