Schloss Elmau is a four-story castle and national monument with hipped roof, tower and porch, situated between Garmisch-Partenkirchen and

Mittenwald Mittenwald is a German municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria. Geography Mittenwald is located approximately 16 kilometres to the south-east of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It is situated in the Valley of the River Isar, ...

in a sanctuary of the Bavarian Alps,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It lies at the foot of the

Wetterstein The Wetterstein mountains (german: Wettersteingebirge), colloquially called Wetterstein, is a mountain group in the Northern Limestone Alps within the Eastern Alps. It is a comparatively compact range located between Garmisch-Partenkir ...

mountains in a ''

Naturschutzgebiet A ''Naturschutzgebiet'' (abbreviated NSG) is a category of protected area (nature reserve) within Germany's Federal Nature Conservation Act (the ''Bundesnaturschutzgesetz'' or ''BNatSchG''). Although often translated as 'Nature Reserve' in Engl ...

'' (nature reserve), belonging to the

Krün Krün is a municipality in the Upper Bavarian district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It belongs with Garmisch-Partenkirchen as district capital and cultural center as well as other municipalities to the region Werdenfelser Land. A few kilometers so ...

municipality. It was built by philosopher and

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Johannes Müller and architect

Carl Sattler Carl Sattler (6 November 1877 - 13 January 1966) was a German architect and university lecturer. Life Carl(o) Sattler was born in Florence. His father, the painter Ernst Sattler, was originally from the Schweinfurt area, but had, like othe ...

between 1914 and 1916.

History

After Germany’s defeat in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Müller lost control of Schloss Elmau. From 1947, the premises served as a home for displaced

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

survivors, operated by the

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, also known as Joint or JDC, is a Jewish relief organization based in New York City. Since 1914 the organisation has supported Jewish people living in Israel and throughout the world. The organization i ...

. From 1957, Schloss Elmau became best known for chamber music, with the Amadeus Quartet,

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

, Julian Bream,

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to t ...

and

Alfred Brendel Alfred Brendel KBE (born 5 January 1931) is an Austrian classical pianist, poet, author, composer, and lecturer who is known particularly for his performances of Mozart, Schubert, Schoenberg, and Beethoven.Stephen Plaistow"Brendel, Alfred" ' ...

performing there. Also in 1957,

Group 47 Gruppe 47 (Group 47) was a group of participants in German writers' meetings, invited by Hans Werner Richter between 1947 and 1967. The meetings served the dual goals of literary criticism as well as the promotion of young, unknown authors. In a de ...

chose the castle for one of its semiannual invitation-only retreats. In the early hours of 7 August 2005 a fire broke out in the Schloss, caused by a faulty electric blanket belonging to the former manager, Ducci Mesirca. The fire destroyed nearly the entire top floor of the main building, without any serious casualties. The hotel has since been rebuilt by architect

Christoph Sattler Christoph Sattler is a prolific German architect who has been professionally active since the early 1970s. Most of his more prominent buildings are in southern Germany or Berlin. Although he is known for a number of large high-profile resident ...

and the Munich based Architects from DBLB. It later became a five-star hotel featuring 123 rooms and suites, as well as a 300-seat concert hall and several restaurants. The Schloss Elmau Retreat features 47 suites. The hotel is a forum for international conferences and meetings. It is a member of

The Leading Hotels of the World The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. (LHW) is a marketing organization, representing more than 400 hotels in over 80 countries. Established in 1928 by European hoteliers, LHW is headquartered in New York City. History The company was establ ...

. The hotel is located in the mountain valley between the city of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (a distance is about 15 km) and Mittenwald in Bavaria at the foot of the Wetterstein mountain range at the village of Klais PartClamm. The hotel can be reached either by a private road from Klava, or on foot through the gorge to Partyclamm, the entrance to which is located at the Winter Olympic Stadium. The Ecbauer Zaistan cable car can be used to reach the settlement of remotes, followed by about 4 km on foot. Near the castle is a four-star hotel.

Culture

Several Booker Prize-winners, including

Julian Barnes Julian Patrick Barnes (born 19 January 1946) is an English writer. He won the Man Booker Prize in 2011 with '' The Sense of an Ending'', having been shortlisted three times previously with '' Flaubert's Parrot'', ''England, England'', and '' A ...

Zadie Smith Zadie Smith FRSL (born Sadie; 25 October 1975) is an English novelist, essayist, and short-story writer. Her debut novel, ''White Teeth'' (2000), immediately became a best-seller and won a number of awards. She has been a tenured professor ...

and

Ian McEwan Ian Russell McEwan, (born 21 June 1948) is an English novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, ''The Times'' featured him on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" and ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked him number 19 in its list of th ...

have taken part in literary discussions at Schloss Elmau.

G7 summits

Schloss Elmau was the site of the

41st G7 summit The 41st G7 summit was held in Schloss Elmau, Krün, Bavaria and Germany on 7–8 June 2015. In March 2014 the remaining members of the G8 declared that a meaningful discussion was currently not possible with Russia, and since then meetings hav ...

on 7–8 June 2015. The 48th G7 summit on 26–28 June 2022 also took place there.

References

External links

*
The Ex-Helfer(in) Network
– Network of former Elmau Helpers

- TV report (part of 16 April 2015 quer broadcast) about illegal construction of party venue (archive copy: video no longer viewable)
Illegale Partybühne bei G7-Hotel: Behörde prüft Bußgeld
- newspaper report (in German) on the same issue
König von Elmau? Neuer Ärger um G7-Schlossherrn
- TV report (in German; part of 30 April 2015 broadcast) following up on the one above, about further illegal building work by Elmau {{DEFAULTSORT:Elmau, Schloss Buildings and structures completed in 1916 Castles in Bavaria Utopian communities Hotels in Germany Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district)