Schloss Elmau is a four-story castle and national monument with hipped roof, tower and porch, situated between Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Mittenwald in a sanctuary of the Bavarian Alps, Germany. It lies at the foot of the Wetterstein mountains in a Naturschutzgebiet (nature reserve), belonging to the Krün municipality. It was built by philosopher and theologian Johannes Müller and architect Carl Sattler between 1914 and 1916.[1]
History
After Germany's defeat in World War II, Müller lost control of Schloss Elmau. From 1947, the premises served as a home for displaced concentration camp survivors,[2] operated by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.
From 1957, Schloss Elmau became best known for chamber music, with the Amadeus Quartet, Benjamin Britten, Julian Bream, Yehudi Menuhin and Alfred Brendel performing there.[3] Also in 1957, Group 47 chose the castle for one of its semiannual invitation-only retreats.[4]
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 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
Culture
Several Booker Prize-winners, including Julian Barnes, Zadie Smith and Ian McEwan, have taken part in literary discussions at Schloss Elmau.[7]
G7 summits
Schloss Elmau was the site of the 41st G7 summit on 7–8 June 2015[8][9] and the 48th G7 summit on 26–28 June 2022.[10]
External links
- The Ex-Helfer(in) Network – Network of former Elmau Helpers
- A saudumme Gschicht - Landratsamt stoppt Luxusparty in Elmau - 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
References
- Website Schloss Elmau, History^
- Jack Ewing (7 June 2015), Quirky Bavarian Retreat Opens Up to G-7 Leaders New York Times.^
- Harriet Green (17 March 2019), Mountain maestros: the Alpine retreat that stages world-class concerts