The Kehlsteinhaus stands at 1,834 metres on the summit of the Kehlstein mountain, reached by a spectacular 6.5km toll road carved into the mountainside and then a brass-lined elevator through the final 124 metres of rock. The building itself — a stone and copper-roofed pavilion with panoramic views across Germany and Austria — was built for Hitler's 50th birthday in 1939 and survived the 1945 bombing that destroyed the Berghof below it. It now operates as a restaurant.
The access road is open from mid-May to late October (weather permitting) and is closed to private cars — a fleet of special buses runs from the Obersalzberg bus terminal. The views from the summit, particularly toward the Untersberg on the Austrian border and down into the Berchtesgaden valley, are exceptional. The combination of dramatic setting, strange history, and good hiking in the surrounding alpine terrain makes this one of Bavaria's most visited and most discussed sights.