Höhenried Castle

The origins of the current castle grounds date back to the early 20th century. Between 1914 and 1927, Wilhelmina Busch, a co-heiress of the Anheuser-Busch brewery, acquired various estates in Bernried with her first husband, Eduard Scharrer. After Scharrer's death in 1932, Wilhelmina Busch married her personal physician Carl Borchard in 1933, but later divorced him. She realized her dream of building a castle in 1937. The topping-out ceremony was celebrated in February 1938, and by the summer of 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, the 60-room castle was completed. With the USA's entry into the war, Wilhelmina Busch moved her residence to Switzerland but retained her German citizenship. In 1943, the castle was confiscated and used as an orthopedic clinic for two years. Shortly before the end of the war, Wilhelmina Busch managed to evacuate Swiss legations and the Geneva Red Cross to Hohenried, thus protecting the entire property from destruction. After the war, the Americans confiscated the castle but left in March 1946.