Repurposed military equipment can show up in the strangest of places, including the famous Eagle’s Nest (also known as Kehlsteinhaus in German), Hitler’s mountaintop retreat near the German-Austrian border. The building, and the luxurious elevator that ascends 407 feet (124 meters) to take visitors to the house, normally received power through underground cables running up from the nearby resort of Berchtesgaden. The house, however, also had a backup power generator for emergencies: a diesel engine originally built for submarines and housed in a room not accessible to the public today. It was produced in Augsburg by the Munich-based MAN (“Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg”) company, which is still known for its commercial vehicles today. A true example of reliable German engineering, the engine is still in working condition and undergoes annual testing.
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