Chile's Bavarian Village: A German-Style Getaway

Villa Baviera, formerly known as Colonia Dignidad, is a village in Chile that was once a brutal Nazi colony. The village is located in the Andean foothills of central Chile, in the commune of Parral, and covers 137 square kilometres. It was founded by former Nazi soldier Paul Schäfer in 1961, who ran it as a secretive cult with members living as virtual slaves and prevented from leaving by armed guards with dogs. The village was built to resemble a Bavarian village, with modern apartment complexes, two schools, a chapel, several meeting houses, and a bakery. Today, it has been turned into a German-themed tourist resort, featuring a hotel, restaurant, swimming pool, and playgrounds.

Villa Baviera is a former Nazi colony

Villa Baviera, formerly known as Colonia Dignidad, is a village in Chile that was once a Nazi colony. Located in a remote area in the Maule Region of central Chile, it was established in the post-World War II era by former Nazi sergeant Paul Schäfer and several hundred of his followers, who had fled West Germany amidst charges of child sexual abuse.

Colonia Dignidad, as it was then known, was an isolated and secretive colony. It was surrounded by barbed wire fences and featured a watchtower and searchlights. Schäfer and his followers portrayed the colony to the outside world as a communal agricultural utopia and a Christian charity providing free healthcare to Chileans. However, in reality, it was an authoritarian Nazi police state with restricted emigration. Schäfer employed a cult of personality, with all of his followers eventually thinking of him as God, referring to him as "Der Permanente Onkel" or The Permanent Uncle.

Every aspect of human life was controlled within the colony. Families were separated at birth into gender-segregated groups, and laborers worked without pay. Schäfer banned calendars, computers, and TVs, and restricted any connection to the outside world. He also collaborated with Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, who used the colony as a detention camp to torture and execute his political prisoners.

In the 1990s, as democracy came to Chile, things began to change. Schäfer fled Chile in 1997 under charges of torture, amassing weapons, and committing pedophilia against the children of the colony. The settlement was renamed Villa Baviera, and it is now a controversial tourist town, attempting to move forward from its brutal Nazi past with a German-themed appeal. While the former sheds and slave workshops of Colonia Dignidad remain, the village now features a man-made pond, Hotel Baviera, and the Zippelhaus Restaurant, located in renovated versions of Schäfer's original architecture.

It was established in 1961 by Paul Schäfer

Villa Baviera, formerly known as Colonia Dignidad, is a village in Chile that was established in 1961 by Paul Schäfer, a former Nazi sergeant and preacher. Schäfer, a German citizen, was facing child molestation charges in West Germany and fled to Chile as a fugitive. He brought with him a few hundred of his closest followers and established an isolated colony in the Andean foothills of eastern Chile.

Colonia Dignidad, or "Dignity Colony," was an authoritarian Nazi police state that was highly secretive and cut off from the outside world. Schäfer ruled the colony with an iron fist, controlling every aspect of human life, including family structures and sexual relations. He employed a cult of personality, with followers eventually referring to him as "Der Permanente Onkel" or The Permanent Uncle.

Under Schäfer's leadership, Colonia Dignidad became notorious for human rights abuses, including torture, censorship, and white nationalism. Laborers worked without pay, and those who broke the colony's strict laws were tortured. The colony also served as a detention camp for Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, who used it to torture and execute his political prisoners.

In the 1990s, with the advent of democracy in Chile, things began to change at Colonia Dignidad. Schäfer fled the country in 1996 to escape child molestation charges and was later arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2006. The settlement was renamed Villa Baviera and is now a controversial tourist destination, offering music, Oktoberfest celebrations, and traditional European meals. While it has attempted to move on from its Nazi-dominated past, the village still grapples with the legacy of its brutal history.

The village is located in the Andean foothills of Chile

The village, formerly known as Colonia Dignidad, is located in the Andean foothills of Chile, in the commune of Parral, in the Maule Region of central Chile. It is about 350km (220 miles) south of Santiago, the capital of Chile, and is accessible by a four-hour train ride from the city. The village is situated in a rural area on the north bank of the Perquilauquén River, approximately 35 km southeast of the town of Parral.

The village was established in a remote location, surrounded by farmland and forests, with a large barbed-wire fence enclosing the compound. It covered an area of 137 square kilometers (53 square miles) and was home to around 300 German and Chilean residents at its peak. The perimeter of the village was marked by barbed wire, searchlights, and a watchtower, with guardhouses and lookout towers to prevent escapees.

The village was founded in 1961 by former Nazi sergeant Paul Schäfer, who fled to Chile to escape charges of child sexual abuse in West Germany. Schäfer and his followers established an isolated colony, later described as a "state within a state," that became notorious for human rights abuses, including internment, torture, and murder during the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet in the 1970s.

Today, the village has been renamed Villa Baviera and has been redeveloped into a German-themed tourist resort, featuring a hotel, restaurant, playgrounds, and a swimming pool. While the searchlights and some infrastructure from the old colony remain, the village now offers a range of leisure activities and facilities, such as trekking, hydro-biking, and hot tubs. The village also provides a "colonial tour," allowing visitors to explore the old secret bunkers and learn about the human rights abuses that occurred there.

It is now a tourist attraction, with a hotel and restaurant

Villa Baviera, formerly known as Colonia Dignidad, is now a tourist attraction. The village is located in the Andean foothills of Chile, and is accessible by a four-hour train ride from Santiago, followed by a 12-mile journey on gravel roads. The village has a hotel, the Hotel Baviera, and a restaurant, the Zippelhaus Restaurant, both of which are renovated versions of original buildings from when the village was a Nazi colony. The village also features a manmade pond, and the sheds and slave workshops from its time as a colony remain standing.

The village is now home to a few dozen tourists each week, and offers music, Oktoberfest celebrations, painted Bavarian cottages, and traditional European meals. The waiters and innkeepers are descendants of the original Nazis, and the village's dark history is never far away. Tourists can take a "colonial tour", which includes a visit to the colony's old secret bunkers, where vintage spying equipment, examination rooms, and other historical artefacts are on display.

The village's website offers potential visitors the chance to enjoy country life and the traditions and delicacies of German heritage. It has a 40% hotel occupancy rate on average, and offers superior double rooms with flat-screen TVs and WiFi from $65 a night, and cabins for two starting at $38. There is also a family casino, and a restaurant serving traditional German cuisine, as well as leisure activities such as horse riding, biking, and hiking trails.

The village's past is not forgotten, however. When the colony was relaunched as Villa Baviera and the hotel was opened in 2012, the families of the victims of Paul Schäfer and Augusto Pinochet posted pictures of their vanished loved ones around the colony walls.

The village has been described as a cult

Villa Baviera, formerly known as Colonia Dignidad, has been described as a cult due to the absolute control its leader, Paul Schäfer, had over the residents. Schäfer, a former Nazi sergeant, founded the colony in 1961 after fleeing child molestation charges in West Germany.

The organisation was highly secretive, surrounded by barbed wire fences, watchtowers, and searchlights. Schäfer employed a cult of personality, eventually leading his followers to think of him as God, referring to him as "Der Permanente Onkel" or "The Permanent Uncle". He controlled every aspect of human life, segregating families and prohibiting sex unless approved by him. Residents worked long hours without pay, and those who broke the strict laws were tortured. Schäfer also collaborated with Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, who used the colony as a detention camp for political prisoners.

The colony portrayed itself as a utopian paradise to the outside world, but in reality, it was an authoritarian Nazi police state. The residents were never allowed to leave and were strictly segregated by gender. Television, telephones, and calendars were banned, and residents were forced to take drugs to reduce their sexual desires.

After democracy came to Chile in the 1990s, things began to change. Schäfer fled the country in 1996 to escape child molestation charges, and in 1997, the settlement was renamed Villa Baviera. Today, it is a controversial tourist town, with descendants of the original Nazis trying to move past their brutal history.

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