In a move to deter neo-Nazi pilgrimages, the town of Braunau am Inn, where Adolf Hitler was born in 1889, has begun renovations to convert Hitler’s birth house into a police station. The town authorities’ decision regarding the building’s future was finalised in late 2019, with plans outlining a local police hub and an outpost of the security academy. The police are set to move into the premises by early 2026.
This renovation follows years of negotiations over the property’s ownership. The matter was settled in 2017 when Austria’s highest court ruled that the government could expropriate the building after the owner refused to sell it. Any notions of demolishing the edifice were dismissed.
The Austrian Interior Ministry had rented the building in 1972 to prevent its misuse. It subsequently leased the property to various charitable organisations, and it remained vacant since 2011 after a care centre for adults with disabilities relocated.
In essence, the reimagining of this historical building marks a bold step to strip it of its notorious association and leverage it for public service.