Aliens, Hitler and a hideaway villa on Fuerteventura
Aliens and Adolf Hitler might not seem to have much in common.
But lying in isolated mountainside in one of the most secluded
areas of the Canary Islands lies an spacious villa that has
given birth to mysterious legends about both.
This spacious villa lies hidden from the world nestling between
the mountains and the wild Atlantic ocean on Fuerteventura. It
can only be reached after a hair raising drive along a dirt
track in the mountain borders. The sheer isolation of Villa
Gustav Winter holds a mystery which has yet to be explained.
This mystery starts with the appearance and position of the
villa itself. It is surrounded by land which has exactly the
same shape and proportions of the island of Fuerteventura
itself. And the villa's location within this enclosed replica
corresponds geographically to its true position...
Was this location and shape the result of exact mathematical
positioning, a signal to some alien life form or just sheer
fluke? The truth will probably never come to light but theories
abound.
German-born Gustav Winter arrived on Fuerteventura in the 1930s.
He worked for a large company that had just acquired a great
expanse of land in the south of the island - the peninsula of
Jandia.
Winter became known for his mysterious dark glasses and
accompanying black dog and was responsible for building the
first port at Morro Jable. However, it is not for these reasons
that he is best remembered. His name will always be connected to
the small isolated hamlet of Cofete where he built the villa
that later gave birth to countless myths.
Originally, the villa was said to have been built to establish
agriculture in the region. It was modelled on a villa built in
the Black Forest in 1893. But rumours began spreading after the
appearance of armed guards accompanied by large dogs started
guarding the walls of what was becoming more of a fortress than
a villa.
Anyone trying to get to the villa had to first identify
themselves to the guards who would then call Winter. If they
were granted permission to enter, they then had to travel along
a dirt track road which, according to urban legend, was built by
political prisoners held captive at a concentration camp at
Tefia. An airport runway was also built there and put at
Gustav's disposal.
Rumours were flamed after accounts from people allowed into the
villa described the five rooms in the attic as being completely
tiled over, of a large kitchen and of vast dark cellars and
caves stretching under the villa and into the mountainside. Were
the tiles to stop any radio signals being picked up by
eavesdroppers?
And why would such an important engineer as Gustav, who held the
rank of Colonel and who was at the forefront of an important
shipyard in Bordeaux, hide himself in the middle of nowhere to
practice farming while his country was at war? He was a man of
considerable importance - at a time when his country needed him
most, would he really hide himself away in a fortress in a
remote island with its close proximity to the sea and an airport
runway? Would he really shelter in a fortress built of solid
walls with ample cellars and a kitchen large enough to feed a
small army? Allied ships were frequently attacked by German
submarines that surrounded and protected this small island from
prying eyes.
Historical accounts now tend to suggest that Villa Winter acted
as a safe house for top escaping Nazis most probably heading to
America. Its isolated location next to the Atlantic and its
natural mountain shelter would have been an ideal rendezvous
point for Nazi leaders arriving by submarine and seeking a safe
haven until they could slip into anonymity after the war.
Shortly before her death, the widow of Gustav Winter firmly
denied the allegations levelled at her late husband over the
years. She denied that the villa had ever had connections to the
Nazis or that it was built as a hideaway for Adolf Hitler - she
said the infamous villa was built for the simple reason of
exploiting agriculture in the area.
But the sheer size of Villa Winter, its isolation and the
constant guard patrols would tend to suggest that this was never
destined to be a family home ringing with the sound of laughter
from happy children