Aliens, Hitler and a hideaway villa
on Fuerteventura
by Alan Hayes
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
About the Author
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