Elvis Presley Photo Gallery: Bad Nauheim and Friedberg

Elvis Presley the G.I. was stationed in West Germany for 17 months. This “Elvis in Germany” photo gallery visits the places where “The King” lived, worked and spent some time. For more about the places pictured below, see this article: Elvis Presley in Germany: Elvis as a Soldier in West Germany, 1958-1960.

Bad Nauheim
The once-exclusive spa town of Bad Nauheim is located about a 30-minute drive from Frankfurt am Main. Although Elvis was actually stationed at the US Army base at Ray Barracks in nearby Friedberg, he did not live there very long. Unlike his fellow, less-famous G.I.’s, Private Elvis Presley could afford to live off base with his family. He chose to live in Bad Nauheim, which was only a few miles from the US military base in Friedberg.

Bad Nauheim is a town in the German state of Hesse with a population of around 31,000. Below is a view of the city, a place that has not changed very much since Elvis left to return to the United States in 1960.

NOTE: Click on any photo below to see a larger view.

The German town of Bad Nauheim, viewed from the Hotel Johannisberg that overlooks the city. PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

It may have been different when Elvis lived here, but Bad Nauheim today has a pleasant town center.

The city center of Bad Nauheim has a quiet pedestrian zone with shopping and restaurants. PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

Elvis and his crew were asked to leave two hotels in Bad Nauheim. This was the second one. The former hotel is once again a hotel, having been a private residence for many years after Elvis was there. It is the site of the “Elvis Presley Square” and a black stone stela dedicated to the singer (right, with flowers). See the close-up view below.

When Elvis lived in this residence in Bad Nauheim, it was the Hotel Grunewald. After he and his retinue got kicked out of the Grunewald, Elvis rented a house to live in. PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

This view shows the commemorative stela dedicated to Elvis Aaron Presley and his “military years 1958-1960 in Bad Nauheim.”

The city of Bad Nauheim installed this stela next to the former Hotel Grunewald in 1995. PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

Tired of getting kicked out of hotels, Elvis decided to rent a place where he and his buddies could make all the noise they wanted to. Elvis lived in this house at Goethestraße 14 in Bad Nauheim.

Elvis rented most of the space in this house on Goethestraße in Bad Nauheim. His landlady continued to live on the top floor. From the outside, the structure seems little changed from its appearance in 1958-59. PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

Elvis Presley in his white leased BMW 507 in front of his rented house at Goethestraße 14 in Bad Nauheim. In August 1959 he switched to a red model.

Behind his BMW in this photo, you can see part of the house on Goethestraße. Notice the white wooden fence atop the concrete wall. Although the wall is still there, the fence above it, now made of metal, is almost obscured by the hedge today.

From our Elvis Presley in Germany article: “Each workday Elvis would rise at 5:30 in the morning … for his standard breakfast of slightly burned bacon, hard fried eggs, peaches, and homemade Southern baked biscuits with butter and jam. He washed it down with coffee before driving to the base at 6:30 – at first in his black Mercedes, later in two different BMW two-seaters. Most days, if he was not away on maneuvers, he would come home for lunch. Sometimes he would sign autographs in front of the house before coming in for lunch. In the evening he would return from the base in time for dinner with the household. At 7:30 p.m. he would go out and sign autographs for fans until 8:00 p.m. There was even a sign indicating the times in front of the house.”

Another view of Elvis’ former house (right) on this quiet street in Bad Nauheim. PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

Friedberg
Not to be outdone, Friedberg, home to the army base where Elvis was stationed, established its own Platz devoted to Elvis Presley. Unlike the one in Bad Nauheim, located next to the Hotel Grunewald, the square in Friedberg is in the middle of the downtown shopping area.

The “Elvis-Presley-Platz” in downtown Friedberg. PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

Learn more about the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” in Deutschland in our “Elvis in Germany” article (link below).

More | Elvis Presley in Germany

Related Pages
ON THIS SITE

• Elvis Presley in Germany – Part 1 – Our article about Elvis in Bad Nauheim and Friedberg
• Elvis Presley in Germany – Part 2 – More about G.I. Elvis in West Germany
• GW Expat Blog: Bad Nauheim and Elvis – A visit to Bad Nauheim, where Elvis lived from 1958 to 1960
• Mini Bios A-Z – Brief biographies of people from the German-speaking world
• Featured Biographies – More detailed bios of notable people from the German-speaking world
• Notable Women from Austria, Germany, Switzerland
• Famous Graves in Germany – Where are they buried?

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