The Great Escape (1963)

Munich, Germany

The Perlacher Forst is a vast forested area of about 13 km² located southeast of Munich, Bavaria (Germany). It is part of the southern green belt of the metropolitan area and is managed by the Bavarian State Forests (Bayerische Staatsforsten), constituting one of the main areas for relaxation and walking in the Munich region. Its name derives from the former village of Perlach, documented as early as 784 in the form "Peralohc" ("forest of bears"), and the area served as a royal hunting forest from the 12th century. Long exploited for conifer plantations, especially for spruces, it remains an important space for outdoor recreation and environmental education. It also houses the Perlacher Forst cemetery (Friedhof am Perlacher Forst), where victims of Nazism and members of the White Rose resistance movement are notably interred.

The scene : The outdoor forest scenes were filmed in the Perlacher Forst.

Füssen, Germany

The scene : Danny and Willie embark on a boat on the Lech River, at the height of Sebastianstraße, in Füssen.

Pfronten, Germany

The scene : Hilts collapses into the backstreets of the Malerweg in Pfronten.

Emden, Germany

The scene : It is in the port of Emden, Lower Saxony, that Danny and Willie clandestinely board a Swedish cargo ship heading for freedom.

Geiselgasteig, Germany

Bavaria Film Studios form a vast complex of film studios located in Geiselgasteig, in the municipality of Grünwald, south of Munich. Founded in 1919 by producer Peter Ostermayr and initially operated under the name Emelka studios, they are among the oldest and largest in Europe, and were, until the fall of the Berlin Wall, the most important studio in West Germany. For a long time, they were provincial rivals of the Berlin studios, hosting numerous international productions, with a young Alfred Hitchcock making his first films there as early as 1925. The site is now home to Bavaria Filmstadt, a theme park dedicated to cinema that showcases sets and behind-the-scenes experiences to the public.

The scene : All the interiors of the film — including the sets of the prisoner camp and the tunnels — were shot at the Bavaria studios, near Munich.

Füssen, Germany

The scene : Hilts' two-wheeled cavalcade towards Switzerland, one of the most famous sequences in cinema, was actually filmed in the Bavarian countryside near Füssen.

Schwangau, Germany

Bavarian château built from 1869, Neuschwanstein stands on a rocky spur overlooking Füssen, near the Austrian border. A protected historical monument, it combines neo-Romanesque and neo-Gothic forms, embodying the historicist movement of the 19th century in German architecture.

The scene : Hendley and Blythe fly over a castle aboard their stolen plane: it is the famous Neuschwanstein Castle that appears on screen.

Markt Schwaben, Germany

The scene : In this street of Markt Schwaben, Sedgewick quietly steals a bicycle to continue his escape.

Seeg, Germany

The scene : The village of Speiden serves as the backdrop for two scenes: Sedgewick riding his bike past the church, and the capture of Cavendish on Mariahilfer Straße.

Füssen, Germany

The scene : On the banks of the Lech at Lechhalde, Danny and Willie continue their escape by boat; the terrace at the foot of the nearby bridge represents the "Café Suzette", which is supposed to be located in Toulouse.

Pfronten, Germany

The scene : At the Pfronten-Ried station, Sedgewick climbs aboard a freight train to continue his escape.

Füssen, Germany

The scene : Presented as the "Erzingen train station," near the Swiss border, it is on its platforms that Ashley-Pitt kills Agent Kuhn before being shot dead in turn.

Pfronten, Germany

The scene : At the corner of Füssener Straße and Kemptener Straße, in Pfronten, Hilts (on a motorcycle, in German uniform) is ordered to stop for a check and, unable to comply, is chased.

Penzing, Germany

The scene : The former airbase of Penzing (Landsberg) serves as the airfield from where Hendley and Blythe steal a plane.

Pullach, Germany

The Staatsbahnhof of Großhesselohe is a former state railway station located in the municipality of Pullach im Isartal, Bavaria, south of Munich. Opened in 1854 on the München–Holzkirchen line (later extended to Lenggries), it served as one of the most popular excursion destinations for Munich residents, attracted since the 1880s by the landscapes of the Isar Valley. It was decommissioned on May 31, 1981, with the commissioning of the S-Bahn line to Wolfratshausen, and no longer retains the hall that once connected its two end pavilions. Today, two red brick buildings remain, dating from around 1870, listed as historical monuments in Bavaria. This station is distinct from the neighboring Großhesselohe Isartalbahnhof, which opened in 1891 on the Isartalbahn and is now occupied by the Isarbräu brewery.

The scene : The station where several escapees board the train, presented as the "Neustadt station."

Irschenberg, Germany

The scene : On the outskirts of the hamlet of Frauenried, the stolen plane crashes and Blythe is shot by the Germans.