This spectacular mansion is just metres from the beach in Cofete, on the island of Fuerteventura. Meet Casa Winter: an isolated, stately villa boasting a turret, inner courtyard and fireplace, complete with crocodile gargoyles. Want to know more?

The official story is that Gustav Winter, a wealthy German engineer, bought a vast plot of land on the Jandía Peninsula to build his summer residence. However, other sources claim that the house was built to support Germany during the Second World War. They even say underground tunnels connected it to the sea, giving access to Nazi submarine troops and offering them respite.

Pedro Fumero Matos is the current resident of Casa Winter, and he’s the researcher responsible for linking the mansion with Nazi Germany. He now keeps it open to the public, so people can come and find out about all the secrets it conceals first hand.

“Casa Winter in Cofete on Fuerteventura Canary Island a view from above” by Dronepicr is licensed under CC BY 2.0

How to get to Casa Winter

You can get to Casa Winter on public transport, but your best bet is to go by car.

If you’ve got your own vehicle, it takes around an hour to get to Casa Winter from our Fuerteventura hotels. Most of the journey is along a dirt track flanked by mountains and ravines, which also gives you breathtaking views of the coast. The road isn’t tarmac, but it’s suitable for any vehicle. You’ll know you’ve arrived when you come across a black jeep and a sign that reads: ‘Casa Winter. Welcome to the Matos family museum’.

You could also book an excursion to the villa. Accompanied by an expert guide, you’ll get there in an off-road vehicle and then be immersed in the secrets of this mysterious mansion. Plus, you’ll learn more about Cofete, one of the Canary Islands’ most spectacular beaches.

What to see at Casa Winter

Casa Winter is open to the public from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00 till 14:00 and 15:00 to 17:00. Generally speaking, historian and resident Pedro Fumero himself will be there. But to make sure he’s there to greet you, it’s a good idea to get in touch and arrange a visit on Facebook or WhatsApp (+34 606 30 57 77).

Once you get to Casa Winter, Fumero will reveal all the mysteries of this spooky place: gloomy rooms with tiny doors, sealed-up corridors, relics of Nazi Germany and the remains of what appears to be a laboratory. And according to Fumero himself, there are even “ovens identical to those in Auschwitz“.

This researcher is absolutely certain that Casa Winter was a Nazi operations centre. And he claims that his family – linked to the villa ever since it was built – knows some of the secrets hidden by Gustav Winter. He’ll also show you documents from the era that indicate Winter was a Nazi spy.

What we know as fact is that Gustav Winter was a prestigious German engineer who had established himself in Spain. He’s known for working on energy projects in Madrid, Valencia and Murcia. And also for launching CICER – the Canary Island Colonial Electricity and Irrigation Company. It was on this journey through the archipelago that Winter discovered Fuerteventura. He fell in love with the island and decided to build his summer villa there.

A submarine base

But according to Fumero’s research, Casa Winter was far from a straightforward holiday home.

The researcher claims work on the property started in 1939. Just one year after a group of German boats approached Fuerteventura (specifically the Jandía Peninsula), to find out about the area’s potential for the Reich.

Pedro Fumero says that Casa Winter was a strategic logistical location for the Nazis, connecting Germany with South America – a region where many of Hitler’s military and supporters decided to go into exile at the end of World War II. Fumero even claims that the village was home to a submarine base. He maintains that these very submarines are still hidden in volcanic caves near the house.

The legend of Casa Winter also features in a novel by Alberto Vásquez-Figueroa entitled Fuerteventura (1999). The book, brimming with mystery and espionage, tells a World War II story ‘based on real facts’: “The Germans built a rest home to offer returning submarine officers rest and recreation after enduring months in the depths of the sea”. And this house is of course Casa Winter.
It’s important to note that there’s a certain level of doubt about the information provided by Pedro Fumero and Vázquez-Figueroa. Gustav Winter’s relatives deny any history of Nazis and submarines. They claim these are nothing more than myths that have emerged over the years. They argue that Gustav Winter was not a Nazi, as no document actually proves his affiliation to the party. They also claim that construction on Casa Winter in fact began several years after the war ended, saying the story of the submarines is implausible. Be that as it may, Casa Winter is a place brimming with mysteries. It’s definitely worth a visit.

Categories: Canaries, Fuerteventura, Lifestyle