German police said on Saturday they had detained a suspect after a fire badly damaged the Eagle’s Nest, Adolf Hitler’s former mountain retreat in Bavaria, according to The Hindu. The fire broke out on Friday night, and no injuries were reported.
About 200 firefighters were deployed to the Kehlsteinhaus, the building on the peak of Obersalzberg in southern Germany, according to the Guardian. Police said firefighters found the building "completely ablaze." Police said the site, at 1,834 metres, could be reached only with "heavy breathing apparatus," and that firefighters found no one inside, according to The Hindu.
Police said a "suspicious person was taken into temporary custody," according to The Hindu. Al Jazeera reported that a man had been arrested after the fire broke out at the Kehlsteinhaus, though that account was available to this article only as a headline and short excerpt. The sources do not say whether the detained person is the suspect in the fire, and neither the person’s name nor any charge has been released.
According to the Guardian, a smoke detector triggered a fire alarm on Friday evening, and the building was still burning at 7am on Saturday. The sources differ on the timing. The Hindu says the alarm sounded at around 9:50 p.m. (1950 GMT). The Guardian says the alarm was raised at about 9.15pm (7.50pm GMT) and firefighters arrived about 9.50pm.
The Eagle’s Nest was built between 1937 and 1938. Before the fire, the Guardian said, it was one of the few undamaged monuments of the Hitler era. The building has also housed an exhibition on the house’s Nazi history, run by the Institute for Contemporary History since 1952, and a restaurant.
The Hindu reported that German media suspected arson, but no official cause has been given. Police said the building was "damaged to a large extent" and was "unlikely to be saved." The Guardian described it as "largely destroyed." Bild reported that a motorcyclist had been arrested, but the Guardian says his involvement is unclear and police have not released his identity. Those reports come from single outlets, and the sources include no statements from Bavarian or federal authorities beyond police.
Police were due to hold a news conference on Saturday. It may clarify the suspect’s status, the cause of the fire and the motorcyclist’s role. The investigation is continuing.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.