Blaze Destroys Eagle's Nest; Bavarian Police Detain Suspect

Bavarian police detained a 33-year-old German man on a motorcycle near the Kehlsteinhaus after fire broke out Friday evening at the mountaintop building known as the Eagle's Nest. Officers took him into custody close to the scene. Police said they are still examining a possible motive.

Traunstein dispatchers logged a fire alarm from the building at 21:15 local time on Friday. Firefighters arrived to find the structure engulfed in flames. About 200 emergency personnel were deployed, and difficult terrain complicated efforts to contain the blaze. No injuries were reported. A criminal investigation is under way. Gerhart Holzinger, a local police official, said at a press conference that there is no evidence of any other suspects.

Local media reported that the site had been largely destroyed and urged the public to stay away from the area. Joachim Herrmann, Bavaria's interior minister, said the site would under no circumstances remain a ruin, according to broadcaster BR24. He added: "It is important that we continue our work of remembrance."

The Kehlsteinhaus sits at around 1,800 meters above the town of Berchtesgaden. Nazi builders completed the structure in 1938, and it survived Germany's defeat in 1945. Adolf Hitler and his entourage used the building during World War Two, and the wider complex was regarded as one of his headquarters. Hitler and senior Nazi officials planned the 1941 invasion of the USSR at his nearby Berchof residence. The site has since operated as a tourist destination with a mountain inn, and its official website describes it as a cautionary reminder of the abysses of the inhumane Nazi dictatorship.

Germany and Austria have debated for years what to do with buildings tied to Hitler. In June, Berlin authorities announced plans to demolish one of Hitler's bunkers, described at the time as the power centre of Nazi Germany, and construct flats and offices there. Critics said the bunker held significant historical value and should have become a museum and memorial with an exhibit on the end of the war. In July, Austrian authorities refurbished the house in Braunau am Inn where Hitler was born and converted it into a police station.