German police yesterday said they had detained a suspect following a fire at Adolf Hitler’s mountain retreat, known as the Eagle’s Nest, in the state of Bavaria.
About 200 firefighters were deployed to tackle the blaze at the Nazi dictator’s remote and difficult-to-access Kehlsteinhaus residence, on the peak above Obersalzberg in southern Germany.
Firefighters saw flames rising high into the air as they approached the scene, only to find the building “completely ablaze,” police said.
A large fire burns at the mountain guesthouse Kehlsteinhaus, known as the Eagle’s Nest, formerly Adolf Hitler’s mountain retreat, in Bavaria, Germany, yesterday.
Photo: AFP
“A suspicious person was taken into temporary custody,” they said in a later statement, adding that nobody was injured in the blaze.
Police spokeswoman Lisa Maier said firefighters struggled to tackle the fire due to its location at an altitude of 1,834m.
The building was only accessible with “heavy breathing apparatus,” she said.
Authorities were on Friday evening alerted to the fire, when a smoke detector triggered a fire alarm at about 9:50pm, police said.
No potential reason for the fire was given, but German media reported that the investigators suspected it was the result of arson.
As snow fell on the Alpine peak, the Eagle’s Nest was still engulfed in flames in the early hours of yesterday, a weather camera showed. The blaze appeared to have been doused by yesterday morning, although smoke continued to rise from the smoldering building.
Officers blocked access to the road leading to the retreat.
The firefighters found no one inside the building.
Maier said the investigation was still ongoing.
German tabloid Bild reported that the authorities arrested a motorcyclist they came across on their way to the scene.
Built between 1937 and 1938, the Eagle’s Nest forms part of the toxic legacy of Hitler’s Third Reich, which was responsible for the deaths of millions of Jews along with Roma, LGBTQ people and communists in the Holocaust.
It was designed to serve as a monument to Hitler’s rule, although the dictator himself seldom visited the complex.
Built of stone and granite, the residence offers an exceptional view of the picturesque Bavarian Alpine landscape and was designed to impress foreign diplomats.
It survived the Second World War undamaged and later gained notoriety through its use as a shooting location in many post-war Hollywood films.
Since 1952, it has hosted an exhibition recounting the house’s Nazi history and a restaurant.
The Web site says the Eagle’s Nest “stands for the insanity of the regime and the world on the Obersalzberg, where plans for war and mass murder were formed.”