Germany news: Fire flares up at Hitler's Eagle's Nest retreat

October 25, 2026

Ryanair closes base, cuts routes at Berlin's international airport

Low-cost Irish airline Ryanair has closed its base at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), and removed 12 routes there at the start of its winter timetable.

The move was announced in April and confirmed in October, with the airline having long complained about high taxes and fees at German airports.

Six of the 12 deleted routes, from BER to Palermo, Marseille, Triest, Reggio Calabria, Tallin and Pisa, can now no longer be directly reached on flights from the airport, the airline and the airport operator FBB said.

The other six — Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Bologna, Thessaloniki  and Vilnius — are served by other airlines flying from BER.

The seven Ryanair aircraft that were based at the BER airport have been reassigned to airports in European Union countries that, according to Ryanair, have got rid of aviation taxes or reduced airport charges.

Ryanair is to still fly to and from Berlin using planes based elsewhere.

The operators of BER have pointed out that despite Ryanair's move, eight more destinations can be reached from the airport than last winter, as other airlines have expanded their services at the airport.
  

October 25, 2026

Fire flares up again overnight at Hitler's mountain retreat

A fire that broke out on Friday evening  at the Eagle's Nest mountain retreat in southern Germany that was once used by Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler erupted again overnight to Sunday in the almost destroyed building, Bavarian police said.

A police officer said flames there burnt again at "room height" after smoldering embers provoked a flare-up in what the officer said was a common occurrence in the case of such conflagrations.

The renewed fire triggered another deployment of firefighters to the site, known as Kehlsteinhaus in German, at the top of the Obersalzberg mountain.

The site, formerly used by Hitler to receive diplomats and other foreign guests, has been a restaurant since 1952 but was closed on Friday when the fire broke out. No one was injured.

Police arrested a 33-year-old German man suspected of having lit the fire, with an initial psychiatric assessement indicating mental illness.

The building was largely destroyed by the blaze, which caused millions of euros of damage. 

October 25, 2026

Welcome back as we resume our Germany coverage

Guten Morgen from DW's newsroom in Bonn as we return to our reporting on the German stories currently hitting the headlines.

We will be looking again at developments as a fire at the Eagle's Nest mountain retreat in southern Germany once used by Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler flared up again overnight.

Meanwhile, a survey has shown that most people in Germany do not believe the current conservative/center-left coalition under Chancellor Friedrich Merz will last the full four-year course of its term.

And Europe's largest low-cost carrier, Ryanair, is closing its base at Berlin's international airport as previously announced, meaing that 50% of the carrier's flights there will be cut.

Read on here for more on stories from and about Germany.

October 24, 2026

We're pausing coverage today

We're pausing our coverage of the weekend's news out of Germany until later on Sunday morning. 

Hope to see you then! Bis morgen früh!

October 24, 2026

WATCH: Hitler's mountaintop 'Eagle's Nest' goes up in flames

An overnight fire engulfed Eagle's Nest, a historic Nazi-era site once used by Adolf Hitler in Germany's Bavarian Alps. Firefighters faced difficult conditions battling the flames at the mountaintop location, while one suspect has been taken into temporary custody. Police are looking into whether this is a potential case of arson.

DW spoke to historian Sven Keller of the Obersalzberg Documentation Center about the site's historical significance, why it was preserved, and how Germany deals with landmarks associated with its Nazi past.

October 24, 2026

German national facing trial over alleged attempt to join 'Islamic Sate'

Germany's prosecutor's office said that a German national has been placed in pre-trial detention for allegedly attempting to join the so-called "Islamic State" terror group, while abroad, German news agency dpa reported.

The agency cited a spokeswoman for the Federal Prosecutor's Office as saying that an arrest warrant had been executed and that a 21-year-old was extradited to Germany.

The suspect is accused of travelling to Ethiopia from Berlin in January 2025, with the purpose of joining the IS terror group in Somalia and receive training there.

Prosecutors allege that he never reached Somalia, but instead traveled to Pakistan to join Islamic State, where he was reportedly arrrested in February 2025.

The suspect stands accused of attempted membership in a terrorist organization abroad. He is also accused of preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state. 

October 24, 2026

Merz highlights threat from Russia

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz highlighted the threat Germany faces from extremist parties to foreign enemies, including a "massive threat" from Russia.

"How do we safeguard our freedom and our security in Europe, in the face of growing threats from extremists within and foreign powers from without?" ​the chancellor said, adding that Russia was seeking "to destabilise Germany on a daily basis."

Germany is one of the biggest military and political supporters of Ukraine and has been on high alert for acts of sabotage in recent months.

That's especially since an explosive-laden drone was discovered near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig airport. Berlin said Moscow was behind the attempted attack.

In one of the most recent incidents, on Thursday, police in the German state of Brandenburg arrested a Ukrainian man on suspicion of spying for Russia.

October 24, 2026

No change to 'firewall' when it comes to AfD, says Merz

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz once again stood firm on any notion of ever working with Germany's far-right.

Merx restated his opposition to any change in the"firewall" policy of isolating the far-right Alternative ​for Germany party (AfD) at the CSU conference in Munich.

"Anyone who feels they have to ​vote for these people has no place ⁠in ​our Union. ​They have no ​place amongst ‌us," Merz said.

The AfD, has been topping national opinion ⁠polls although a Friday poll showed Merz's conservative bloc closing the gap.

Nevertheless, according to the poll, Merz's coalition would still fall short of a majority were an election to be held.

The poll, conducted for public broadcaster ZDF, asked voters which party they would support if a federal election were held this Sunday.

October 24, 2026

Merz confident electricity tax can be lowered

Chancellor Friedrich Merz gave an indication that the electricity tax could be lowered next year.

"If it’s possible — and I think it is — then the electricity tax must be lowered next year," Merz said Saturday at the CSU party convention in Munich.

His coalition partners have already agreed to lower the electricity tax for everyone to the European minimum as quickly as possible.

To date, the federal government has only approved reductions for industry, agriculture, and forestry and Germany's Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) has said there is not much wiggle room, despite forecasts of higher tax revenues.

October 24, 2026

Merz calls for CDU and CSU to 'stand together'

Federal chancellor and CDU leader Friedrich Merz called on the CDU its Bavarian sister party, the CSU, to show maximum unity.

"The CDU and CSU must stand together more closely than ever," Merz said at the close of the CSU's party convention in Munich.

He said the Union is being attacked by "extremists" from the political fringes and said that the Union does not want to — and will not leave Germany in the hands of these forces.

Merz emphasized his relationship with CSU leader Markus Söder, saying that he was "the strong voice" for the CSU in Bavaria, but also at the federal level.

"We are united by a deep-seated sense of responsibility for our country," Merz said, adding that it was a shared responsibility.

October 24, 2026

WATCH: Germany holds Ukrainian on suspicion of spying for Russia

German police have arrested a Ukrainian man accused of spying for a Russian intelligence service with a focus on "militarily relevant information," federal prosecutors said. DW's correspondent reports.

October 24, 2026

Merz set to address Bavarian conservatives as party conference wraps up

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to make an address at the Munich Exhibition Halls as the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) closes its two-day party conference.

Merz's speech comes at a turbulent time for the CDU/CSU alliance and expectations among delegates for the speech by the leader of the conservative bloc are mixed. 

The CSU is the Bavarian sister party of Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and there remain a number of key issues that have many in the CSU concerned over the future of the party at a national level.

A point of contention is who from the conservative bloc will succeed outgoing President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, with there being no clarity as yet from Merz or CSU leader Markus Söder, as to who their candidate would be.

Coupled with that leadership question, there is discontent over the pace of implementation of reforms of Germany's retirement, nursing care and health insurance systems.

There is also concern over a strategy to deal with the rise of the far-right in the form of the Alternative for Germany party (AfD).

October 24, 2026

Hitler's Eagle's Nest retreat catches fire, police say

A fire broke out on Friday evening at the Kehlsteinhaus in Bavaria more commonly known as the Eagle's Nest and used as a retreat by Adolf Hitler and Nazi officials.

The Kehlsteinhaus was engulfed in flames, a police statement read, adding that a suspect has been arrested and the incident was being criminally investigated.

Read more about that here. 

October 24, 2026

Welcome to our coverage

Guten Morgen  from a chilly newsroom here in Bonn.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to address his CDU's Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) as their 2-day party conference wraps up in Munich.

The coalition government that Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the CSU belong to along with the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) is facing a number of challenges.

There has been speculation over the political future of Merz's coalition, consiting of CDU, the CSU and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), folllowing a string of electoral setbacks and policy issues.

And then overnight, a fire has ripped through the one-time retreat in the Bavarian Alps, built for Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Stay tuned for the latest on these stories and more from Germany this weekend.