BERLIN (AP) — A fire ravaged the mountaintop retreat built for Adolf Hitler and known as the Eagle’s Nest as emergency services struggled to bring the blaze under control in snow and wind, and a man was arrested on suspicion of arson, authorities said Saturday.
Emergency services in the Berchtesgaden district, in the Bavarian Alps in southeast Germany, were alerted to the fire by an alarm on Friday around 9:15 p.m. Firefighters and police rushed to the scene – located at the end of a narrow road that winds up the mountain, partly through a series of tunnels – and could see the flames as they approached.
They stopped and arrested a man on a motorcycle who was traveling in the other direction.
Prosecutors said the 33-year-old suspect, a German citizen with ties to the Berchtesgaden area but not currently residing there, was questioned. They said he showed signs of mental illness and was being placed in a psychiatric facility, but they would also look into the possibility of a political motive given the building’s history. Police said there is currently no indication anyone else is involved.
The rain, which turned into the first snow of the year, accompanied by strong winds, complicated the already difficult task of controlling the fire and firefighters had to withdraw into the night after several hours, authorities said. No one was injured in the fire and firefighters hoped to finish their work on Saturday although they were unable to enter the building due to the risk of falling materials.
The building, known in German as Kehlsteinhaus, is located on a cliff 1,834 meters (6,017 feet) above sea level. It is reached by an elevator built inside the rock from the end of the mountain road, closed to public traffic but used during the day by visitor buses.
It has been operated as a café and restaurant since 1952 and houses an exhibition on its history. The Nazi dictator himself rarely used the Kehlsteinhaus, unlike the Berghof residence, also located in the Berchtesgaden region, whose ruins were blown up in 1952.
The Obersalzberg Documentation Center, located further down the mountain, houses the region’s main historical exhibition and was not affected by the fire.
Officials indicated that the Eagle’s Nest would be restored, although they remained vague so soon after the fire on exactly how that would be done.
“We will not leave ruins there,” Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told reporters in Berchtesgaden. But what the site will look like in the future will be a subject of discussion with local authorities, historians, conservationists and others.
“I think we will be able to find a sensible solution,” Herrmann added. The Bavarian state government owns the building.
The minister stressed that “it is important that we continue to do the work of memory”.
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