Bavarian Site Rebuilding: Suspect Held in Mountain Retreat Fire

A fire destroyed the Kehlsteinhaus, the Bavarian mountain retreat built for Adolf Hitler, and police have detained a suspect in the case.

Emergency services received the alarm at about 9:15 p.m. local time on Friday, according to a statement from Upper Bavaria South police. Firefighters found the structure, known as the Eagle's Nest, completely engulfed in flames. No one was inside and no injuries were reported. Fire trucks had trouble reaching the site because of the local conditions, authorities said.

Investigators identified a possible suspect shortly after the blaze began, police said. Prosecutors described the person in custody as a 33-year-old German citizen with ties to the Berchtesgaden area who does not currently live there. The Associated Press reported that he has been questioned. Prosecutors said he showed signs of mental illness and would be sent to a psychiatric facility, and they added that they would also examine whether a political motive played a role given the building's history. Police said there were no current indications that anyone else was involved.

The Kehlsteinhaus sits at 6,017 feet on the Obersalzberg peak. It was completed in 1938 and was used by Hitler on occasion as a temporary seat of government. The structure survived Allied bombing during World War II and remained largely in its original state. It later became a tourist site that operates as a restaurant and beer garden, and its website calls it one of the few undamaged monuments of the Hitler era and says it stands for the insanity of the regime.

Bavaria's interior minister, Joachim Herrmann, told reporters in Berchtesgaden that the Eagle's Nest will be rebuilt. He said the future design would be discussed with local officials, historians and preservationists. "We're not going to leave a ruin there," Herrmann said, according to the AP. He added: "I think we will be able to find a sensible solution." Herrmann also said: "It is important that we continue to do the work of remembrance."

The cause of the fire is under criminal investigation. The Associated Press reported that the suspect has been questioned.