Fire at Hitler's Eagle's Nest retreat in Germany; suspect detained

Police in the southern German state of Bavaria have detained a suspect during a fire at Adolf Hitler's Alpine mountain retreat, the Kehlsteinhaus, also known as the Eagle's Nest. When firefighters reached the building on Friday night, they found it engulfed in flames.

Bavarian police said dispatchers in Traunstein received a fire alarm from the building at 21:15 on Friday (19:15 GMT). Fire crews arriving at the scene found the retreat ablaze.

Difficult terrain was hindering efforts to extinguish the blaze, police said, and it was still burning early on Saturday, with some 200 emergency personnel deployed. There were no reports of injuries.

A criminal investigation is under way to determine whether the detained suspect is connected to the fire, police said. No further details about the person were given.

The retreat, which lies above the town of Berchtesgaden, was used by the Nazi dictator as a part-time seat of government. He met commanders there to plan the invasion of the USSR in 1941, the report noted.

Hitler also used the area as a backdrop for propaganda films portraying him as a lover of animals and nature.

The Nazis completed the Eagle's Nest in 1938. It escaped destruction after their defeat in 1945.

Since then, it has become a popular tourist destination and houses a mountain inn, and its official website presents it as such to visitors.

Why a fire broke out at this historically sensitive site, and what role the detained person may have played, will not be clear until the investigation ends. The police inquiry is continuing.

The extent of the damage will be known once the fire is fully out. Until then, emergency personnel will remain active in the mountain area.