Bavaria Plans Rebuild After Fire Damages Mountaintop Hitler Site

Bavaria says it will rebuild the Kehlsteinhaus after a fire damaged the mountaintop building known as the Eagle's Nest.

Police in Traunstein received a fire alarm from the structure at 21:15 local time on Friday. Firefighters arrived to find the building burning. About 200 emergency personnel responded to the site, and no injuries were reported. Difficult terrain complicated the effort to bring the flames under control.

Officers detained a 33-year-old German man on a motorcycle near the scene. Local police official Gerhart Holzinger said at a press conference that there is currently no evidence of any other suspects. Police are examining a possible motive, and a criminal investigation is under way. Local media reported the site was largely destroyed and urged the public to stay away from the area.

Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said the building would under no circumstances remain a ruin, as reported by broadcaster BR24. He added: "It is important that we continue our work of remembrance."

The building stands at around 1,800m above the town of Berchtesgaden. Nazi workers completed it in 1938, and it survived Germany's defeat in 1945. It was one of several structures in the area used by Adolf Hitler and his entourage during the Second World War, and the complex was regarded as one of his headquarters. Hitler and senior Nazi officials planned the 1941 invasion of the USSR at his nearby Berchof residence. The site has since operated as a tourist destination and houses a mountain inn.

Germany and Austria have debated for years what to do with buildings tied to Hitler. In June, Berlin authorities announced plans to demolish one of his bunkers, described at the time as the power centre of Nazi Germany, and construct flats and offices there. Critics said the bunker held significant historical value and should have become a museum and memorial. In July, Austrian authorities completed a years-long controversy over the house in Braunau am Inn where Hitler was born, converting it into a police station.