Fire breaks out at Hitler's Eagle's Nest, suspect arrested

Flames tore through the Kehlsteinhaus — the mountain retreat known as Hitler's Eagle's Nest — on Friday evening, Bavarian police said, with a suspect arrested and a criminal investigation opened.

A fire alarm triggered at around 9:15 p.m. local time at the Kehlsteinhaus on the Obersalzberg in Berchtesgaden. Firefighters responding to the scene could see the flames clearly as they approached, police said, but struggled to reach the building, which sits at some 1,834 metres above sea level.

Police said the building and its immediate vicinity could only be entered with respiratory protective equipment. No injuries had been reported as of the initial police statement.

The Kehlsteinhaus is one of the few structures from the Hitler era to survive World War II bombing intact and today houses a popular restaurant. Police confirmed the incident is being treated as a criminal matter.