Eagle's Nest, Hitler-Era Mountain Chalet in Bavaria, Largely Destroyed in Suspected Arson

The Eagle's Nest, the Nazi-era mountain chalet in southeastern Germany, was largely destroyed by a fire that is believed to have been arson, police in Berchtesgaden confirmed. The blaze broke out on Friday night, October 23.

Known in German as the Kehlsteinhaus, the building was engulfed in flames at 9:15 pm local time. Authorities said its exposed position made it hard to reach the site and made the firefighting effort that followed more difficult.

About 200 emergency personnel took part in the response. They came from fire brigades in six municipalities, the district fire inspection service, the Bavarian Red Cross, mountain rescue services and the police. They worked through the night, and residual operations are still continuing.

No injuries have been reported so far. For safety reasons, however, investigators have not yet been able to enter the burned building.

Shortly after the fire started, firefighters noticed a suspicious person near the scene. A 33-year-old man was later arrested on suspicion of deliberately setting the blaze. At the request of the public prosecutor's office, he was brought before an investigating judge. Following a diagnosis of mental illness, he was provisionally placed in a secure psychiatric hospital. Prosecutors and criminal police are still examining the background to the incident and the suspect's motive.

The area around the site remains cordoned off, and a drone no-fly zone is in place.

Bavaria's Interior Minister, Joachim Hermann, indicated that the building is likely to be rebuilt. "We'll hardly be able to leave a ruin standing there," he told a press conference in Munich. He also thanked firefighters and police for their "courageous and determined response" and praised the "swift arrest of the suspect in the brutal arson attack."

The Eagle's Nest sits in the Bavarian Alps near Berchtesgaden at about 1,834 meters (6,017 feet) above sea level. It was commissioned under senior Nazi official Martin Bormann and built between 1937 and 1938 as a reception house for Nazi leaders and their guests. Hitler visited, though not often, and the building nonetheless became a symbol of the Nazi era. His residence, the Berghof, stood not far away.

The chalet survived World War II and opened as a mountain restaurant in 1952, later becoming a major tourist attraction that usually hosts a historical exhibition. The 1988 television miniseries "War and Remembrance" shot its fictional scenes involving Hitler inside the real building.

Visitors normally reach it by a special bus that climbs the mountain through five tunnels, followed by a walk through a 124-meter tunnel and a ride in a brass-lined elevator up to the building. The fire destroyed that usual access route.