Fire nearly destroys Hitler's "Eagle's Nest" retreat in Bavaria, suspect detained

The Kehlsteinhaus, the Nazi-era building known as the "Eagle's Nest" on a mountaintop near Berchtesgaden in the German state of Bavaria, was almost completely destroyed by a fire that broke out on the evening of October 23, AP, the BBC, The Guardian and tagesschau reported.

The fire

According to the BBC, dispatchers in Traunstein received a fire alarm from the building at 21:15 local time, and firefighters found it engulfed in flames. Difficult mountain terrain hampered efforts to put out the blaze, and it was still burning early on October 24 despite about 200 emergency personnel being deployed. No one was injured, and no one was believed to be inside when the fire started.

Suspect detained

Police detained a suspect near the site. Traunstein prosecutors said he is a 33-year-old German man who was stopped while riding a motorcycle down the steep, narrow Kehlstein road toward emergency crews. Prosecutor Rainer Vietze told a press conference that there were concrete indications the suspect may be mentally ill, and that prosecutors are seeking his placement in a forensic psychiatric facility. A possible political motive is also being examined, though investigators said they were only at the beginning.

Historic site

Completed in 1938, the Kehlsteinhaus was used by the Nazi leadership to receive guests and hold meetings. Adolf Hitler's main mountain residence was the nearby Berghof, and the Obersalzberg complex was considered one of his headquarters. After World War II, the building operated as a tourist site and restaurant.

The story was among the topics discussed by Mongolian users on X on the evening of October 24.