POLICE DETAIN SUSPECT AFTER EAGLE'S NEST FIRE

Police detained a person after a fire broke out on Friday evening at the Kehlsteinhaus, known as Adolf Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest, in the Bavarian Alps. A smoke detector triggered an alarm at about 9.50pm local time, police said. Firefighters approaching the mountain building saw flames rising above it and found it “completely ablaze”, according to police. About 200 firefighters responded, and police said nobody was injured. Investigators suspect arson, but police have not established the cause of the fire.

Police spokeswoman Lisa Maier said the building’s location, at an altitude of about 6,000ft, made it difficult for firefighters to reach and tackle the blaze. Crews needed heavy breathing apparatus to access the Kehlsteinhaus, she said. Firefighters found nobody inside the building. Flames remained visible in the early hours of Saturday as snow fell on the mountain, according to a weather camera. Officers blocked the road leading to the retreat while emergency crews worked at the site.

The Kehlsteinhaus was built as a monument to Hitler’s rule, though he rarely visited it. Workers spent long nights on its construction during the winter of 1938 to finish it for his birthday in April 1939. The building remains associated with Nazi Germany, which carried out the Holocaust and killed millions of Jews, as well as Roma people, LGBTQ people and Communists. Maier said the police investigation was continuing. Police expected to hold a news conference later on Saturday.