Arabic version: احتجاز رجل بعد حريق في «عش النسر»
According to BBC News, police in Bavaria detained a 33-year-old German man during a fire at Adolf Hitler’s Alpine retreat, the Kehlsteinhaus, known as the Eagle’s Nest.
Dispatchers in Traunstein received a fire alarm from the building at 21:15 local time on Friday. Firefighters found the site engulfed in flames, and about 200 emergency personnel were deployed. The blaze was still burning early on Saturday, with difficult terrain hindering efforts to control it.
Police said the suspect was apprehended while riding a motorcycle near the scene. A criminal investigation has been launched, and possible motives are being examined. Police official Gerhart Holzinger said there was nothing to suggest further suspects were involved.
Public prosecutor Rainer Vietze said a psychiatric report found signs of possible mental illness in the man and that diminished responsibility might therefore be assumed. A possible political motive is also being considered, although Vietze said the investigation remained at an early stage.
The Eagle’s Nest, above Berchtesgaden, was completed by the Nazis in 1938 and sits around 1,800m above sea level. It escaped destruction after 1945 and later became a tourist destination housing a mountain inn. Local media reported that the site was “largely destroyed”, while Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said it would “under no circumstances remain a ruin”.
