Fire damage to Adolf Hitler's Eagle's Nest mountain retreat in Bavaria has been shown after an arson suspect was caught leaving the flames on a motorbike. Around 200 firefighters were deployed to the remote, hard-to-reach Kehlsteinhaus residence in southern Germany.
Authorities were alerted on Friday evening when a smoke detector set off an alarm at about 9:15 pm (19:15 GMT). Police said crews saw flames rising high as they approached the building, which was "completely ablaze" in the snow. New aerial pictures show the charred building on the snow-covered Alpine peak with grey smoke billowing into the sky.
After the fire started, police stopped and arrested a 33-year-old man as he drove away from the residence. The suspect, a German citizen with ties to the area, was taken into custody. Following questioning, police said he displayed signs of mental illness and was being sent to a psychiatric facility. They said they would still investigate possible political motives given the building's history, and that there were no current indications anyone else was involved.
Police spokeswoman Lisa Maier said firefighters struggled because the site stands at 1,834 metres (6,017 feet). Wet weather that turned into the season's first heavy snowfall forced crews to pull out overnight because of the risk of falling debris. Nobody was injured as firefighters searched the building; they had hoped to finish putting out the blaze on Saturday.
Officials have indicated the Eagle's Nest would be restored, though no repair timetable has been announced. Bavaria's interior minister, Joachim Herrmann, told reporters that "we're not going to leave a ruin there." He said, "I think we will be able to find a sensible solution," and stressed that "it is important that we continue to do the work of remembrance."
Built of stone and granite between 1937 and 1938, the residence was designed as a monument to Hitler's rule, though he rarely visited, and it offers a wide view of the Bavarian Alps. It survived the Second World War undamaged. Since 1952 it has operated as a cafe and restaurant and as an exhibition on the house's Nazi history. Visitors reach it by an elevator built inside the rock from the end of the mountain road.