Bavaria Orders Summit Retreat Rebuild

The Kehlsteinhaus, a mountain building at 6,017 feet elevation, burned to the ground Friday night.

German police arrested a suspect in connection with the blaze that broke out around 9:15 p.m. local time on the Obersalzberg peak.

Upper Bavaria South police reported that firefighters found the structure completely engulfed in flames upon arrival. No people were found inside the building, and authorities reported no injuries. Crews faced difficulties maneuvering fire trucks to the site due to local terrain conditions.

Investigators identified a suspect shortly after the fire started. Prosecutors stated the individual is a 33-year-old German citizen with ties to the Berchtesgaden area, though he does not currently live there. The suspect has been questioned and showed signs of mental illness. Authorities sent him to a psychiatric facility and said they would examine whether a political motive existed given the building's history. Police indicated there were no current signs of other involvement.

The structure, completed in 1938, served as a temporary seat of government for Adolf Hitler. It escaped Allied bombing during World War II, leaving it largely in its original state. The site has operated as a tourist destination and restaurant since the war. Its website describes the building as one of the few undamaged monuments of the Hitler era and says it stands for the insanity of the regime.

Bavaria's interior minister, Joachim Herrmann, told reporters in Berchtesgaden that the site will be rebuilt. He stated that the future appearance of the site will be determined through talks with local officials, historians, and preservationists. Herrmann said, "We're not going to leave a ruin there." He added that he believed a sensible solution could be found.

Herrmann emphasized the need to continue the work of remembrance at the site.