Kehlsteinhaus Fire: Motorcyclist Arrested After Blaze at Former Nazi Tea House in Bavaria

Shortly after a major fire broke out at the Kehlsteinhaus (known in English as the Eagle's Nest) on the Obersalzberg near Berchtesgaden, in Bavaria, southern Germany, police provisionally arrested a motorcyclist. The former Nazi building, known in German as the "Adlerhorst," was largely gutted overnight into Saturday, October 24. Police suspect arson.

A spokeswoman for the Upper Bavaria South police headquarters confirmed the arrest early Saturday morning. According to a police spokesman, officers on their way to the scene had encountered a motorcyclist coming the other way.

Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) said the man is from the region, is injured and is in the hospital. He said there were clear indications of involvement in the fire. According to the German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur, citing investigative sources, the man is said to have set the fire.

Police had initially said a connection to the fire was a subject of the investigation. The Traunstein criminal police are investigating under the direction of the Traunstein public prosecutor's office. The motive is still unclear. A press conference had been announced for Saturday afternoon.

Building fully engulfed when emergency crews arrived

The alarm was received at the Traunstein integrated dispatch center on Friday, October 23, at about 9:15 p.m. When the first emergency crews arrived at about 9:52 p.m., the building was already fully engulfed, according to police. As far as is currently known, no one was inside the building. No injuries from the fire were reported. On X, the account KlaxonWire was among those reporting on the major fire at the Kehlsteinhaus.

Around 200 emergency personnel from fire departments, rescue services, mountain rescue and police from several municipalities were deployed. The building's location at an elevation of 1,834 meters and its difficult accessibility considerably hampered firefighting efforts. The building and its immediate surroundings could only be entered with heavy respiratory protection.

From Nazi showpiece to mountain restaurant

The Kehlsteinhaus was built in 1937–38 on behalf of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) to plans by the architect Roderich Fick, in about 13 months. Martin Bormann drove the project forward. To provide access, the 6.5-kilometer Kehlsteinstrasse with several tunnels and a 124-meter elevator shaft through the mountain were built. Construction costs came to around 30 million Reichsmarks, and at least twelve people died during the work.

The house was part of the sealed-off Führersperrgebiet Obersalzberg (the Führer restricted zone), the residential and government compound of the Nazi leadership, and was intended as a venue for political receptions and diplomatic visits. Adolf Hitler, however, rarely used it; estimates put his visits at ten to 14. Reasons cited include the time required to get there, the thin air and, reportedly, his dislike of the elevator. The actual center of power was lower down on the Obersalzberg, at the Berghof.

The name "Adlerhorst" was coined in 1938 by the French ambassador André François-Poncet; the Allies later popularized the name "Eagle's Nest." The building is often confused with the Nazi "Adlerhorst" headquarters of the same name near Bad Nauheim in Hesse, from which Hitler directed the Ardennes offensive, known in English as the Battle of the Bulge, in late 1944.

Unlike the bombed Berghof, the Kehlsteinhaus came through the war largely undamaged. Since 1952 it served as a public mountain restaurant, with usage rights held by the Berchtesgaden Land Foundation (Berchtesgadener Landesstiftung). An exhibition there provided information on the history of the site.

Popular excursion destination to be rebuilt

The Kehlsteinhaus was among the most popular excursion destinations in the region. This season it was scheduled to remain open until November 8.

Interior Minister Herrmann announced that the building is to be rebuilt. He said the house is owned by the Free State of Bavaria. "We will hardly be able to leave a ruin standing there," Herrmann said.