A major fire broke out on Friday evening at the Kehlsteinhaus in Berchtesgaden, Germany, in the vicinity of Salzburg. According to the Upper Bavaria – South police authority, firefighting operations are currently in full swing.
Emergency services arrived at the scene and discovered the fire at approximately 21:52, while the blaze is believed to have started around 21:13. German local portal BGLand24, citing police, reported that firefighters reached the fire scene at approximately 21:52.
Police suspect arson. Officers encountered a motorcyclist on the road to the Kehlsteinhaus, stopped him and detained him. It is not yet known whether the detainee is connected to the fire, and the cause of the blaze remains undetermined.
Police do not currently expect there to be any injuries. According to initial information, no one was inside the building at the time the fire started.
The Kehlsteinhaus is located above Berchtesgaden in Bavaria, near Salzburg, at an altitude of 1,834 metres. It was built in the 1930s as a ceremonial venue for receiving guests of the Nazi regime, and in 1938 as a gift for Adolf Hitler's 50th birthday. It was a prestigious project of the Nazi leadership under Martin Bormann.
Hitler rarely visited the Kehlsteinhaus; historical records speak of only 14 of his visits, and he suffered from a fear of heights, preferring to use the nearby Berghof on the Obersalzberg. Towards the end of the Second World War, in the spring of 1945, the complex was occupied by Allied troops, including units of the US army such as the 101st Airborne Division. After the war, the building escaped demolition and was converted into a restaurant and excursion site in the 1950s. Today, the Kehlsteinhaus houses a mountain inn visited by hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.
