Suspicion of arson: Kehlsteinhaus on Obersalzberg burned down

According to information from the Bild newspaper and the dpa news agency, it was a motorcyclist who met the police on the way to the scene. A spokeswoman for the Upper Bavaria South police headquarters confirmed the arrest, but did not want to provide any further information. However, investigators said there were clear indications that the man had set the fire, the dpa learned. Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) told the dpa that the man arrested came from the region. He was injured and is in the hospital.

The Kehlsteinhaus fire alarm went off around 9:15 p.m. The report was received at the integrated control center in Traunstein, approximately 50 kilometers away. The first rescue workers arrived at 9:52 p.m., said the Upper Bavaria South Police Headquarters. Already on the way they could have “clearly noticed flames in the Kehlsteinhaus”.

Getting to the Kehlsteinhaus with the fire engines was difficult because of the location of the building. In addition, the immediate surroundings of the restaurant and the building itself could only be accessed with heavy respiratory protection equipment. There is already snow on the Obersalzberg.

The police do not believe there were any injuries. According to current knowledge, no one was in the Kehlsteinhaus, it was said. However, even in the morning it was only possible to enter the area with heavy respiratory protection, which made the search more difficult. The restaurant was closed on Friday.

Around 200 rescue and emergency services from fire departments from six municipalities, district fire inspection, Bavarian Red Cross, mountain rescue service and police were on duty.

The Upper Bavaria police said that the Traunstein criminal police had taken over the investigation and that the public prosecutor's office was involved. This is a common procedure for fires of this magnitude. The authorities in Berchtesgaden want to announce more details at a press conference on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.

Interior Minister Herrmann is also expected there. On the sidelines of the CSU party conference, he announced his intention to rebuild the Kehlsteinhaus. “We will hardly be able to leave a ruin there,” he told dpa. The house belongs to the Free State of Bavaria under the jurisdiction of Herrmann's ministry. The Berchtesgaden State Foundation was given the right of usufruct.

The Kehlsteinhaus is one of the most famous excursion destinations in the region. According to the website of the Berchtesgaden Mountain Experience Association, the Kehlsteinhaus – also called “Eagle’s Nest” – should be open this season until November 8th.

The building at an altitude of 1,834 meters has been a mountain restaurant since 1952. It was completed in 1938 and was located in a sealed-off residential and government area of ​​the National Socialist leadership that was closed to the public. An exhibition there is dedicated to the history of the building.

After the fire, the area was largely cordoned off. The inn is closed “until further notice,” as stated on the homepage. The Nazi Documentation Center on Obersalzberg is not affected by the effects of the fire.