Suspect arrested after fire engulfs Hitler's 'Eagle's Nest' guest home

A suspect has been arrested after Adolf Hitler's mountain guest home was set on fire. The Eagle's Nest, in the area around Berchtesgaden in the southern region of Bavaria, was used as a guest house for Nazi officials. Around 200 firefighters and emergency personnel surrounded the structure to battle the blaze. German police are now investigating the suspect. The force said they found the arrested person near the scene and linked them to the fire. Authorities were called to the historic site shortly after 9pm local time. Firefighters and police made the hike up the Kehlstein mountain to find the Eagle's Nest already engulfed in flames. A spokesman for Berchtesgaden police told Germany's BILD newspaper the fire department has designated it a "major operation". The police now suspect arson, the spokesman added. A motorcyclist approached officers on their way to the scene as they responded to the blaze. The fire department was promptly informed and followed the suspect. The person was then arrested, the police said. GERMANY - READ MORE: The exact cause of the fire remains unclear. No one is believed to be injured as a result of the fire, and no one was inside the building. The popular tourist site sits at an altitude of 1,834 meters above Berchtesgaden. It was completed in 1938, and Nazi leaders met there to plan the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. The Eagle's Nest's website praises it for its "unique views", but warns that it serves as a "cautionary reminder of the abysses of the inhumane Nazi dictatorship". Now owned by the Bavarian Government, the building survived destruction after the toppling of the Nazi regime in 1945. An exhibition details the sites' transformation from the "Führer's restricted area" into a modern tourist site. Although built for Hitler, he rarely visited the site; instead, it served as a house to impress diplomats and foreign guests. Follow related topics: