Fire engulfs Kehlsteinhaus mountain inn in Bavaria

The Kehlsteinhaus mountain inn at Obersalzberg in Berchtesgaden, Bavaria, has been ablaze since Friday night, ORF reports. More than 200 firefighters are tackling the fire, and police have provisionally detained a person they described as suspicious.

Firefighting operations began during the night. Reaching the building, at an elevation of about 1,800 metres, has been difficult, and crews need heavy breathing apparatus to enter the inn and its immediate surroundings.

Police do not currently expect any injuries. Initial findings suggest nobody was inside the building. The damage is expected to be extensive.

A motorcyclist caught the attention of emergency responders, police said, but investigators are still examining whether the person is connected to the fire. The criminal police in Traunstein are leading the investigation.

The building was completed in 1938 as a representative house for the National Socialists, within a restricted residential and government compound. It has operated as a mountain inn since 1952, and an exhibition there explores its history.