Wire reporting: (Reuters, via RTE News)

German police said a fire on Friday night completely engulfed the Kehlsteinhaus, known as the Eagle's Nest, on a peak above Berchtesgaden in Bavaria, and that a man was detained, CBS News and Al Jazeera reported^1,3.

CBS, citing Upper Bavaria South police, said crews were alerted about 9:15 p.m. local time and found the building fully on fire, with no one inside and no injuries¹. ABC News Australia and Al Jazeera said a smoke detector triggered an alarm around 9:50 p.m. and that about 200 firefighters were sent to the 1,834-meter site^2,3.

Police spokeswoman Lisa Maier said access was difficult and that crews needed heavy breathing apparatus, ABC News Australia reported². SCMP said rain, snow and wind hit the mountain, and that fire chief Michael Brandl told a Saturday briefing remnants were still being put out and no one had entered because of collapse risk⁴.

CBS said a 33-year-old German citizen with ties to the Berchtesgaden area but not living there was taken into custody, and that prosecutors described signs of mental illness while saying they would also examine a possible political motive given the building's history¹. SCMP said Bavarian interior minister Joachim Herrmann called the fire a possible malicious act, and that police official Robert Holzinger said crews heading up the mountain stopped a rider on a red motorcycle with no license plate⁴. Al Jazeera said Bild reported a similar encounter; police had not publicly confirmed a cause³.

The stone guesthouse, completed in 1938, survived World War II and later operated as a restaurant and exhibition on its Nazi-era history, CBS and ABC News Australia reported^1,2. SCMP said Bavarian authorities put annual visitors at about 350,000⁴.

CBS said Herrmann indicated the building would be restored and that its future form would be discussed with local officials, historians and preservationists¹. SCMP quoted him saying the site would not be left as a ruin and that remembrance work should continue⁴. Whether the detained man will be charged, and how much of the structure can be saved, was not established in the reports reviewed^1,4,5.