BERLIN, Germany: German police said they had detained a suspect after a fire broke out at ‌a historic mountain guest house known as the "Eagle's Nest", used as a retreat by Nazi officials, including Adolf ​Hitler.

Around 200 firefighters and emergency personnel in southern Bavaria's Berchtesgaden area battled the flames after the building, known as the Kehlsteinhaus, caught fire on October 23, police said.

Police are investigating whether the suspect, who was detained close to the scene, was connected to ‌the fire, they said in a statement.

No immediate word on a possible motive.

Built in 1938 as a guest house for ​Nazi ⁠officials and their guests, the building, in a spectacular Alpine setting, is separate from Hitler's nearby ⁠summer residence, known as the Berghof.

The Kehlsteinhaus stands on a ridge at 1,834 meters (6,017 feet) on Kehlstein Mountain, overlooking the town of Berchtesgaden in southern Germany.

Now owned by the state of Bavaria, the Kehlsteinhaus was classified after the war as a historical monument that recalls the Nazi period.

Senior Nazi official Martin Bormann commissioned the building in the summer of 1937. Funded by the Nazi Party, it was completed in just 13 months. Twelve workers died during its construction.

The Eagle's Nest was targeted during an Allied bombing raid on Obersalzberg on April 25, 1945. Royal Air Force squadrons carried out the operation using 359 Avro Lancaster bombers and 16 de Havilland Mosquito aircraft.

However, the raid did not directly hit the building. The raid instead caused severe damage to the nearby Berghof, Adolf Hitler's former residence.

Today, a charitable trust owns the Kehlsteinhaus, which operates as a restaurant with indoor dining and an outdoor beer garden. It attracts many tourists because of its historical links to the Nazi era.

The road leading to the building has been closed to private vehicles since 1952 because it is too narrow to allow two-way traffic.