The Austrian house where Adolf Hitler was born has been converted into a police station following a renovation that cost $22.8 million, Al Jazeera reported Wednesday.
The building, located in Braunau am Inn, Austria, had for decades served as an informal gathering point for neo-Nazis and far-right extremists who traveled there to glorify the Nazi leader. Austrian authorities have long debated what to do with the property precisely because of the way it attracted that attention.
The renovation, which transformed the site's function entirely, represents a deliberate effort to reframe what the building represents. By housing a police station there, Austrian officials effectively turned a location that once drew those who celebrated Hitler into one that now serves the institutions of a democratic state.
The project took years to complete. The $22.8 million price tag reflects the scope of work involved in converting and renovating the structure while managing the symbolism that has surrounded it since the end of World War II.
