Austrian authorities have arrested an Adolf Hitler lookalike who is suspected of breaking laws against glorifying the Nazi era.

The 25-year-old, described by local media as "Hitler's double", sports the distinctive moustache, haircut and clothing.

An investigation was launched after the suspect identified himself in a local bar as Harald Hitler, and was allegedly spotted in a local bookshop browsing through magazines about the Second World War.

Glorifying Hitler or the Nazis is a criminal offence in Austria, which was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938.

Image: The house in which Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau, Austria

Police spokesman David Furtner said the suspect was detained after being seen repeatedly in front of the house where Hitler was born in the town of Braunau, on the Austrian-German border.


The three-storey building itself is the subject of a legal wrangle between its owner and the government.

Austria's parliament voted in December to buy the building to control how it is used.