Austrian MPs vote to seize Hitler's birthplace house

After years of controversy, Austria's parliament has passed a law allowing it to seize the house where Adolf Hitler was born in 1889.

Owner Gerlinde Pommer had repeatedly refused to sell the building in Braunau am Inn or allow renovations.

Mrs Pommer will now be given compensation.
 
It is still however not clear what the government will do with the former guesthouse.

The authorities are keen to stop it from becoming a draw for neo-Nazi.

Hitler's old house.

The parliament's decision puts an end to a long-running row between government and Mrs Pommer, who is now retired.
 
For many years, government paid Mrs Pommer a generous rent in an attempt to prevent the three-storey building from being used as a site for neo-Nazi tourism.

SOURCE: BBC NEWS