Gold train from Wałbrzych

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The Wałbrzych Gold Train (also called Wałbrzych Armored Train or Wałbrzych Nazi Train ) is said to be an armored special train that has been missing since World War II in a tunnel near the Polish town of Wałbrzych ( Waldenburg ), the one stolen by the National Socialists Is said to have transported gold , art treasures or industrial materials. The description of the gold train first appeared in the 1970s. There is no historical evidence for the existence of such a train, nor has any other evidence of its existence been published. The description of the gold train received widespread international media attention in 2015, when two hobby researchers believed they had discovered it, and in 2016, when it was being dug.

environment

Wałbrzych is located in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship . North of the city is the largest castle in Silesia, the Książ Castle (formerly Fürstenstein Castle). During the Second World War, the National Socialists built tunnel systems below the palace and surrounding mountains, which were part of the Riese project .

history

Towards the end of the Second World War , National Socialists in a leading position are said to have sent a train from Wroclaw to the south-west. The train is said to have been loaded with around 300 tons of gold , works of art and jewelry. Near Waldenburg - today's Wałbrzych - the train disappeared in an underground tunnel in the area that was part of the Riese project.

Alleged find 2015

Situation at route km 65.2, in the vicinity of which the train is supposed to be
Gold train with tanks in the miniature park of Kowary in front of the Fürstenstein Castle

A Pole and a German claim to have found a 120 to 150 m long armored train near Wałbrzych, Spiegel Online reported at the end of August 2015. The two are Piotr Koper and Andreas Richter. You claim 10 percent of the value as a finder's reward through your lawyer . The Gold Train (in Polish: złoty pociąg ) was supposed to be 70 m deep near route km 65 of the Wrocław – Wałbrzych railway line , near Wałbrzych .

In 2015, Poland's deputy minister of culture, Piotr Żuchowski , named the original source of this information as a man who is said to have told on his deathbed that he had helped hide the train.

Authorities warned treasure hunters of possible mines in the underground tunnels and police secured the area.

“We are viewing this alleged find with the utmost caution. We know very well that there has been a great deal of such information over the last few decades, and it has almost never been confirmed, and if at all, it has been confirmed very rarely, ”said the Mayor of Wałbrzych, Roman Szelemej. After the concrete assumptions became known, interest in the treasure hunter scene was also high internationally, but the city took precautions to ensure that no further excavations were carried out at the alleged site.

On the night of Monday, August 31, 2015, there was a forest fire near the site that destroyed 200 m² of forest.

During the presentation of a georadar image , Piotr Żuchowski said he was “99 percent certain” that an armored train was actually found in the area around Wałbrzych. The Polish Minister of Culture Małgorzata Omilanowska confirmed: “The probability that something is there is great.” In September 2015, this image was exposed as a forgery. Tomasz Smolarz, the head of the district government in Wroclaw , expressed doubts about the existence of the find and denied the existence of georadar recordings: "We cannot say for sure that the so-called gold train is in the vicinity of Wałbrzych". The documents that the mayor of Wałbrzych received from the alleged finders of the German armored train did not contain geo-radar images. He announced: “All information is based on a message of a few pages and an illegible map.” On September 1, 2015, Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak promised technical assistance in the search for the suspected armored train using ground penetrating radar .

At the beginning of September 2015, Koper and Richter admitted that the georadar image was only an example image. In order to be able to carry out further investigations using ground penetrating radar, the Polish Railways cleared a piece of forest and at the same time the Polish military examined the ground for remains of ammunition and explosives. Further investigations by employees of the Cracow Mining Academy at the end of 2015 found no evidence of the existence of a train. However, after analyzing the new data, the Polish scientists believe the existence of a tunnel is possible.

Search excavations 2016

At the beginning of June 2016, Piotr Koper and Andreas Richter stated that they now had all the permits from the local authorities, the railway company and also the monument office and could start test drilling in July. In the event of a find, these should be followed by excavations. In fact, the excavation work began on August 16, 2016, which was financed with 125,000 euros.

On August 25, 2016, it became known that the search excavation at the excavation site was unsuccessful and would be abandoned for the time being.

Development since 2017

At the beginning of December 2016, the entrepreneurs declared their intention to set up a foundation, raise money and, in 2017, drill holes up to 20 meters deep.

During the third search in June 2017 with the assistance of a geophysical company from Warsaw , the excavation team found seven cavities, which in turn were suspected to be the railway tunnel. The find made deep drilling necessary, which, according to the company, would result in costs of at least 100,000 zlotys (around 23,000 euros) for the permits and the actual excavation. The excavations were planned for spring or summer 2018, when sponsors would have been found.

In August 2018, Richter left the excavation team without digging deep again. Koper announced the continuation of the search.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Second World War: Lost Nazi train keeps Poland in suspense. In: zeit.de . April 12, 2018, archived from the original on September 2, 2015 ; accessed on September 1, 2015 (video).
  2. ↑ a b Paul Flückiger: In search of the Nazi treasure. In: tagesspiegel.de . August 28, 2015, accessed August 31, 2015 .
  3. ↑ a b cgu / aar / dpa / AFP: Excitement about the alleged find: The riddle about the armored Nazi train in Poland. In: Spiegel Online . August 31, 2015, accessed August 31, 2015 .
  4. ^ 'Nazi train' in Poland: the treasure hunters could face legal trouble. In: rp-online.de. September 7, 2015, accessed September 7, 2015 .
  5. ↑ Is that the supposed evidence? : Mysterious picture: Alleged Nazi train discoverers show georadar image. In: Focus Online . September 5, 2015, accessed September 7, 2015 .
  6. ↑ Excitement in Lower Silesia: "Something is underground": Nazi train puts treasure hunters in euphoria. In: Focus Online . August 31, 2015, accessed August 31, 2015 .
  7. ↑ Alleged find by Nazi train in Poland: Hobby treasure hunters flock to Walbrzych. In: Spiegel Online . August 30, 2015, accessed August 31, 2015 .
  8. ↑ Generalny Konserwator Zabytków potwierdza istnienie ukrytego pociągu. Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego, August 28, 2015, accessed on September 30, 2015 .
  9. ↑ Nazi train: Nocturnal fire at the alleged location. In: hna.de. August 31, 2015, accessed August 31, 2015 .
  10. ↑ History: No reliable evidence of the existence of train with Nazi gold. In: Focus Online . August 31, 2015, accessed August 31, 2015 .
  11. ↑ tagesschau.de: Between truth and fiction: The legend of the Nazi train. In: tagesschau.de. August 31, 2015, archived from the original on September 1, 2015 ; accessed on August 31, 2015 .
  12. ↑ Fire in the forest with the Nazi train full of gold , Die Welt, August 31, 2015
  13. ↑ Doubts about the Nazi treasure train: Now the discoverers claim that the photo evidence is only an "example image" , stern.de, September 9, 2015
  14. ↑ No georadar recordings available: Crisis team demands evidence of Nazi train. In: n-tv.de. September 1, 2015, accessed September 1, 2015 .
  15. ↑ gam / dpa: Poland: Military experts should track down the alleged Nazi train. In: Spiegel Online . September 1, 2015, accessed September 1, 2015 .
  16. ↑ Lukas Praller: Hitler's Nazi Train: Hot Traces Discovered - World. In: merkur.de. September 1, 2015, accessed September 1, 2015 .
  17. ↑ Experts use ground penetrating radar: the military should search for the Nazi train. In: n-tv.de. September 1, 2015, accessed September 2, 2015 .
  18. ↑ Doubts about the Nazi treasure train: Now the discoverers claim that the photo evidence is only an "example image" , stern.de, September 9, 2015
  19. ^ Nazi gold train: Grandpa told about trains in the mountain , svz.de, September 22, 2015
  20. ↑ kli: "Thermal anomaly" at a presumed location - is something hidden in the tunnel? In: Focus Online . January 7, 2016, accessed April 16, 2016 .
  21. ↑ Starting in July, digging , stern.de, 2016-06-01
  22. ↑ Interview with Andreas Richter , article on stern.de from June 2, 2016, accessed on September 29, 2018
  23. ^ Excavations in Walbrzych, Poland. Will the secret of the gold train be revealed? tagesschau.de from August 16, 2016
  24. ↑ http://www.bild.de/news/ausland/nazi-goldzug/goldzug-suche-vor-dem-aus-47408790.bild.html
  25. ↑ Poland: No success in search for Nazi gold train. Article on orf.at of August 25, 2016, accessed September 25, 2016.
  26. ↑ AFP: The search for the Nazi gold train is canceled for the time being. In: FAZ.net . August 25, 2016, accessed October 13, 2018 .
  27. ↑ Treasure hunter duo planning further gold train search in Walbrzych ; in the online edition of the Lausitzer Rundschau from November 19, 2016
  28. ^ Goldzug search continues , Sächsische Zeitung , March 13, 2017
  29. ^ Nazi gold seekers find cavities , article on sz-online.de from October 16, 2017; accessed on September 29, 2018.
  30. ↑ Treasure hunters end joint search for Nazi gold train ; Article in the Berliner Morgenpost from August 2, 2018; accessed on September 29, 2018.

Coordinates: 50 ° 49 ′ 23 "  N , 16 ° 18 ′ 28.3"  E