Walpersberg
The Walpersberg is a mountain on the west bank of the Saale near Kahla in Thuringia . It is bordered in the south by Großeutersdorf , in the north by Bibra , in the west by Eichenberg and in the east by Kahla.
history
The Walpersberg was formed about 10 million years ago. It was "washed out" by the melting ice age . The highest point is today at 311 m above sea level. NN .
The Walpersberg (also called Walpurgisberg in a text from 1466 ) shaped the life of the surrounding communities. There is some evidence that it was used as a Germanic place of worship . Later a trade route led over the mountain, the so-called "Gothaische Strasse" (also known as "Green Street"). From 1884 at the latest, the Walpersberg was used for underground sand mining. The sand was very difficult to walk. Three different mining systems were established, the Melzer sand pit of the Großeutersdorfer mill owner Ernst Meltzer and the two pits of the Kahlaer Porzellanwerke AG A total of 20 km of tunnel system were created.
In 1944, construction work began on a building project of the National Socialist leadership, called REIMAHG . A bomb-proof underground factory was to be built for the production of the Messerschmitt Me 262 . The tunnel system was extended to 30 km, surface bunkers were created and a runway was built on the plateau of the mountain. Around 12,000 foreign and forced laborers as well as contracted German workers were used for this.
In the 1960s, the so-called “Kitchen Stollen” served as a vegetable store for LPG Walpersberg for a few years . In addition, the drill core archive of the Geological Exploration West (Halle / Saale) was located in a section of the tunnel in the Walpersberg .
The expansion work for complex warehouse 22 began in 1972 . It should ammunition , weapons and accessories can be stored for emergencies. The work continued until 1990. The Bundeswehr used the property until 1996. Too high operating costs forced the Bundeswehr to give up the depot . The tunnel was closed so that it was impossible to walk through it.
Annually, commemorations of the surrounding communities take place on a weekend around May 8th. For many years it has been a tradition that former REIMAHG forced laborers from abroad attend these ceremonies.
In the Kahla city museum there is an exhibition on the subject of the "REIMAHG", regarding the construction, camp, forced labor and liberation by the US. Army.
Web links
- History and Research Association Walpersberg e. V.
- Friends of the "Walpersberg Memorial and Memorial" e. V.
Individual evidence
- ↑ ReimaHG on thirdreichruins.com , accessed on November 11, 2017
Coordinates: 50 ° 48 ' N , 11 ° 33' E