What Happened to a World War II 'Nazi Gold Train' That Vanished in Poland with Looted Treasure?
After the end of World War II, there were rumors about a 'Nazi Gold Train' carrying treasures the German army took from Europe, hiding it somewhere around Walbrzych.
In 2015, the legend came to life again when Piotr Koper from Poland and Andreas Richter from Germany claimed that they had found the location where the train might be buried, Heritage Daily reported.
For years, treasure hunters have pursued this missing train full of loot and guns that reportedly disappeared into a complex of tunnels, BBC reported. The German authorities hid the train due to a secret military project, which ultimately never reached fruition.
Treasure hunters defend the legend by citing that Nazis constructed miles of tunnels near Walbrzych while being pushed back by the Soviet Red Army. They believe that the objective of this construction was to hide the collected wealth from the enemies.
According to local folklore, the train was carrying gold from the Polish city of Wroclaw, BBC reported. The vehicle reportedly went missing near Ksiaz castle, 3km (two miles) from Walbrzych.
The explorers zeroed in on a site in south-western Poland, with the help of a ground-penetrating radar, BBC reported. They believed that the train remained hidden in a tunnel near the city of Walbrzych. Experts disagreed with this assertion, but the team went ahead with their digging.
Professor Janusz Madej, from Krakow's AGH University of Science and Technology, stated that in his geological survey, he found no evidence of such a train, BBC reported. "There may be a tunnel. There is no train," he told a press conference in Walbrzych.
Despite rejections from the experts, the team of explorers were adamant in their decision to look through the area, for the train, BBC reported. A spokesman for the treasure-hunting team, Andrzej Gaik shared, "We have to find a railway track, probably the entrance to a railway tunnel and, if the tunnel exists, there should be a train there."
After the news broke that the explorers received signals of the train in depths of eight to nine meters between Wałbrzych and Wrocław in Poland, many people came swarming to the site, Heritage Daily reported. Polish authorities had to seal the area and send guards to ensure nobody tried to steal from the rumored treasure.
The excavations on the site continued till August 2016, and were abandoned after that, Heritage Daily reported. Both Koper and Richter were forced to admit they had discovered no tunnels. The duo added that the signals received by them were from a natural rock formation created by underground ice, rather than the missing train.
Koper would go on to find 24 paintings from the 16th century hidden behind a plaster wall during renovation works of a palace in the village of Struga, Poland, Heritage Daily reported.
The authorities were happy with the excavations because the so-called 'discovery' attracted tourism to the region, Heritage Daily reported.
Arkadiusz Grudzien, the spokesman for the mayor of Walbrzych and head of the City Promotion Office, said in an interview, that tourism saw a massive spike, The New York Times reported then. "The publicity the town has gotten in the global media is worth roughly around $200 million," he said. "Our annual budget for promotion is $380,000, so think about that. Whether the explorers find anything or not, that gold train has already arrived."
Arleta Adamska, 58, who runs an inn with her husband, near the excavation site helped explorers get acquainted with the town. "I am 100 percent certain they will find something sooner or later," she said. "If not here, then in another place. Walbrzych is full of mysteries. But we are already benefiting: We have been booked up all summer."