Toplitzsee

Rowing to the "Kammersee"

We started out having lunch at the "Fischerhütte" where the kitchen is famous for it's baked almond trout.

Then we took two rowing boats, to head towards the "Kammersee", but first we had to get the boats from the near by boat house

and here they are

we stopped at a waterfall along the way, for further exploration

and this is how it went . . . efficiency is everything . . .

at the Kammersee

In 1548 a shipping channel was carved in the rock between the Kammersee and the Toplitzsee. They floated wood from the Toplitzsee area to Bad Aussee, where it was used to make fire for the salt extraction in the salt mines.

there was not a lot of water left in the little lake, but in spring, when all the snow water comes down the mountains it reaches up to this bench and sometimes even further

"The Treasures of the Toplitzsee"

A short history of the Toplitzsee compiled by Albrecht Syen owner of the Fischerman's Hut of Toplitzsee

There was a naval testing station at Toplitzsee from 1943 to 1944. They experimented with different explosives, detonating charges of up to 4,000 kg at different depths.
Underwater rockets were fired from a launching pad in the lake toward the "Dead Mountains". These torpedoes would be used in submarines as defensive weapons.
As the end of the war approached and the allies got closer, amunition, weapons, explosives and documents of the tests, were sunk in the lake. In April of 1945, under the strict supervision of the SS guard, many crates were transported to the Toplitzsee and sunk.

In 1959 the German magazine "Stern" sent investigators, who started diving in the Toplitzsee. They found crates of counterfeit British money, piles of secret documents, including orders for Hitler's Schutzstaffel.

They even found a printing press used in a Nazi counterfeiting operation.
Up till the end of war, British pound notes were counterfeited and secretly brought into circulation in Saxony, under the code name, "Bernhard".

In October of 1963 three treasure hunters tried their luck. Unfortunately one of the men died in a diving accident.
In order to put an end to the illegal treasure hunting and an end to the myth of gold in the lake, the Austrian Ministry of the Interior took action. Over 300 gendarmes closed off the Toplitzsee area and started a large mountain expedition.
They found 18 crates of counterfeit money, printing plates for counterfeit production, propellant charges for rockets, projectiles, rocket controls, laboratory equipment, weapons and explosives.
"Operation Camouflage Curtain" was finally wrapped up in December of 1983. During a press conference they said, that the whole lake had been searched and everything had finally been salvaged.
Despite all the efforts of the Austrian government, crates, ammunition and explosives were sighted in the lake again and again. In 1978 Austrian divers found three mines and the Federal Army found one torpedo.

From 1983 to 1987 the biologist Professor Dr. Hans Fricke did scientific tests, plombing the lake. He discovered new types of bacteria living in the lake, such as a worm, which lives in the oxygen less water. He also found crates of counterfeit money, more ammunition, more rocket propellant charges, more weapons, more bombs and even sections of a blown up airplane.
In 1987 they found a hidden bunker near the lake, but nothing of interest was inside.

Facts about the Toplitzsee:

Altitude: 718 m Width: approx. 250 m Length: 1.8 km Depth: 103 m
Starting at a depth of about 20 m, the water contains no oxygen. At that depth no organic life is possible. The water under 20 m. does not renew itself and is salty. Its Saline content of about 0,75% comes from the Hasel Mountains.
The conductivity of the water changes with the depth, due to differences in the density of the water. Starting at about 85 m, there is sulfur and iron bacteria in the water.
The water temperature of the lake is abnormal. Its basic temperature is about 5.8 degrees C., which is about 1.8 degrees C. warmer than other lakes of this type.
The name Toplitzsee probably comes from the Czech word "Teplice" which means "Warm spring".

The following treasures have been found so far in the Toplitzsee: 50 crates of gold, a stamp collection, 50 kg. of refined gold, five diamonds from Kaltenbrunner, chalices stolen from Jews in Hungary, 22 crates from Skorzeny, Eigruber diamonds, 20 crates of gold coins, 3 crates of gold bullion from the Tartar Treasury.