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All rights reserved. impactful ideas from CBRM’s sister cityI’m impressed with the determination in Wałbrzych to make playgrounds and parking lots family-friendly – with equipment I am preparing for Cape Breton University’s second field school in Wałbrzych in collaboration with Angelus Silesius University will be doing coursework here during Reading Week and the following week I got a two-day head-start to make preparations the rest of the group was delayed due to weather back home They should finally be in Wałbrzych when you read this Subscribe now to access this story and more: Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience You may recall from some of my previous columns that Wałbrzych is a city of about 100,000 people decay and despair after the coal mines all closed in the 1990s Wałbrzych has been relentless in pursuing many specific locally designed projects to lift itself up I keep noticing something in Wałbrzych: Little things matter when you care about quality of life And democracy must exist locally to be real nationally When people notice care and improvement in their neighbourhoods they start to feel like citizens with dignity what are a few micro-projects that we could try in the CBRM The many micro garden lots and micro recreational lots are not just a Wałbrzych thing – they’re a Polish phenomenon You see them in cities or the outskirts of cities – oases of greenery They are called “działki ROD.” The ROD is an acronym for “family garden lot (allotment)” 4,000-square-foot building lot in the CBRM divided into maybe four or five little slices You’re not allowed to put a house on your slice read under a tree and bring your children or grandchildren to play though technically the “owner” (holder) is actually a long-term leaseholder of the land with a suite of rights – and some responsibilities they are currently governed by a 2013 law that was largely written by the association representing lot-holders The draft was submitted to parliament with a widely supported petition the micro-lots are quite popular among nearby apartment dwellers Many seniors who no longer live on their own have such a lot – and they go there with family members and friends to help them care for it Where do I see something like this working in the CBRM vacant lots that belong to the municipality because of long-ago delinquent taxpayers What if we divided these into chunks and offered one to each person coming to study at the new medical school at CBU If they beautify or cultivate it for two years It would require the micro-lot to be cared for no matter who owns it They would be a little piece of capital and equity That would be our local government’s way of supporting and attracting medical students without having to dip into its own budget And it would be a way for medical students to be invested in our community They would get to know “neighbours” and their needs and aspirations we’ve been promising to host a different kind of medical school focused on in-community work outside the largest population centres here’s a way to make that community connection real Virtually every roundabout in Wałbrzych has a name Each roundabout – or “rondo” — is a statement of welcome and civic pride to the many passing motorists and visitors The roundabouts allow the city to tell a story like the one in honour of the pro-democracy Solidarity movement that peacefully brought down the oppressive Another one honours the heroic Irena Sendlerowa (1910-2008) During the Second World War German occupation she headed the children’s rescue section of the Polish Council to Aid Jews as neo-fascists and authoritarians gain ground around the world it’s worth being reminded every day of recent history Some names of roundabouts – and associated landscaping – honour distinguished local citizens One example is the accomplished paleobotanist and longtime local museum co-ordinator Eufrozyn Sagan (1916-1995) Why not start naming and beautifying our roundabouts in the CBRM I suggest that one of them honour our sister city And maybe a corresponding “Rondo Cape Breton” in Wałbrzych I’m impressed with the determination in Wałbrzych to make playgrounds and parking lots family-friendly – with equipment Although the layout of the city creates a bit of a car culture there are connections and cut-throughs for pedestrians everywhere The Galeria Victoria (named after an old mine) is a large mall But pedestrians have direct access to it without having to dodge any cars We have the legal capacity to require something like this in CBRM developments Building a sense of community at a neighbourhood level is crucial for safety city planning often happens at a neighbourhood scale with citizen participation there is only one neighbourhood in the entire CBRM that has a “secondary plan” (neighbourhood-level plan) – Sydney’s North End Did you know there is such a thing as the International Day for Mediation Wałbrzych uses that week for public education and activities related to conflict resolution Many of our organizations in the CBRM are unfortunately beset by conflict A civic focus on conflict resolution could prompt needed self-examination It’s great to have a sister city to inspire us to do that professor of political science and director of the Tompkins Institute at Cape Breton University He recently released his first children’s book Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page The British Virgin Islands is an explorer's dream with more than 60 isles and cays to discover Expert-backed tips and a step-by-step breakdown to ward off these pests We tried it: Filtrete Smart Tower and the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool Formaldehyde HP09 transmission or republication strictly prohibited This website uses cookies to personalize your content 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By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Apr 20, 2022 | History single-sided medieval coins – has been dug up by a dog near the city of Wałbrzych in southwestern Poland Experts say the items – which date back to the 13th century – are the first such large discovery in over a hundred years The Wałbrzych branch of the Lower Silesia heritage protection office was alerted by the owner of the dog including archaeologists from the University of Wrocław “The person who contacted us was out walking the dog,” Anna Nowakowska-Ciuchera and that was how he reached the jug with the coins.” “The objects turned out to be medieval bracteates which were preserved in a damaged earthenware pot,” the Lower Silesia heritage protection office explained Preliminary findings date the find to the first half of the 13th century and suggest that the coins were minted in Brandenburg “Finding a significant number of coins from this period is an exceptional occurrence,” added the office because new currencies could be issued as often as two or three times a year with previous sets of coins being melted down and reminted The discovered coins are in excellent condition with mostly clear prints and little damage Poland’s biggest collections of bracteates have previously been in Warsaw and Kraków but the area of the new find will now become a “mecca” for medievalists they do not want to reveal the precise location of the discovery to discourage amateur metal detectors from arriving Polish archaeologists discover 4,000-year-old board game meaning a thin piece of metal) were used as coins in medieval times with a concave “negative” of the image on the reverse fantastical designs and elements of architecture they are an excellent material for medievalist studies “The idea of stamping coins from a thin plate was caused by the low availability of ore – silver or and bishops could mint coins,” the heritage protection office explains One of Europe’s largest Roman-era pottery production sites discovered in Poland Only with the discovery of silver deposits near Prague did the “euro of medieval Europe” The coins are archaeological heritage and will therefore eventually make their way into a museum rather than onto the numismatic market they need to be properly studied and conserved – which will require time as well as academic grants archaeologists are already making enquiries about his participation in excavations,” the heritage protection office joked Road works uncover 600-year-old city gates in Kraków Main image credit: Facebook/Dolnośląski Wojewódzki Konserwator Zabytków Ben Koschalka is a translator and senior editor at Notes from Poland , , The proportion of Poles saying the US has a positive influence on the world has also fallen to its lowest recorded level , , Poland has recorded the strongest rise in consumer sentiment across the EU this year , , , The stunt has also been criticised by Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland as well as politicians from Poland’s main ruling party Apr 30, 2025 | , , , That response will include “large Polish and NATO exercises in Poland” Apr 29, 2025 | , , , Those employed in Poland work on average the third-longest hours in the European Union Apr 28, 2025 | , , , , Westinghouse and Bechtel were first chosen in 2022 as partners on the 192 billion zloty ($51 billion) project please consider helping us to continue and expand it [email protected] Copyright © 2025 Notes From Poland | Design jurko studio | Code by 2sides.pl Senior Research Fellow at the Global Europe Centre ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Weronika Strzyżyńska is currently studying journalism at Goldsmiths as a Scott Trust Bursary recipient She  has written on issues immigration and Brexit for New Statesman and Prospect Agnieszka Wądołowska is managing editor of Notes from Poland She has previously worked for Gazeta.pl and Tokfm.pl and contributed to Gazeta Wyborcza ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland and assistant professor of history at the Pedagogical University of Krakow He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications The Independent and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Stanley Bill is the founder and editor-at-large of Notes from Poland.He is also Senior Lecturer in Polish Studies and Director of the Polish Studies Programme at the University of Cambridge Stanley has spent more than ten years living in Poland He founded Notes from Poland in 2014 as a blog dedicated to personal impressions cultural analysis and political commentary He is committed to the promotion of deeper knowledge and understanding of Poland He is the Chair of the Board of the Notes from Poland Foundation ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Professor of European Studies at Oxford University ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Professor at the Institute of History of the Jagiellonian University ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Executive Director of Taube Family Foundation ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Associate Professor at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Science ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Solaris will deliver 20 12-meter hydrogen buses to the Polish city of Wałbrzych The contract includes an option to purchase an additional 25 vehicles The first 14 units will be delivered to Wałbrzych in September 2024 The contract is to be completed by the end of July 2025 The vehicles ordered will be the first ever hydrogen-powered vehicles to be deployed in the city hydrogen vehicles already successfully ply routes in the cities of Konin The vehicles ordered will be the first ever hydrogen-powered vehicles to be deployed in the city. In Poland, hydrogen vehicles already successfully ply routes in the cities of Konin, Poznań and Lublin The Urbino 12 hydrogen model is fuelled solely with hydrogen converted to electricity in the fuel cell by Ballard The fuel cell acts as a miniature power plant aboard the vehicle drawing fuel from hydrogen tanks located on the roof The bus can cover at least 350 km with full tanks and their refuelling takes about 10 minutes The 12-metre buses will feature 70 kW fuel cells that draw hydrogen from five tanks with a total capacity of 1,560 litres The hydrogen-powered Solaris buses will also feature a relatively small Solaris High Power traction battery to support the fuel cell when the demand for electricity increases The drive unit will be a central electric motor they will boast a bay for wheelchair-bound passengers and those with pushchairs or prams The buses will refill with hydrogen at a hydrogen refuelling station located at a gas station on Warszawska Street in Poznan “Solaris is committed to creating more sustainable and environmentally friendly towns and cities We are extremely proud that the city of Wałbrzych has chosen us as a partner to introduce hydrogen technology to its public transport Hydrogen buses improve the quality of air in the city and they offer long ranges and superior travel comfort” © Copyright 2012 - 2025 | Vado e Torno Edizioni | All rights reserved | P.I By submitting the above I agree to the privacy policy and terms of use of JTA.org Treasure hunters will start digging for a hidden train long rumored to be filled with Nazi gold from the end of World War II (JTA) — Treasure hunters in Poland will start digging Tuesday for a hidden train long rumored to be filled with Nazi gold from the end of World War II who a year ago said they had located the train using ground-penetrating radar will lead 35 volunteers on the privately funded dig in southwestern Poland “The train is not a needle in the haystack — if there is one we will find it,” project spokesman Andrzej Gaik told Agence France-Presse The team should know by Thursday whether there is a train at the site which is located near old railway tracks between the cities of Wroclaw and Walbrzych Three 300-foot-deep holes are to be drilled with special equipment as German forces fled the Soviet army in 1945 weapons and valuable art in a secret tunnel near Wroclaw Despite decades of rumors and amateur searches the train’s existence has never been proved Richter and Koper last year reported finding soil anomalies that hinted at the train’s existence A study by the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow found no such evidence but concluded there may be a tunnel at the site Maybe the train is hidden inside that tunnel,” Gaik told AFP the Nazis melted down jewelry from Jews and other prisoners sent to concentration camps As Allied forces advanced at the end of the war JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent I accept the Privacy Policy Walbrzych, Poland - April 7, 2021- Toyota Motor Manufacturing Poland (TMMP) launched production of hybrid electric transmissions for its low-emission hybrid electric powertrains. The new transmission combines with the latest generation 1.5L gasoline engine, produced in Jelcz-Laskowice, to form the hybrid electric powertrain for new Yaris, The Car of the Year 2021 Demand for Toyota’s best-selling Yaris is at an all-time high the B-segment model which made up over 20% of Toyota’s European sales last year is manufactured at Toyota Motor Manufacturing France (TMMF) and from later this year at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Czech TMMP’s output of hybrid electric powertrains will receive another boost when the new Yaris Cross begins production later in 2021 TMMP’s latest expansion forms a key part of Toyota Motor Europe’s strategy to further localize the production of hybrid electric drives to help meet the company’s ambition of selling 1.4M vehicles a year by 2025 90% of sales will have electrified powertrains for its hybrids As part of its increased European investment TME has expanded TMMP’s Wałbrzych Plant to accommodate a new casting line additional processing lines and a new assembly line TMMP also begins the first European production of the MG1 electric motor which forms an integral part of the hybrid electric transmissions and to meet the increased demand for hybrids the Wałbrzych plant will launch a twin production line for hybrid electric transmissions in autumn 2021 it will start a second production line of 1.5L TNGA gasoline engines effectively doubling TMMP’s hybrid electric powertrain production capacity for Toyota Yaris and Yaris Cross models Once these new projects are fully up to speed in 2022 the factories in Wałbrzych and Jelcz-Laskowice will have a total of six production lines for the main hybrid components including three lines of hybrid electric transmissions and three lines of TNGA combustion engines This increased localisation of production of hybrid electric components in Europe follows TMMP’s establishment of a Hybrid Drives Testing and Evaluation Department in 2020 Including the recently completed projects the level of investments in both plants will increase to almost PLN 6 billion (or c enabling a production capacity of 1.65 million components per year and employment to over 3,000 people Toyota's low-emission hybrid technology Hybrid cars use two sources of power - gasoline and electric the kinetic energy of the hybrid car is recovered and converted into electricity thanks to which the vehicle consumes less fuel Toyota sees hybrid technology as an important step towards full electrified mobility Toyota’s hybrid technology reduces emissions fuel consumption providing an accessible and affordable mobility solution for its customers Toyota has located in Poland the first center for production and development of hybrid drives in the world outside of Asia It supplies the hybrid electric transmissions and the associated TNGA hybrid gasoline engines for the group's low-emission vehicles manufactured in Europe Projects related to hybrid technology implemented in Polish Toyota factories Toyota New Global Architecture is the global architecture in which all new Toyota models are currently designed This platform stands for common principles for the construction of individual chassis types and bodies Its characteristic feature is a lower center of gravity and a stiffer car body which translates into a high level of passive safety and greater driving comfort TNGA means designing automated production lines a modular structure of the line enabling the production of various types of components or drives on one production line as well as better work ergonomics and lower environmental impact TMMP has two plants located in Lower Silesia The factory in Wałbrzych produces hybrid electric transmissions for low-emission hybrid cars with a 1.8-liter engine 1-liter gasoline engines as well as manual and semi-automatic transmissions Its current annual production capacity is 350,000 hybrid electric transmissions The plant in Jelcz-Laskowice produces 1.5 L and 2.0 l TNGA gasoline engines and its production capacity is 312 thousand engines per year TMMP factories supply assembly plants of Toyota cars and the PSA Group and Lotus companies operated by European companies in the Czech Republic and outside Europe: in South Africa and Japan The Polish city of Wałbrzych has ordered 20 Urbino 12 Hydrogen buses from Solaris Deliveries are scheduled to begin in September 2024 Wałbrzych is a city in south-western Poland near the border with the Czech Republic with a population of around 110,000 The vehicles that have now been ordered will be the first hydrogen city buses in the municipality “Wałbrzych is thus yet another Polish city that is investing in sustainable hydrogen-based public transport,” Solaris announced Hydrogen buses from the Polish manufacturer are already in operation in Konin Deliveries of the Urbino 12 Hydrogen for Wałbrzych are scheduled to begin in September 2024 with the first 14 units The remaining six H2 buses are to follow by July 2025 No further details of the vehicles ordered are given Solaris presented the current generation of its twelve-metre solo bus with fuel cell, the Urbino 12 hydrogen, in 2019. The market launch of the Urbino 18 hydrogen FC articulated bus did not take place until September 2022 The two vehicles use slightly different fuel cell systems: according to Solaris hydrogen fuel cell units with 70 kW are installed in the twelve-metre version while 100 kW are available in the longer version “Solaris is committed to creating more sustainable and environmentally friendly towns and cities We are extremely proud that the city of Wałbrzych has chosen us as a partner to introduce hydrogen technology to its public transport Hydrogen buses improve the quality of air in the city and they offer long ranges and superior travel comfort,” said Dariusz Michalak it has delivered over 150 hydrogen buses to date and has over 450 on order solarisbus.com I agree with the Privacy policy electrive has been following the development of electric mobility with journalistic passion and expertise since 2013 we offer comprehensive coverage of the highest quality — as a central platform for the rapid development of this technology Brussels, Belgium – 26th July, 2019 – As Toyota Motor Europe (TME)’s hybrid vehicle sales continue to rise as a percentage of total sales in the European region the company continues its efforts to localise production of hybrid engine components in Europe announced that it will add an e-CVT from 2021 to its existing production Toyota’s total investment in both its Polish manufacturing centres in Walbrzych and Jelcz-Laskowice will increase to approximately 1.2 billion euros The hybrid e-CVT is at the heart of Toyota's hybrid electric powertrain system Thanks to the smart interaction with a gasoline engine and the two on-board electric motors the e-CVT ensures an optimum energy flow within the vehicle Typical for a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) kinetic energy is recuperated when the car decelerates and brakes several independent studies* show that a HEV drives over 50% of the distance in zero-emission mode on urban and sub-urban trips Toyota sees HEVs as an important step towards electrification of transport providing customers with convenient and affordable low-emission mobility and cities or regions with a practical and readily-available solution to improve air quality and reduce CO2 emissions Recent milestones in multi-year investment plans to bring advanced hybrid technology to Polish plants from the University of Rome and the Cracow University of Technology TMMP owns and operates two manufacturing plants located in Lower Silesia In addition to the production of e-CVTs for low-emission hybrid cars working with the 1.8 l engine the plant in Wałbrzych produces 1l gasoline engines as well as manual and semi-automatic transmissions TMMP’s annual production capacity in Walbrzych is 175,000 e-CVTs for hybrid powertrains The plant in Jelcz-Laskowice manufactures 1.5l gasoline engines TMMP supplies other Toyota car assembly plants managed by Toyota Motor Europe: in the Czech Republic Plants supplied by TMMP outside of Europe are located in South Africa and Japan May 26, 2023 | Society A new initiative inspired by the classic children’s novel Anne of Green Gables – which tells the story of an orphan girl – will be launched next week in a Polish city to encourage more people to foster children 50 residents of Wałbrzych in southwestern Poland will each receive a handmade doll made in the image of the titular red-haired character of the famous Canadian novel produced with help from a local puppet theatre will include Anne’s signature straw hat “It will be a game of pass it on,” Izabela Małek deputy head of the foster care department at the Municipal Social Welfare Centre (MOPS) in Wałbrzych “People who receive a doll but will not be able to create a safe home for ‘Anne’ meaning they will not be able to be foster parents will be asked to pass the doll on,” Małek explained “They will have to find trustworthy people who have an open heart and may be able to be foster parents.” “The dolls will be passed on until they reach people who decide to look after a child or children from care,” she added Anyone who receives a doll and is interested in fostering a child will be asked to contact MOPS where they will undergo the appropriate vetting and training The Anne doll will stay with the family that decides to foster and be given a new The campaign will be launched with the hashtag #AniaSzukaDomu (#AnneIsLookingForAHome) and its organisers hope that unique idea will attract the attention of potential foster carers which was written by Lucy Maud Montgomery in 1908 but is set in the 1870s recounts the adventures of 11-year-old orphan Anne Shirley who is mistakenly sent to live with two middle-aged siblings Discussing the inspiration behind the initiative Małek explained to PAP: “Anne of Green Gables was an orphan care and attention from adults and found this in the home of siblings Marilla and Matthew who ultimately became her foster family.” “It is a story that happened 150 years ago but is still relevant today,” she continued “We still have children in foster care who urgently need the care of adults in a loving family.” coordinator for family foster care at MOPS in Wałbrzych there are currently 140 children in care and educational facilities in the city looking to be placed with foster families Anna Hackett is an assistant editor at Notes from Poland She is a recent graduate of European Studies from Trinity College Dublin and has had previous journalistic experience with the Irish Independent News & Media group , , Karol Nawrocki even suggested that the state security services were involved in creating the scandal , , The 1,200 square metre national symbol was unfurled on the beach in Międzyzdroje [email protected] Menu.page-20017097{--colorD:#d9c2fe;--colorJ:#d9c2fe;--gradientTransparentJ:#d9c2fe00;--colorDC:#d9c2fe;--colorDA:#d9c2fe;--colorDF:#d9c2fe;--colorJD:#d9c2fe;--colorDJ:#d9c2fe;--colorJF:#d9c2fe;--colorJG:#d9c2fe;--colorDDC:#d9c2fe;--colorDTransparent:#d9c2fe;--colorJTransparent:#d9c2fe}CultureExplorers May Finally Dig Up Legendary Nazi "Gold Train"The project began on Tuesday WikipediaRight now a team of 35 excavators is furiously digging underground between the towns of Wroclaw and Walbrzych in southwest Poland Their mission: to unearth a legendary Nazi train thought to be filled with jewelry The train is believed to have been lost around May 1945 German soldiers filled it with weapons and treasure riding the train to escape the approaching Soviet Army They disappeared into a mountain tunnel in Poland and were never discovered again Decades of various searches and investigations have proved fruitless with no historical evidence that indicates where the Nazi gold train may have gone — or if it even existed at all the Polish news site Wiadomosci Walbrzyskie reported last year that up to 300 tons of gold may be found aboard If the train is buried in this tunnel, it still won’t be easy to get to. There is a hazardous buildup of natural gas in the Walbrzych underground tunnel. Not to mention the possibility of old booby traps or explosives Koper and Richter — along with 33 other explorers — push on in this privately-funded excavation the duo had previously demanded 10 percent of the train’s value as a finder’s fee Beneath these tracks are the supposed hiding place of the Gold Train in Wałbrzych with a livestream available for audiences around the world to watch the search unfold in real time It may not take long: “The train is not a needle in the haystack — if there is one we will find it,” spokesman Andrzej Gaik said in a statement to the Agence France-Presse news agency Follow the dig online on Facebook or at zloty-pociag.com. Gold fever hits Poland with possible discovery of Nazi trainAssociated PressWALBRZYCH, Poland - The placid woodlands around this medieval castle town have suddenly become the hottest spot in Poland - as treasure hunters descend on the area in search of a mystery Nazi train said to be laden with gold. Government reports that two men may have located the legendary World War II treasure, purportedly buried in a secret tunnel in the bowels of the earth, have set off a frenzy of excitement among fortune-hunters from across Poland and beyond. "It's a true gold rush," said Andrzej Nowak, a 60-year-old retired teacher who lives near the spot. Polish authorities recently said that two men, whose names they have not been released, used radar to locate an armored train deep under the woodlands around Walbrzych, and believe it could be the so-called Nazi "gold train." Rumors have swirled for decades about the train, also said to be filled with weapons, though there is absolutely no evidence that it ever existed. A government official said last week that the claimants' theory is based on the "deathbed testimony" of one of the men who allegedly helped load the train at the end of the war. On one recent day, the normally quiet area was swarming with tourists, journalists and locals. Nowak, who himself has joined the treasure hunt, said he has seen cars with plates from across Poland, Germany, the Netherlands and elsewhere. "Have you found it?" people keep saying to each other - mostly in a joking spirit. For it's highly unlikely that any amateur treasure hunter will stumble across the train: If it exists, it will be buried deep in the ground, within a labyrinth of tunnels the Nazis built during the war, probably accessible only with the help of massive machinery and explosives. If the train and its treasures eventually do turn up, it will belong to the Polish state. The two claimants are demanding 10 percent of the value of the find, something officials have said they will get. Serious excavation work is expected to start within weeks. Meanwhile, the Polish military is moving in for a fact-finding mission. And police are patrolling the area around the clock, to prevent any attempts at secret digging, or other tampering with the site, or obstructing the railway traffic. The man considered the main living source of the legend is following the excitement from his home just a few kilometers (miles) away. Retired miner Tadeusz Slowikowski, 84, heard from a German man in the 1970s of a train that left the German city of Breslau (today Poland's Wroclaw) in the spring of 1945, as the Soviet army approached. He said the man told him the train disappeared before ever making it to Waldenburg (now Walbrzych) some 65 kilometers (45 miles) to the west. "I have lived with this mystery for 40 years, but each time I went to the authorities they always silenced it," Slowikowski told The Associated Press in an interview in his home. "For so many years! Unbelievable!" He said he is "very grateful" that the two men have finally "revealed this mystery to the public." Slowikowski said he knows them, and that they have been to his home to tap his knowledge. Aside from his memories, he keeps prewar German maps of the area, current photographs and a model that he built of the spot where he believes the train disappeared. One of the men is Polish, and the other a German citizen of Polish origins, he said. "They are decent people, engineers, but I cannot possibly give their names," Slowikowski said. During the war, the Germans were building headquarters for Hitler in Walbrzych's Ksiaz Castle - then called the Fuerstenstein castle - a majestic structure developed from a medieval fortress that seems to belong in a fairy tale. In the rock below, they were also building a system of tunnels and bunkers, called the Giant Project. Only some of the tunnels have been found. Slowikowski believes the system included a secret tunnel where the Germans hid the train from the Soviets - and that they blew up the entrance to the tunnel when they saw defeat coming. In past years he did a lot of digging by railway tracks with a friend, Andrzej Gaik, at the point where he believes the train went missing. In 2001 the two dug through soil and rock and hit what they believe was the supportive wall of a tunnel underground. They were then banned by the railway authorities from excavating further. "I am glad that these two men reported the find to the authorities," said Gaik, a local guide. "They went a step further than we did. They examined it with ground-penetrating equipment and took this picture. We were not able to afford such equipment." To some historians, the entire story of a Nazi gold train is preposterous. Pawel Rodziewicz, who belongs to a local historical society, said that documentation leaves no doubt that gold in Breslau was evacuated to the German central bank in Berlin and elsewhere, so there would have been no reason to take any to Waldenburg, where the approaching Soviets could find it. He thinks it impossible that a secret railway tunnel could have been built into the hill near railroad tracks in frequent use. No documents have ever been found to indicate such a project was undertaken, while documents exist even for the most top-secret projects of the Third Reich, including some for the subterranean tunnels beneath the Ksiaz Castle. But last week, a deputy culture minister, Piotr Zuchowski, said from Warsaw that he was "certain" that the train has been found, though the next day he changed that to "99 percent" sure. Local authorities, meanwhile, are expressing more caution. Arkadiusz Grudzien, a spokesman for the Walbrzych mayor, says the city sees only a "degree of probability" about a possible discovery. Time will tell: The Defense Ministry has ordered explosives experts from the army to the site to begin checking it, warning that the alleged train could be booby-trapped and dangerous. The work is expected to begin in earnest in the next weeks, but army experts are already there this week to examine the site. Until more is known, amateur sleuths are living a moment of great excitement. One, Christal Focken from Germany, was roaming the area on Wednesday. She showed The AP an elevated area that rises unexpectedly in the woods - a shape that, to her, seems suspiciously like the shape of a railway tunnel. At the start is a hole with some fractured stones, which she thinks could be the remains of the purported explosion. "This is a railway tunnel," Focken said. "I don't know if a train is inside. Maybe." Meanwhile, local officials welcome the spotlight on a beautiful region with a rich history. Walbrzych, Grudzien said, is being "presented as a place of mysteries, of legends, of uncovered facts and tunnels." The so-called “gold train” is thought to have gone missing close to the city of Walbrzych It was lost in the underground tunnels where German soldiers transported goods around the country during World War II A Pole and a German recently told authorities that they had found the armored train in one of the tunnels A radar image of the train shown to the Polish deputy culture minister seemed to confirm the train’s existence He said he was “more than 99% certain that this train exists.” The process of searching for the exact location of the train is expected to take weeks a man who claimed to have helped load the gold train said on his deathbed that the vehicle was laced with explosives as a security measure [AP] Listen to the most important stories of the day Contact us at letters@time.com Regional bragging rights are not only at stake at the 2019 Men’s Wheelchair Basketball European Championships beginning Wednesday in Walbrzych It will also be the site where four teams can make their Paralympic dreams come alive with slots available for the Tokyo 2020 Games Twelve teams will battle for those limit spots with reigning world champions Great Britain entering as the heavy tournament favourites Germany would hope to measure up strong and better their bronze medal from the 2017 European Championships Turkey however hope to defend their title from two years ago and appear the strongest to make it out of Group B But the Netherlands could surprise and would like to make up for missing the podium at the last edition Rio 2016 Paralympic silver medallists Spain followed by playoff matches from Friday to Saturday The women’s European Championships concluded in July in Rotterdam The host nation topped Great Britain for the coveted gold medal All four teams qualified for next year’s Paralympic Games Cape Breton University students who are part of the pilot summer field school in Wałbrzych ceremonially planted a prominently situated maple tree in June in Wałbrzych’s Rusinowa Park The tree and plaque honour CBU’s collaboration and student-exchange agreement with Angelus Silesius University in Wałbrzych The tree also honours the Cape Breton Regional Municipality’s official sister-city agreement with the city of Wałbrzych CEO of Wałbrzych’s Princess Daisy Foundation; CBU professor Tom Urbaniak Missing from the photo are students Charles Medina and Natalia Bielak This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. 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By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. one of the underground passages built by the Nazis during World War II and where treasure hunters claim to have located a missing Third Reich train laden with gold and valuables Print Gold fever has descended on southwestern Poland since a top culture official gave credence to the claim of two treasure hunters to have located a legendary Nazi train loaded with valuables in an abandoned mountain railroad tunnel Locals and foreigners have arrived by the scores in recent days with metal detectors and set to combing the forested area of the Owl Mountains in Lower Silesia where authorities said last week they had been shown ground-penetrating radar images of an armored train hidden in a tunnel The mountainous area around the castle city of Walbrzych was honeycombed with underground rail passages and bunkers during World War II when it was part of Germany and the Nazis created Project Riese for suspected weapons development and supply depots for the war effort Since Deputy Culture Minister Piotr Zuchowski said last week that he was “more than 99%” sure the treasure-laden transport exists and would soon be located the freelance hunters have converged on the rail line from Wroclaw One treasure hunter attempting to take a selfie along the active rail line was almost hit by a train police spokeswoman Magdalena Koroscik told the Associated Press “Half of Walbrzych’s residents and other people are going treasure hunting or just for walks to see the site We are worried for their security,” Koroscik said that the area around the purported discovery was being sealed off by police Army munitions experts were to be dispatched to secure the approach to the train’s suspected location we have to be sure of people’s safety,” Smolarz said announcing the closure of a small wooded area along tracks leading from Wroclaw into the underground tunnel network “Securing of the area will be continued by police forest guards and railway security guards.” He confirmed that the military experts were being brought in to examine the area for potential explosives hazards as the treasure hunters’ radar images show cannons mounted on the train There are also widespread suspicions that the Nazis mined the tunnels before abandoning the region in the spring of 1945 as Soviet Red Army troops advanced on Germany’s retreating forces Lower Silesia was part of Germany before the Nazi defeat and Wroclaw was then known as Breslau The area was ceded to Poland after the war Smolarz sought to cool the feverish expectations fanned by last week’s news He said the evidence provided by the purported finders of the train was no more convincing than that put forward in previous claims over decades that all proved to be groundless Zuchowski warned last week of the danger to civilians and amateur spelunkers of entering the disused tunnels around Walbrzych in search of the treasure train He said it would take weeks for the area to be secured and the suspected location explored any wartime-era valuables recovered would belong to the state jewelry or other valuables that could be traced to their original owners would be restored to them or their heirs Historians estimate that at least 80,000 Polish homes mostly those of Jews who were sent to concentration camps had been looted by the Nazis after their surprise Sept The legend of the lost gold train holds that German authorities ordered the confiscated valuables loaded onto an armored train for transport westward as the Soviets were about to overrun Breslau and that the train was forced to hole up in one of the Riese tunnels before reaching better secured German territory Follow @cjwilliamslat for the latest international news 24/7 India allows Jains to continue fasting until death How badly was an ancient temple damaged by Islamic State? Myanmar’s backsliding leads to doubt about U.S. diplomacy strategy World & Nation World & Nation Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map treasure hunters find no trace of train said to have been hidden by Germans at Wałbrzych Attempts to find a “Nazi gold train” in Poland appear to have been dashed after treasure hunters admitted that they had found “no train The possibility of riches, based on a legend that a train laden with gold and valuables was hidden by Germans in a secret tunnel, as the Soviet army advanced towards them in 1945, has drawn explorers from across Europe to Wałbrzych Andreas Richter, a German, and Piotr Koper, a Pole, moved in with heavy equipment and dug deep at a site near rail tracks in Wałbrzych earlier this month after residents said they had knowledge of the train’s existence Richter and Koper said tests they conducted using earth-penetrating radar had confirmed that there was a train at the site said on Wednesday that they had found nothing despite an exhaustive search of three pits costing 140,000 zlotys (£28,000) Gaik said a smaller-scale search using probes would resume at a nearby site in September The dig confirmed findings by experts from a university in Kraków who used magnetic equipment but found no trace of train or tunnel An armed train loaded with valuables is said to have disappeared after entering a complex of tunnels, an unfinished Nazi project known as riese (giant) Trade.gov.pl The Umicore Group has been present in Poland since 2015 The factory in Nysa will be their third investment in Poland and the second to produce cathode battery materials for European customers in the automotive industry Construction work is expected to start later this year with around 900 new jobs expected to be created at the factory by 2030 According to representatives of Umicore and PowerCo where Umicore’s second plant in Poland has been operating since 2021 are an ideal area for the implementation of further business goals of these brands The location of the investment is centrally located in Central Europe and has well-developed transport links to the target markets which is of particular importance for the completeness of the supply chain which is for the partnership of both companies within the framework of the project and the newly formed company IONWAY a key element of the closed loop of battery materials in the spirit of a sustainable and circular economy The proximity of renowned universities and research institutes located in nearby Opole as well as in nearby Wrocław and the Upper Silesian Conurbation ensures the availability of highly qualified staff The new investment will ensure continuity of orders for Umicore and stable supplies of active cathode material for PowerCo Such cooperation will be a growth engine for both sides of the joint-venture Source PAIH Business Forum is an event organized for the SME sector and its partners – representatives of r… PAIH is increasing its presence in Wielkopolska The Polish Investment and Trade Agency has opened another Regional Trade Office PAIH’s Regional Trade Office in Lublin is open The Polish Investment and Trade Agency has launched another of its Regional Trade Offices hundreds of export contracts and dozens of promotional events The celebration of Polish entrepreneurship has come to an end hundreds of meetings – this is what PAIH Business Forum was like How to apply for Governmental Grants for Investment Entrepreneurs often face challenges in obtaining funds for investments that can support their busine… How to get assistance as a foreign investor or trader in Poland Regardless of whether you consider locating your company’s new unit in Poland or are simply interest… Pages available in the www.trade.gov.pl domain may contain e-mail addresses By clicking an e-mail address provided as a link you consent to the processing of your data (e-mail address and other data provided on a voluntary basis in the message) in order for the recipient to send a response to the submitted questions The details concerning processing of personal data by each unit can be found in their respective policies concerning the processing of personal data In March 1945, the Nazis set off from the city of Goerlitz with a convoy of artwork from a museum and treasures from Russia’s Amber Room Legend has it that as the war drew to a close a local miner saw a group of German soldiers move the train Since dubbed the “Nazi gold train,” the locomotive has never been located and has become a topic of interest for both historians and treasure hunters with many attempts being made to find it over the years Some have warned the train likely doesn’t contain any gold or treasures they posit that it was loaded with chemical agents the Nazis were transporting to Berlin in a final attempt to stop the Soviet Red Army are theorized to be among the chemicals onboard In July 2021, Koper announced he and his team had found what he believes to be the remains of the Nazi gold train signs were found indicating steel was at the bottom of a lake in the Polish village of Żarska Wieś Koper enlisted the help of Guinness World Records holder Marcel Korkus he said he could “confirm the existence of a lime kiln in the northwestern part of the body of water.” He couldn’t say for sure if it was the train lying beneath the sediment “We have decent results and we will now try to mine as we have a very strong signal of steel we will apply for permission to extract them.” The potential discovery comes weeks after treasure hunters located a secret network of tunnels at a former German Army headquarters that is thought by some to lead to the famed Russian “Amber Room,” though the jury’s still out on whether either of these “discoveries” will bear fruit The Amber Room was built for Tsar Peter the Great in the 1700s and filled with gold all of which were stolen by the Nazis and disappeared after World War II The disappearance of the loot is unsurprising jewels and other possessions at various places across Europe In August 2015, Koper and German treasure hunter Andreas Ritcher held a press conference, claiming to have located a 320-foot-long train It was located in the Polish town of Walbrzych eight-to-nine meters in an underground railway tunnel used by the Nazis during Project Riese ground-penetrating radar had uncovered a series of rectangular round and ovular shapes beneath the surface While critics acknowledged that there could be a tunnel beneath the ground they found it highly unlikely the Nazi gold train was hidden there More from us: An Incredibly Rare 1940-Era Plane Is Up For Sale Clare Fitzgerald is a Writer and Editor with eight years of experience in the online content sphere Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from King’s University College at Western University her portfolio includes coverage of digital media Among her accomplishments are being the Founder of the true crime blog, Stories of the Unsolved, which garners between 400,000 and 500,000 views annually, and a contributor for John Lordan’s Seriously Mysterious podcast she also served as the Head of Content for UK YouTube publication Clare likes to play Pokemon GO and re-watch Heartland over and over (and over) again She’ll also rave about her three Maltese dogs whenever she gets the chance linkedin.com/in/clarefitz/ Scientists reject claim by amateur treasure hunters that a train laden with gold weapons and stolen art is hidden in railway embankment Scientists have quashed a claim by two amateur treasure hunters that they had discovered a legendary gold train hidden by the Nazis in a southern Polish railway embankment “There is no train,” Prof Janusz Madej of the Polish mining academy told a press conference in the city of Wałbrzych The conference was attended by dozens of journalists and television crews who began following the gold train story after the treasure hunters made their claim in August “The geo-magnetic model anomalies would be far greater if there was a train,” he said Madej spoke after a team of scientists spent a month surveying a site at the 22-mile (35km) mark on the Wrocław-Wałbrzych railway line identified as the train’s resting place After the Polish army cleared the railway embankment the scientists from the mining academy used magnetic field detectors thermal imaging cameras and radars to scan the spot where the enthusiasts claimed they had found a train hidden in a tunnel and sealed by exploded rocks Army experts use mine detectors to check for explosives in an area where a secret tunnel is alleged to be hiding a Nazi train Photograph: STR/APBut the treasure hunters attempted to keep speculation alive on Tuesday telling the press conference they had found further evidence of the train’s existence Such has been the interest in the supposed find that journalists from all over the world as well as amateur treasure hunters armed with metal detectors have descended on the city in the past few months The Discovery Channel signed an agreement with the mining academy for exclusive rights to film its scientists’ survey According to persistent local legend, there are up to three Nazi trains buried in or around Wałbrzych, a mining town in south-west Poland which was known as Waldenburg by the Germans Piotr Koper (left) and Andreas Richter attend the press conference in Walbrzych Photograph: Natalia Dobryszycka/AFP/Getty ImagesThe trains are said to have left the city of Wrocław between January and May 1945 where Hitler had established a secret command centre linked by tunnels to the Owl Mountains south-east of the city “We believe there is a train,” insisted Koper “The readings [by the scientists] are different because the methodological approach was not the same as ours.” Koper said new research carried out by him and Richter had been handed to the city authorities on 7 December in a sealed envelope A city official confirmed this would be checked by experts Koper said the train was 92 metres long and contained in a tunnel eight metres high and between five and six metres wide Madej said he respected the amateurs’ work and “all research is credible” but added that the readings on their instruments may have been affected by the presence of overhead power cables on the railway line No evidence of trains being buried in southern Poland exists in surviving documents The scientists speak at the Wałbrzych press conference Photograph: Natalia Dobryszycka/AFP/Getty ImagesHitler’s command centre though it is not clear that it was ever used Tunnels survive and amateur treasure hunters are still uncovering more of them Thousands of prisoners of war died in the excavation work to create the tunnel network The mass removal from the area of thousands of ethnic Germans after the second world war – when Poland came under communist control – meant very few people who were living in Wałbrych in 1945 People in the town say that in the communist era Some of the tunnels in the mountains close to Wałbrzych were closed military areas until the 1990s claim they located the train thanks to information from a resident of the time who contacted them The men claim they are not interested in the cargo aboard the train they wrote to the Polish government asking for a finder’s fee of 10% of the value of the train and its cargo You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed Solaris hydrogen buses in yet another city Solaris Bus & Coach will deliver state-of-the-art hydrogen buses to the city of Wałbrzych The contract covers the delivery of 20 Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen buses including an option to purchase an additional 25 vehicles Wałbrzych is thus yet another Polish city that is investing in sustainable hydrogen-based public transport According to the contract signed today the first units will be delivered to Wałbrzych in September next year Representatives of Solaris Bus & Coach have just signed a contract with the city of Wałbrzych for the delivery of 20 Urbino 12 hydrogen buses The contract also includes an option to extend the order in the future The vehicles ordered will be the first ever hydrogen-powered vehicles to be deployed in the city hydrogen vehicles already successfully ply routes in the cities of Konin In accordance with the contract signed today the first 14 units will be delivered to Wałbrzych in September 2024 The contract is to be completed by the end of July 2025 Solaris is committed to creating more sustainable and environmentally friendly towns and cities “Hydrogen buses improve the quality of air in the city and The most important feature of the new hydrogen buses is their zero-emission driveline The Urbino 12 hydrogen vehicles use energy derived from hydrogen which is converted into electricity in a fuel cell The chemical reaction that takes place in the fuel cell is extremely clean as its only by-products are water and heat The buses also boast an impressively long range and refuelling takes just a dozen or so minutes Solaris Bus & Coach is a leading manufacturer of zero-emission vehicles for public transport hydrogen buses made by the manufacturer have been arousing great interest amongst carriers and towns and cities throughout Europe the bus maker has delivered more than 150 hydrogen buses and has over 450 on order which perfectly supplements our electric vehicle range as a 12-metre and 18-metre articulated vehicle READ the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Hydrogen Central Solaris hydrogen buses in yet another city, Solaris Urbino hydrogen head to Wałbrzych, Poland. source Hydrogen Buses – Wrightbus Hydroliners launched by German operator WestVerkehr GmbH Zero-emission bus manufacturer Wrightbus has delivered 12 new hydrogen vehicles to German operator WestVerkehr GmbH Ten eCitaro G fuel cell vehicles with new hydrogen drive mode for the public transport network of the city of Stuttgart Premiere for Stuttgart: Daimler Buses has delivered the first eCitaro G fuel cell vehicles with new.. New to the fleet: SSB introduces fuel cell articulated buses – Mercedes-Benz eCitaro G fuel cell H2 mode on the road in Stuttgart in tens Mercedes-Benz eCitaro G fuel cell H2 mode on the road in Stuttgart in tens.. COPYRIGHT POLICY DISCLAIMER TERMS & CONDITIONS PRIVACY POLICY We love meeting interesting people and making new friends are demanding 10% fee in exchange for whereabouts of legendary train and contents The men, reported to be a German and a Pole, have appointed a lawyer to negotiate with the authorities for a 10% finder’s fee for the train and its contents. Local news site Wiadomości Wałbrzyskie said the train contained up to 300 tonnes of gold, as well as a batch of diamonds, other gems and industrial equipment. The men said only once they have secured their fee in writing will they reveal the whereabouts of the train. “This is a find of world significance, on a par with [discovering] the Titanic,” said Jarosław Chmielewski, the lawyer who has written to the parish council on the men’s behalf, to Radio Wroclaw. an armoured train packed with treasure from the then German city of Breslau (now Wrocław in Poland) was driven into a tunnel in a hillside near a medieval castle near Wałbrzych as the Red Army was approaching and the Allies were carrying out air strikes in the final days of the war Authorities seemed to be taking the claims seriously on Thursday evening despite warnings from some historians that they may be dealing with a hoax Many in the city believe there may well be truth in the claims not least because they would confirm rumours that have circulated for the past 70 years of the existence of gold and treasures in the tunnels and shafts of the mining region There are widespread reports that Nazis hid the spoils – many of which were stolen from Jewish families – in the final days of the war when there was no chance to transport them west The council confirmed receipt of the letter a copy of which was published on the local news portal Local media reported that meetings have taken place between representatives of the police Experts have warned that the train may be full of explosives and may also be mined “We are on alert should we need to take any specific security measures,” a police spokeswoman told Polish TV station TVN24 there’s a significant chance it is mined,” council chairman Jacek Cichura told the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza “It could also contain a large amount of methane gas” In 1945 an estimated 100 tonnes of gold bullion was found hidden in a salt mine near Merkers It is said 300 tonnes of gold is on the train Rollins/APGazeta Wyborzca referred to an anonymous source who described to the paper how the treasure hunters had used ground-penetrating georadar technology to locate the train the train was found 70 metres below ground Other reports have placed the train more specifically under a disused railway station in Walim a small rural community nine miles south-east of Wałbrzych Radio Wrocław said it was 150m (494ft) long a cloak-and-dagger drilling operation apparently took place in the village leaving six large drill holes in the ground despite the fact that no excavation licence had been issued Speculation that Walim is the site of the treasure has only intensified thanks to witnesses who vividly recall seeing a convoy bearing the insignia of the Third Reich back in 1945 who admits he knows nothing about the train itself I’m quite surprised that everyone talks of gold the whole time It could be that it simply contains quite pedestrian industrial materials,” he said Local amateur historians have been wading in but can only really confirm the locals’ belief that two trains laden with gold existed “It’s an old perennial to say you know where the train is but so far no one has ever managed to prove the existence of these trains,” local historian Joanna Lamparska told TVN24 Previously, talk of Nazi treasure in Walbrzych led to speculation that the long-lost Czarist Amber Room, which treasure hunters have sighted in plenty of other locations was to be found in the region who takes tourists on guided tours of the old castle said for years he had clung to the belief that the “golden train” He voiced his scepticism that there was anything in the latest reports “I don’t believe that anyone has ever come close to finding the train,” he told Polish television will only help to fuel the insatiable quest of second world war treasure hunters who seek to uncover the loot reportedly stashed away by Hitler’s henchmen Hunts have extended over the decades to caves dungeons and bunkers across the former Third Reich A top Polish cultural official has stirred already feverish excitement over claims that a legendary Nazi treasure train had been located when he told reporters he had seen ground-penetrating radar images of a massive armored transport “This is an absolutely unprecedented situation,” Deputy Culture Minister Piotr Zuchowski said at a news briefing on Friday in Warsaw “There is a very high — more than 99 percent — probability that this train exists.” The radar images showed the shape of a train platform and what appeared to be cannons mounted on the more than 300-foot stretch of military-type wagons He also disclosed that the two men who claimed last week to have located the train in an underground tunnel near the castle town of Walbrzych were tipped off to its location by a death-bed disclosure from someone who had been involved with the transport’s last journey in early 1945 local legend has held that the Nazis packed their looted gold gems and artworks into an armored train that left the city now known as Wroclaw and headed west via Walbrzych in a desperate effort to evacuate the valuables as Soviet troops advanced on the Germans’ eastern front Wroclaw was the German city of Breslau before World War II but was ceded to Poland after the Nazis’ defeat in May 1945 Neither the two men who claimed through a lawyer to have located the train nor the man who allegedly disclosed its whereabouts before his death The treasure hunters — a Pole and a German — provided the underground radar images of the train when their lawyer presented the local government in Walbrzych with an offer to lead officials to the missing transport in exchange for 10 percent of the value of its cargo once it has been secured “If it is confirmed that the train is carrying valuable items the finders can expect a 10 percent finder’s fee either in the form of a reward from the ministry or from the owners of the property,” Zuchowski was quoted by news agencies as saying during his news briefing He said any recovered valuables would be restored to original owners if they can be identified Historians estimate that at least 80,000 art objects were looted by the Nazis in Poland most from the homes of affluent Jews who were rounded up and sent to concentration camps after the Sept Police and security officials in Walbrzych have warned locals and the mounting crowds of treasure hunters flocking to the region that they should stay out of the honeycomb of tunnels dug by the Nazis during the war because they might be booby-trapped Before the tide of the war turned against the Germans after their 1943 defeat at Stalingrad the Nazis built a network of tunnels and bunkers through the Owl Mountains that range southwest of Wroclaw to Walbrzych on the Czech border Some of the passages built in what the Germans called Project Riese have been opened to the public as historical exhibits but most remain unexplored and inaccessible Polish military and public-safety specialists will be deployed to secure the approach to the train once its location is disclosed to the government The official estimate is that it will take several weeks to reach the train and discover its cargo “There is probably military equipment but also jewelry works of art and archive documents which we knew existed but never found,” Zuchowski said “We will be 100 percent sure only when we find the train.” Poland — If you are fascinated by World War II secrets The breathtaking site sits on a wooded hilltop in the city of Walbrzych The area drew worldwide attention recently when two explorers announced they had located a secret tunnel that they say hides a wartime armored train with a precious load The news revived a local legend of a train laden with gold and valuables that the Nazis reportedly hid from the Red Army in the mountains in 1945 The authorities are taking steps to verify the explorers’ claim but the former coal-mining center of Walbrzych (known as Waldenburg in its German era) and the castle are already the richer for the tourists and reporters whose numbers soared after news broke of the alleged find visitors will enjoy the beauty of the Owl Mountains in the Sudeten Range the area’s rich and dramatic history and a visit to the magnificent Ksiaz Castle The castle was seized by the Nazis in 1941 as a future residence for Hitler Many of the historic interiors were torn down The Nazis then began to build a bunker about 165 feet beneath the castle to protect Hitler from Allied bombs a labyrinth of tunnels and bunkers was built using forced labor from the nearby Gross-Rosen concentration camp but the complex was not completed by the war’s end and its true purpose remains a mystery 70 years after the war Some historians say the complex was to become Nazi command headquarters; others think the tunnels were to house an armaments factory or a nuclear-weapons laboratory The massive gray and pink castle links many architectural styles dating back to the 13th century and Slavic rule It passed into Austrian and then Prussian hands and was known as Schloss Furstenstein It was the private property of the aristocratic Hochberg family since the early 16th century until the Nazis seized it in order to punish the Hochbergs this Lower Silesia region became part of Poland was Wales-born Mary Theresa Olivia Cornwallis-West Bearing the title of the Princess of Pless a socialite and related by marriage to Winston Churchill Her brother George was the second husband of Churchill’s mother The princess died in 1943 and was buried in the Hochberg Mausoleum near the castle but her servants moved the body a number of times to protect the grave from plunder by Soviet troops Princess Daisy’s resting place remains unknown It’s another castle mystery with its own legend: Her spirit is said to come back for visits Visitors can stay on the grounds in Hotel Ksiaz or Hotel Przy Oslej Bramie Visit en.ksiaz.walbrzych.pl Poland's culture minister Piotr Zuchowski is "99% convinced" that a Nazi military ghost train is buried near the southwestern city of Walbrzych, the BBC reports Zuchowski referred to ground-penetrating radar images which show an armored train equipped with gun turrets Earlier this month, two men claimed they found a lost Second World War train carrying stolen loot which prompted military-history buffs and rail enthusiasts to hunt for the train Calling it an "exceptional find," Zuchowski said a deathbed confession from an unidentified man helped officials confirm the site the Nazis built several underground tunnels in the mountainous region of Walbrzych during the Second World War The 300-foot-long train is along a 13,000-foot track between the Polish towns of Wroclaw and Walbrzych the German train is believed to have vanished in 1945 with stolen gold Poland’s deputy culture minister says radar has discovered images of a train after dying man’s directions led officials to the potential site A deathbed confession may have revealed the location of a Nazi train rumoured to have been carrying gold, which has been missing in Poland since the second world war. Read morePoland’s deputy culture minister said ground-penetrating radar had found images of a buried train near Wałbrzych on a 4km stretch of railway near the Wrocław-Wałbrzych line Żuchowski said the fact that the train appeared to be armoured indicated that it might be carrying valuable cargo A deathbed confession from an unnamed man had led officials to the site Żuchowski said the dying man was involved in the operation to hide the train 70 years ago “I am more than 99% certain that this train exists,” he told a press conference on Friday which may contain up to 300 tonnes of gold has long been rumoured to have gone missing when the Nazis were fleeing Russia’s Red Army an armoured train packed with treasure from the then German city of Breslau (now Wrocław in Poland) was driven into a tunnel in a hillside near a medieval castle near Wałbrzych as the Red Army was approaching and the Allies were carrying out airstrikes in the final days of the war the Germans built a system of underground tunnels in the mountainous region of Wałbrzych and the city of Wrocław from where the train is believed to have departed but became part of Poland when the war ended Treasure hunters have been searching for the train since the end of the war as did the Polish army during the communist era told local authorities they had found an armoured train with valuables in a disused tunnel and demanded a finder’s fee of 10% Żuchowski told reporters on Friday the lawyers had been informed the train was over 100 metres long He said he was shown a blurred image from a ground-penetrating radar that showed the shape of a train platform and cannons “We will be 100% sure only when we find the train,” he said Wałbrzych regional authorities would conduct the search on a par with discovering the Titanic,” Jarosław Chmielewski the lawyer who has written to the parish council on the men’s behalf “It could also contain a large amount of methane gas.” Previously, talk of Nazi treasure in Wałbrzych led to speculation that the long-lost Czarist Amber Room, of which treasure hunters have reported sightings in plenty of other locations specifically in a tunnel leading to Wałbrzych castle Editors note: These are the Gold Train updates up to March 2016 the press conference denounced the claims of a Nazi Gold Train and said that the only way to find  out once and for all if the train was there The treasure hunter team that has been looking for the train for over 3 years claim they have found the tunnel that will lead them to the treasure train which was supposed to be hidden at the end of WWII by the Nazi’s The hunt was stopped in December after a press conference in which it was announced by experts that there was no evidence of a train. But now, according to the Daily Star an agreement was made with Poland’s railway company PKP allowing the dig to commence within days have been protesting to allow the search to continue According to the Daily Express there have been several angry protests at the spot with locals waving shovels in the face of police as they demand to be allowed  to dig at the location A preliminary scan of a collapsed rail siding in September of 2015 produced radar images described by Deputy Minister of Culture Piotr Zuchowski as providing “99 percent” certainty of the presence of a buried train The Polish government has since distanced itself from the remark, news.au.com reports Koper said that he and Richter had also worked out how to extract it from the ground He added: ‘We have spent much time examining the logistical problems and worked out a solution for getting the train out the Polish military moved in to check the site for explosives The search that was undertaken was non-invasive only meaning that no digging or drilling could take place there was an attempt  to establish the precise location of the gold train In mid-December during a press conference researchers presented their findings regarding the alleged gold train near the town of Walbrzych in Poland Professor Janusz Madej from Krakow’s Academy of Mining said There is no train especially an armoured one carrying precious metals.” Scientist Janusz Madej: ‘treasure hunters’ geomagnetic readings may have been disrupted by the presence of overhead power lines.’ the municipal office of Walbrzych announced that further research should be conducted to conclude the investigation Treasure hunters Piotr Koper of Poland and Andreas Richter announced in August 2015 they had discovered a 320-foot-long train buried eight to nine meters underground in a railway tunnel that was part of Nazi Germany’s Riese project (Riese meaning “giant” in German) Riese was the  code name for a construction project of Nazi Germany in 1943–45 consisting of seven underground structures located in the Owl Mountains and Książ Castle in Lower Silesia Inmates from Gross Rosen concentration camp were used during the construction of the tunnels the Gross-Rosen complex had up to 100 subcamps located in eastern Germany The population of all Gross-Rosen camps at that time accounted for 11% of the total number of inmates trapped in the Nazi concentration camp system A total of 125,000 inmates of various nationalities passed through the complex during its existence on death marches and in evacuation transports The purpose of the project remains uncertain because of lack of documentation Some sources suggest that all the structures were part of the Führer’s Headquarters; according to others it was a combination of HQ and arms industry but comparison to similar facilities can indicate that only the castle was adapted as an HQ and the other official residence and the tunnels in the Owl Mountains were planned as a network of underground factories It is estimated that only 10% of the tunnels have been explored since the end of the war Poland’s Deputy Culture Minister Piotr Zuchowski previously told reporters that he had been informed the buried train was more than 100 metres long and that he had seen an image from a ground-penetrating radar that appeared to show the outline of an armored train A Polish Military Museum says it has received an excellent quality ground radar image that shows the gold train in fine detail The claims from the finders of the ‘Nazi Gold Train’ is that it could contain the Amber Room as the Daily Mail reported The treasure hunters who found the Nazi gold train today claimed for the first time that the long-lost £250million Amber Room could be inside Piotr Koper and Andreas Richter discovered the train close to the small town of Walbrzych in south-west Poland after a German man revealed its location on his deathbed looted paintings and one noted author went as far to claim that it contained the Amber Room of the Russian Czars which was looted from a Russian palace by Nazi troops in 1941 The lawyer that represents the two men claiming to have found the train has backpedalled on claims it contains gold he told local television last night; it may contain ‘valuable minerals.’ According to the Daily Express – A Polish expert has warned that the fabled ‘gold train’ of Walbrzych could actually be loaded with Nazi chemical agents that were being transported to defend Berlin in a last-ditch stand against the advancing Red Army Stanislaw Popiel of the Military Technical Academy of Warsaw told Poland’s Gazeta Wroclawska newspaper that the nerve gas Tabun could be among the doomsday weapons aboard the buried freight cars “We will be 100 per cent sure only when we find the train,” Zuchowski later qualified to CBS news To our knowledge, the tunnel was discovered by the same two men who claimed to have found the ‘gold train,’ said the report. It said using a 1926 railway map; they found that the tunnel lies near to the former railway station in Walim, reports the Daily Mail Watch the drone footage of the area here We will have to wait and see if the dig really starts and what it will bring us Huge fan of war history and rural history and a motorbike rider facebook.com/jack.beckett.73 instagram.com/history_bloke_on_a_bike/ linkedin.com/in/jack-beckett-56a76520/ educational partnership with Cape Breton Regional MunicipalityCape Breton University political scientist driving force behind agreement — A post-industrial city in southwestern Poland similar in size to the Cape Breton Regional Municipality is now formally joined together in a cultural and educational partner cities agreement with the CBRM Walbrzych has a population of about 120,000 and has a history of coal mining A partner cities agreement signing ceremony was hosted by Whitney Pier Memorial Middle School in Sydney on Friday First Nations and school students and staff spoke with their counterparts in Walbrzych in an hour-long video conference via Skype CBU political scientist Tom Urbaniak was a driving force behind the formalizing of relations between the two communities “The long-standing presence of the Polish community in Cape Breton ensures there’s a very strong bridge already to the city of Walbrzych so this relationship is off to an excellent start,” he said following the ceremony “It will be much more than symbolic and it will be much more than government to government it will really live as a relationship that is school to school peaked around the turn of the 20th century to work in the steel plant and coal mines often called a twin city or sister city agreement brings together an air of familiarity among government “It’s not a cold call anymore,” said Urbaniak The more tangible aspects of the relationship will come in late spring when a workshop is held at Cape Breton University with officials from Walbrzych arts and academic communities will be invited along with municipal politicians to speak on best practices shared from both sides of the Atlantic Parks Canada has shown particular interest in the partnership as ongoing archeological digs at the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site are similar in nature to the ongoing restoration of Walbrzych’s Ksiaz Castle historic site a medieval stronghold dating back to the 1200s Urbaniak said tourism officials in Poland are also interested in “cutting edge” best practices for attracting international visitors to the region surrounding Walbrzych located about 30 kilometres from the border with the Czech Republic Walbrzych’s history dates back to the Middle Ages when its few inhabitants were known as hunters and farmers relatively untouched during the Second World War merged nearby towns into one administrative district a decision was made to close down the city’s coal mines A museum of industry and technology was established at the facility of the oldest coal mine in the area similar to the Cape Breton Miners’ Museum in Glace Bay remarked during the ceremony his “envy” of Cape Breton’s world-renowned Men of the Deeps choral group Speaking of the students in their respective rooms during the ceremony Walbrzych Mayor Roman Szelemej said he encouraged cultural and educational exchanges among schools “Hopefully they will continue our partnership for years to come,” Szelemej said The CBRM also has a signed 2015 sister city relationship with Dalian a port city of six million people in China’s Liaoning Province The arrangement was to open doors to commercial CBRM Mayor Cecil Clarke said the idea of partner cities is an important one “There was thought put into what would be the best twinning (of communities) This wasn’t just (about) let’s sign a document It was about how do we have a meaningful relationship with another community that we can build on going forward,” he said Clarke noted the economic and social relationship with Dalian is still growing three years after signing its agreement with the Chinese port city “Where are we at as (CBU) look at student recruitment we see China as a growth market,” the mayor said the province’s focus has been on southern China in terms of the premier’s trade efforts so this is a niche we will continue to build on and it’s part of the marketing efforts that are ongoing by the port developers.” The CBRM was also twinned in 2017 with Givenchy-en-Gohelle the overseas home of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial The proclamation by both municipalities came prior to the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge