The so-called Nazi gold train and Wałbrzych gold train concerns a local legend of a Nazi-era train buried in a tunnel in Lower Silesia between Breslau and Waldenburg in May 1945 during the last days of World War II. The area is now part of southwest Poland but was then part of Nazi Germany. Many searches for the train have been conducted since World War II, with no evidence of a train being found. According to historians, it has never been proven that the train existed. A search from 2015 to 2018 received global media interest, culminating in a dig involving the Polish military, local and state officials, and privately funded individuals, but it turned up only a cavity filled by a natural ice formation. No evidence of World War II trains, tracks or tunnels was found in the area.
Legend
According to local legend, the armoured train left Breslau laden with gold and other treasures. It was driven into a system of tunnels under the Owl Mountains that were part of an unfinished Nazi secret Project Riese near Wałbrzych. There it was supposedly buried in a warren of tunnels and mines created by the Nazis. The train is rumoured to hold up to 300 tonnes of gold, jewels, weapons, and masterpieces. According to historians, it has never been proven that the train ever existed.
In late August 2015, news stories began circulating about two unidentified men who had obtained a death-bed confession about a buried gold train. The two were later identified as Piotr Koper of Poland and Andreas Richter of Germany, co-owners of the mine exploration company XYZ S.C. Using lawyers as an intermediary, the two men opened secret negotiations with the Polish government for a "finders' fee" of 10% of the value of the train in return for information leading to its location. They would reveal the exact location once the documents were signed. Koper and Richter would later claim information about their discovery was leaked by the government, resulting in a worldwide media circus. On 28 August, Polish Deputy Culture Minister Piotr Żuchowski announced that ground-penetrating radar images taken by Koper and Richter confirmed with 99% probability that a train of 100 metres in length had been found. However, on August 31, Tomasz Smolarz, Governor of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, told reporters that "There is no more proof for this alleged discovery than for other claims made over the years," saying, "It's impossible to claim that such a find actually exists at the location indicated based on the documents that have been submitted." On 4 September, Koper and Richter went public for the first time, breaking their previous anonymity. They announced that the precise location of the train had been given to Polish authorities. They also released images they had taken with a KS-700Ground Penetrating Radar system that appeared to show a 50-metre-deep man-made shaft with something in it. Koper and Richter believed the train was buried next to a stretch of track on Polish State Railways' Wrocław–Wałbrzych line at kilometre 65. Polish authorities sectioned off woodland in the area of kilometer 65, as well as deploying police and other guards in order to prevent access to the numerous treasure hunters who had arrived armed with detection equipment. In late September, the Polish military, acting at the request of the regional governor, began to clear the surface of trees and search for booby traps and mines. The military confirmed on October 4 that no explosives or other dangers existed, down to a metre's depth. In mid-November, two different teams were cleared by city authorities in Wałbrzych to make a non-invasive assessment of the site. The first team was Koper and Richter. The second team were mining specialists from the Kraków Mining Academy headed by Janusz Madej. On 15 December, the second team announced that a survey had found no evidence of a train, though possible evidence of a collapsed tunnel. Koper and Richter stood by their claim of a train to which Madej responded "It's human to make a mistake, but it's foolish to stand by it." In May 2016, despite outside expert opinion that no train existed, Koper and Richter secured permission to begin digging at the site from the owners of the property, Polish State Railways. The excavation commenced on 15 August 2016 with a team of 64 people, including engineers, geologists, chemists, archaeologists and a specialist in military demolitions. The excavation reportedly cost 116,000 euros or $131,000 and was financed by private sponsors, and with the help of volunteers. The dig was halted after seven days when no tracks, tunnel or train were found. The radar images thought to have been the train were revealed to be natural ice formations. An official from the town admitted tourism was up 44% for the year and said "the publicity the town has gotten in the global media is worth roughly around $200 million. Our annual budget for promotion is $380,000, so think about that. Whether the explorers find anything or not, that the gold train has already arrived." The town mayor was considering naming a roundabout after Koper and Richter. The search would continue, according to Koper and Richter, in other nearby locations. At the beginning of December 2016, Koper and Richter declared their intention to create a foundation for the purpose of raising money to drill down to 20 meters in 2017. During the third search in June 2017, with the assistance of a geophysical company from Warsaw, the excavation team encountered seven cavities, which were suspected to be a railway tunnel. The find made deep drilling necessary, which, according to the contractors, would cost at least 100,000 zlotys for the permits and the actual excavation. The dig was scheduled for the spring or summer of 2018, when sponsors would be found. In August 2018, Richter left the excavation team. Koper announced he would continue the search.
Replica
In 2016, a group of enthusiasts began construction of a full-size replica of a Nazi armored train in an old paper mill located about 15 km from the site of the Koper and Richter embankment dig. It is designed to become a tourist attraction.
