In January 1981 a modern myth circulated, dealing with a "white woman" (weisse Frau) of the Bölchentunnel. Shaped as an old white-clothed hitchhiking woman, a ghost (though not initially recognized as such) appears out of nowhere in front of the drivers and sometimes even speaks to them.
The first known Belchen ghost was actually male. The first written reports of the phenomenon, dated June 1980, involve a male hitchhiker who was picked up but eventually vanished from the vehicle, despite the driver's high speed.
Towards the end of 1980, the "white woman" began appearing in or near the tunnel. On January 6, 1981, the tabloid Blick wrote about the sightings, followed by other media also adopting the story. Basel Police received many phone calls, dozens of which had to be logged.
The Bölchengespenst, or "Bölchen ghost", became a popular subject for 1981's Shrove Tuesday carnival. Even the musicians of the Oberbaselbieter Ländlerkapelle discussed the legend. Reports of the ghost then dwindled, until the 1983 edition of the book Baselbieter Sagen reported further sightings of the white woman. Two female jurists picked up an inconspicuously dressed, clumsy, pale, middle-aged woman in Eptingen. When they later asked her if she was feeling better, she answered:
No, unfortunately not. I am not well at all. Something really awful is going to happen, something very dreadful![2]
When they looked at the back seat, the woman had disappeared.
Other variations
Such visitations don't only happen inside or around tunnels. A re-edited edition of the Baselbieter Sagen mentions similar cases at other Basel places: "the Heidegg castle's lady," "the maiden on the goat," and "the grey woman in Zunzgen." In Läufelfingen, the woman wears a green loden coat. In the Canton of Bern, a girl in a short leather jacket appears. In the area of Basel, as with the case in Tenniken, a man wearing black is seen. The man prophesizes an earthquake and a hard winter before disappearing. The mysterious hitchhikers can even disappear if the car has only front doors and no back doors.
A 1981 article in the magazine Schweizer Volkskunde describes analogous visitations. According to it, such "modern ghosts of the road" were seen in other Swiss Cantons and tunnels, such as the Luzernerland area and in Toggenburg.
^Swiss-German: Nei, leider nid. Es goht gar nid guet. Es passiert öppis Schrecklichs, öppis ganz Furchtbars!
External links
Volksstimme, 25 January 2001 (in German)
January 05, 2023
belchen, tunnel, motorway, tunnel, switzerland, forms, part, motorway, from, basel, chiasso, links, eptingen, canton, basel, country, with, hägendorf, canton, solothurn, tunnel, opened, 1966, metres, long, north, portal, motorway, heading, south, 2014, overvie. The Belchen Tunnel is a motorway tunnel in Switzerland and forms part of the A2 motorway from Basel to Chiasso It links Eptingen in the canton of Basel Country with Hagendorf in the Canton of Solothurn The tunnel was opened in 1966 and is 3 180 metres 10 430 ft long 1 Belchen TunnelNorth portal on A2 motorway heading south 2014 OverviewLocationBasel Country Solothurn SwitzerlandCoordinates47 22 2 N 7 49 28 E 47 36722 N 7 82444 E 47 36722 7 82444 Coordinates 47 22 2 N 7 49 28 E 47 36722 N 7 82444 E 47 36722 7 82444StatusActiveRouteA2 motorwayOperationOpened1966CharacterroadTechnicalLength3 180 metres 10 430 ft Contents 1 The white woman 1 1 Other variations 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksThe white woman EditThis section has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed September 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message This section may lend undue weight to certain ideas incidents or controversies Please help to create a more balanced presentation Discuss and resolve this issue before removing this message August 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message In January 1981 a modern myth circulated dealing with a white woman weisse Frau of the Bolchentunnel Shaped as an old white clothed hitchhiking woman a ghost though not initially recognized as such appears out of nowhere in front of the drivers and sometimes even speaks to them The first known Belchen ghost was actually male The first written reports of the phenomenon dated June 1980 involve a male hitchhiker who was picked up but eventually vanished from the vehicle despite the driver s high speed Towards the end of 1980 the white woman began appearing in or near the tunnel On January 6 1981 the tabloid Blick wrote about the sightings followed by other media also adopting the story Basel Police received many phone calls dozens of which had to be logged The Bolchengespenst or Bolchen ghost became a popular subject for 1981 s Shrove Tuesday carnival Even the musicians of the Oberbaselbieter Landlerkapelle discussed the legend Reports of the ghost then dwindled until the 1983 edition of the book Baselbieter Sagen reported further sightings of the white woman Two female jurists picked up an inconspicuously dressed clumsy pale middle aged woman in Eptingen When they later asked her if she was feeling better she answered No unfortunately not I am not well at all Something really awful is going to happen something very dreadful 2 When they looked at the back seat the woman had disappeared Other variations Edit Such visitations don t only happen inside or around tunnels A re edited edition of the Baselbieter Sagen mentions similar cases at other Basel places the Heidegg castle s lady the maiden on the goat and the grey woman in Zunzgen In Laufelfingen the woman wears a green loden coat In the Canton of Bern a girl in a short leather jacket appears In the area of Basel as with the case in Tenniken a man wearing black is seen The man prophesizes an earthquake and a hard winter before disappearing The mysterious hitchhikers can even disappear if the car has only front doors and no back doors A 1981 article in the magazine Schweizer Volkskunde describes analogous visitations According to it such modern ghosts of the road were seen in other Swiss Cantons and tunnels such as the Luzernerland area and in Toggenburg See also EditHaunted road Vanishing hitchhiker Urban legendReferences Edit Belchen Tunnel structurae net Retrieved 2014 07 18 Swiss German Nei leider nid Es goht gar nid guet Es passiert oppis Schrecklichs oppis ganz Furchtbars External links Edit Plotzlich war die Frau weg fort einfach nicht mehr da Volksstimme 25 January 2001 in German Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Belchen Tunnel amp oldid 1115915018, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
