Mitholz or Blausee-Mitholz is a village in Kandergrund municipality in the canton of Bern in Switzerland, with 170 inhabitants as of 2020.[1][2] Blausee-Mitholz [it] is a station on the Lötschberg railway line. A munitions storage explosion in 1947 destroyed the village and killed nine people. A safety study commissioned in 2018 found that the site still contained munitions and was unsafe, and in 2020 the government announced that the village must be temporarily abandoned in 2030 for a clean-up that is projected to last 10 years.
House in Mitholz with inscription referring to the 1947 explosion and fireScar left on the mountain by 1947 explosion
Mitholz was one of six populated places in the Kander Valley to make up the municipality of Kandergrund at its formation in 1850. After the development of the Lötschberg railway, the municipality was split in 1908 with effect in 1909; Kandersteg became a separate, larger municipality, and Mitholz is now one of three centres of population in Kandergrund.[3] It had the first school in the valley, opened in 1740, and had a post office until 1998.[4]
The steep topography of the Kander Valley has caused a series of natural disasters to affect the village. In August 1945, a landslide and ensuing flooding killed two people; in winter 1998–99, an avalanche caused damage; in 1987 and 2011, the village was flooded. The village was also one of the worst affected settlements in the region in Cyclone Lothar in December 1999.[4]
1947 munitions explosionedit
Destruction in December 1947: houses, post office and village shop
More than 7,000 tonnes of munitions, including aerial bombs, artillery rounds, land mines and hand grenades, were stored by the Swiss Armed Forces in a depot inside a mountain overlooking Mitholz. The depot, one of the largest in a system of underground weapons stores built during World War II as an expansion of the National Redoubt, consisted of 6 chambers 150 metres (490 ft) in length. Shortly before midnight on 19 December 1947, an explosion of unknown cause blew off part of the side of the mountain, the largest non-nuclear explosion up to that date. 40 buildings in the village, including the station and the school, were destroyed by flying rocks and fire from exploding ordnance; 9 people were killed, four of them children, and 20 injured.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Approximately 20 houses were rebuilt in traditional style by craftsmen from the neighbouring Frutig Valley; many have inscriptions commemorating the disaster.[4] The munitions storage was partly rebuilt and was later used to store pharmaceuticals;[1] in 2010 it was proposed as the site of a data centre.[6]
In 2018, the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport announced that approximately half the munitions had not exploded, but remained inside the collapsed depot and under unstable rock, and a commissioned safety study found that there was a risk of another explosion.[4] In February 2020, a further announcement was made that the village must be evacuated by 2030 in order for the Armed Forces to either remove or safely bury the remaining munitions, which is estimated to require ten years. Residents are to be compensated and offered housing to which to relocate.[1][2][8][9][10][11][12]
Aerial photograph of Mitholz, c. 1930, before construction of the munitions facility
Elevated photograph January 1948
Blausee-Mitholz station
Wreckage of the station, 1947
Swiss Armed Forces medical storage in former munitions dump, 2018
mitholz, blausee, village, kandergrund, municipality, canton, bern, switzerland, with, inhabitants, 2020, blausee, station, lötschberg, railway, line, munitions, storage, explosion, 1947, destroyed, village, killed, nine, people, safety, study, commissioned, 2. Mitholz or Blausee Mitholz is a village in Kandergrund municipality in the canton of Bern in Switzerland with 170 inhabitants as of 2020 1 2 Blausee Mitholz it is a station on the Lotschberg railway line A munitions storage explosion in 1947 destroyed the village and killed nine people A safety study commissioned in 2018 found that the site still contained munitions and was unsafe and in 2020 the government announced that the village must be temporarily abandoned in 2030 for a clean up that is projected to last 10 years House in Mitholz with inscription referring to the 1947 explosion and fire Scar left on the mountain by 1947 explosion Contents 1 History 1 1 1947 munitions explosion 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksHistory editMitholz was one of six populated places in the Kander Valley to make up the municipality of Kandergrund at its formation in 1850 After the development of the Lotschberg railway the municipality was split in 1908 with effect in 1909 Kandersteg became a separate larger municipality and Mitholz is now one of three centres of population in Kandergrund 3 It had the first school in the valley opened in 1740 and had a post office until 1998 4 The steep topography of the Kander Valley has caused a series of natural disasters to affect the village In August 1945 a landslide and ensuing flooding killed two people in winter 1998 99 an avalanche caused damage in 1987 and 2011 the village was flooded The village was also one of the worst affected settlements in the region in Cyclone Lothar in December 1999 4 1947 munitions explosion edit nbsp Destruction in December 1947 houses post office and village shop More than 7 000 tonnes of munitions including aerial bombs artillery rounds land mines and hand grenades were stored by the Swiss Armed Forces in a depot inside a mountain overlooking Mitholz The depot one of the largest in a system of underground weapons stores built during World War II as an expansion of the National Redoubt consisted of 6 chambers 150 metres 490 ft in length Shortly before midnight on 19 December 1947 an explosion of unknown cause blew off part of the side of the mountain the largest non nuclear explosion up to that date 40 buildings in the village including the station and the school were destroyed by flying rocks and fire from exploding ordnance 9 people were killed four of them children and 20 injured 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Approximately 20 houses were rebuilt in traditional style by craftsmen from the neighbouring Frutig Valley many have inscriptions commemorating the disaster 4 The munitions storage was partly rebuilt and was later used to store pharmaceuticals 1 in 2010 it was proposed as the site of a data centre 6 In 2018 the Federal Department of Defence Civil Protection and Sport announced that approximately half the munitions had not exploded but remained inside the collapsed depot and under unstable rock and a commissioned safety study found that there was a risk of another explosion 4 In February 2020 a further announcement was made that the village must be evacuated by 2030 in order for the Armed Forces to either remove or safely bury the remaining munitions which is estimated to require ten years Residents are to be compensated and offered housing to which to relocate 1 2 8 9 10 11 12 nbsp Aerial photograph of Mitholz c 1930 before construction of the munitions facility nbsp Elevated photograph January 1948 nbsp Blausee Mitholz station nbsp Wreckage of the station 1947 nbsp Swiss Armed Forces medical storage in former munitions dump 2018See also editBlausee the nearby lake List of accidents and incidents involving transport or storage of ammunitionReferences edit a b c David Williams An entire Swiss village must evacuate due to a World War II ammo dump The cleanup could take 10 years CNN 28 February 2020 a b Mitholz Life in the shadow of an Alpine ticking time bomb Swissinfo 30 October 2020 Zahlen und Fakten Gemeinde Kandergrund retrieved 1 August 2021 in German a b c d e Geschichte Gemeinde Kandergrund retrieved 1 August 2021 in German When the night exploded 70 years ago Swissinfo 19 December 2017 a b Mitholz Switzerland 20 Dec 1947 Munitions Safety Information Analysis Center NATO retrieved 1 August 2021 Explosion in Munitionslager bei Mitholz 1947 4 July 1997 SRF Archiv You Tube video 3 mins 54 secs in German a b Mitholz A village on top of a powder keg Deutsche Welle 7 January 2021 video 5 mins 16 secs a b John Miller Swiss villagers face 10 year evacuation in 1 billion bomb removal plan Reuters 7 December 2020 a b Imogen Foulkes Mitholz the tranquil Swiss village facing a time bomb BBC News 31 July 2021 Sommer Brokaw Project to clear WWII era bombs in Swiss town could take 20 years UPI 27 February 2020 Swiss to evacuate village threatened by vast WWII ammo dump AP 7 December 2020 External links edit nbsp Media related to Blausee Mitholz at Wikimedia Commons nbsp Media related to Blausee Mitholz ammunition depot explosion at Wikimedia Commons 46 31 38 N 7 40 29 E 46 5273 N 7 6746 E 46 5273 7 6746 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mitholz amp oldid 1211994953, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
