The heavy rains trigger millions of euros in damage to the bobsleigh and toboggan run at Königssee.
Berchtesgaden – The bobsleigh and sledge run on the Königssee in Bavaria is one of the most traditional routes. It was opened in 1960 and still hosts major international races in bobsleigh and sledging. Due to the severe storms in Bavaria, the railway has now been almost completely destroyed. Thomas Schwab, General Secretary of the Bobsleigh and Sled Association for Germany (BSD), told the dpa news agency that the damage ran into the millions.
“Rail operations this winter are out of the question. We hope that we can get the track back by October 2022, ”said Schwab. Access to the bobsleigh and toboggan run on the Königssee is difficult due to the rubble and mud, and heavy equipment is required for the clean-up work. During the storms in and around Berchtesgaden, the world’s oldest artificial ice rink was almost completely destroyed, and some parts were torn away by the masses of water. Fortunately, the ammonia pipes used to cool the bobsleigh and toboggan run at Königssee in Bavaria were not damaged. “There was no pressure on the line, the cooling is switched off,” said Schwab.
Bobsleigh and toboggan run on the Königssee destroyed – “It hurts infinitely!”
The multiple luge world champion and Olympic champion Felix Loch reported on the social networks: “It hurts infinitely!”, He wrote and posted a photo of the badly demolished racetrack. His heart was broken, added the Berchtesgadener and expressed the hope that no one was injured – and expressed concern that the bobsleigh and toboggan run on the Königssee might no longer be able to be built.
“One can only hope that the railway will be rebuilt. The railway has been there for a long time, and there have always been conflicts, also with regard to sustainability. The train costs a lot of money and there has always been a headwind against the train and many different interests, ”said Loch on Monday (07/19/2021). Loch does not believe that operations could be resumed as early as October 2022: “I fear that it will take longer. I think we’re talking about three or four years before something works again, ”said the 31-year-old.
Destroyed bobsleigh and toboggan run at Königssee: athletes: inside react in dismay
Felix Loch is not the only one who expressed his dismay at the destroyed bobsleigh and toboggan run on the Königssee. The former toboggan runner and bobsleigh rider Susi Erdmann also wrote on Facebook with a crying smiley: “Unbelievable … My former home track at Königssee is simply washed away.”
The pictures show how rubble and water masses tore part of the covered World Cup and World Cup track with them and destroyed them. An amateur video recorded during the night also shows how water flows down the track and heavily floods parts of the system. (msb with dpa)
