The risk underground: crater in Teisendorf broken - not the first incident

Created: 05/03/2022 09:34

By: Katrin Woitsch

A five-meter-wide crater suddenly opened up in the ground right next to a residential building on Friday.

The residents initially noticed "suspicious earth movements", the district office said.

© Volunteer fire brigade/fire brigade Neukirchen am Teisenberg/dpa

In Teisendorf in Berchtesgaden, a crater opened up near a residential building over the weekend.

The damage amounts to around 50,000 euros.

Teisendorf – The red and white barrier tape flutters in the wind on Monday morning.

There are signs next to it.

Access is prohibited.

The residential building in Teisendorf in Berchtesgadener Land was largely cordoned off on Monday morning.

Only geologists and emergency services are allowed on the property where a large crater opened up over the weekend (we reported).

The mayor of Teisendorf, Thomas Gasser, is also there to see for himself.

“It is not yet clear whether the house can be secured,” he says.

But nobody should be afraid.

The earth seems to have come to rest, as confirmed by the government of Upper Bavaria.

The hole in the ground opened on Friday and grew larger over the weekend.

The family's VW Golf, which was parked right next to it, crashed into the crater on Saturday.

So far, the government estimates the damage at around 50,000 euros.

The family of five had to move to a hotel.

The emergency services have extended the barrier around the house as a precaution.

The steep terrain is considered to be traversed by tunnels.

There has been no mining in the so-called Matthäuszeche mine field since 1925, and the mine was shut down.

At that time, the building site was cheap, says a local resident.

Teisendorf: crater broken near residential building - "People here can handle it",

"Not all underground tunnels have been measured," reports Mayor Gasser.

The experts walked the tunnels on Monday.

Geologists are busy investigating.

There is still little knowledge from the underground.

Above all, Gasser is happy that nobody was injured.

The residents need not fear any further craters, he assures.

"We know the maps of the former mining very well." The affected family was aware that there was subsidence in the subsoil.

"People here can deal with it," the mayor is certain.

Teisendorf mining region: underground tunnel system keeps growing

In the region, the mining past is hidden deep underground - but very present.

Not just since she became visible again in Teisendorf.

"The Romans were probably already digging for ore here," says Roland Klosa, director of the Achthal Museum.

The beginnings of the so-called iron stone mine Matthäus go back to the year 1537.

Prince Archbishop Matthäus Lang gave the Achhal trade union the necessary certificate of award for the construction of a mine.

Over the centuries, the underground tunnel system has continued to grow.

The transport tunnel from the 19th century alone, from which many others lead, is two kilometers long.

It is currently being renovated, reports Klosa.

"The plans for the underground tunnel system are very old." No one knows for sure whether they are complete.

In some places in and around Teisendorf there are signs saying "Caution, mining!

Do Not Enter".

If you look very closely, you can see wavy bumps there.

"Many local residents probably don't know anything about their houses being built over the former shafts or tunnels," Klosa believes.

Crater in Teisendorf: Not the first incident of this kind - in 1942 "a complete house disappeared"

The last time there was a crater like this in Teisendorf was in 1942, Klosa says.

He himself did not live in the village at the time, but knows the stories of the oldest villagers.

"Back then, an entire house disappeared in a collapsed shaft," he says.

"At first only part of the subsoil slipped away - but it quickly became clear that the house could no longer be saved."

The South Mining Authority and Immobilien Bayern are currently busy finding security solutions.

But many questions are still open.

For example, when the family can go back into the house.

And will she get any compensation?

The mayor says: "Ultimately, it must be clarified what the cause was."

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