A treasure hunt duo that made international headlines with its search for a fabled gold-filled underground Nazi train has split up. Why one of the amateur historians has given up.
Image: fhq-riese
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The two amateur historians had boundless faith that they would one day find the legendary "treasure train" they believed to have been hidden by Nazi troops in a mountain tunnel as the Germans fled the area between Wroclaw and Walbrzych in southwestern Poland at the end of World War II.
Two years after grabbing the attention of the international media with their spectacularly ambitious hunt, Andreas Richter ended the joint search with Piotr Koper.
'95 percent sure it exists'
It's over, Richter told the DPA press agency, saying that while he hadn't lost belief in the train's existence — "I am 95 percent sure it exists" — he was frustrated by "inaccuracies" in the excavation procedure. The initial excavation didn't go deep enough, he said, adding that a second attempt never materialized because his partner kept on postponing. At some point, Richter became fed up.
There was huge interest in the gold train story — and a daily on-site press conference Image: DW/N. Wojcik
"I don't want to do anything foolish anymore," the German genealogist said, adding that the venture had already cost him €80,000 ($93,400). He conceded, however, that despite his frustration, he "had a good time and learned a lot, too."
Unfazed, his former partner Koper said he plans to continue the search on his own, beginning "this winter." He is confident he will have the funds and permit he needs by then. Winter is a good time, he says: "No nesting birds, no flowering shrubs, it's the best time to search for the train."
Piotr Koper says he hasn't given up searching for the trainImage: picture-alliance/dpa/E.Krafczyk
Historians and excavation experts have always said there is no such train buried beneath Polish soil but the hobby archaeologists went ahead with their project regardless, sinking tens of thousands of euros into the underground treasure hunt. Their first excavation attempts failed, but they vowed to continue — until Richter dropped out this week.
Both Richter and Koper said the treasure hunt and media limelight hasn't earned them a penny — unlike the town of Walbrzych which cashed in on the many tourists lured by the ongoing gold fever.
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Seven legendary treasures
People have always been fascinated by legendary treasures, and they have often become the source material for books and films like "Treasure Island" and "Indiana Jones." DW takes a look at seven well-known treasures.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Walton
Sunken city
First, we're off to Atlantis, antiquity's most sumptuous and magnificent city. If only it hadn't sunk to the bottom of the sea some 11,000 years ago. Or so they say. For centuries, researchers and hobby divers have been searching for evidence of that grandiose place under the waves. After all, its existence wasn't just invented by some drunk sailor, but claimed by Greek philosopher Plato himself.
Image: picture-alliance/KPA Honorar & Belege
Lost in the fog of war
Next stop is Catherine Palace near St. Petersburg, where one look at the reproduction of the Amber Room shows why many considered it to be the 8th Wonder of the World. During World War II, the original was packed into 28 boxes by the occupying German army and shipped to Königsberg Castle, only to go missing. Only a few sections resurfaced, while the rest was lost in the chaos of the war.
Image: picture alliance/akg
Sacred treasure
On to South America, and the Treasure of Lima. In 1820, with resistance against Spanish colonial rule growing, Peru's governor and the Church hurried to rescue their riches. That included a gold statue of the Virgin Mary, decorated with 1,700 jewels. It's said to be hidden on Cocos Island - a legend that Robert Louis Stevenson turned into his novel "Treasure Island," later a film by Orson Welles.
Image: picture-alliance/United Archives/IFTN
Immeasurable value
God Himself is said to have ordered the Israelites to craft the Ark of the Covenant out of acacia wood some 3,000 years ago. It was used to transport the stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments. Experts think the ark disappeared around 2,600 years ago, and that it could be lying beneath Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In archaeological terms, its very existence has yet to be proven.
Image: DW/Maksim Nelioubin
River riches
Back to Germany now, where hidden treasures are waiting to be discovered on the bottom of the Rhine River near the city of Worms - at least according to the epic 13th century poem, the Nibelungenlied (Song of the Nibelungs). Hagen von Tronje is said to have dumped 12 trucks full of jewels and gold into the river. Countless divers have searched for the legendary treasure - so far, without success.
People have been searching for the Holy Grail - the chalice Jesus is said to have used during the Last Supper - since the legendary time of King Arthur in the 12th century. When Christ was crucified, it's said one of his disciples caught some of his blood in the cup. Among those who searched for the grail were Harrison Ford and Sean Connery in the 1989 film "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."
Image: picture alliance/United Archives/IFTN
Happiness at rainbow's end
This last legend tells of a man convinced there must be a treasure at the end of the rainbow. After a long, exhausting search, he becomes so unhappy that he gives up - only to find himself at the end of the rainbow. Only then does he understand that the treasure he was searching for was within him all along: happiness. And maybe that's something all those adventurers the world over have in common.