The oldest bobsleigh and toboggan run in the world is 1332 meters long, and top speeds of up to 120 kilometers per hour can be reached on it. When and whether bobsleighs, luge and skeletons can race down the traditional artificial ice rink at Königssee is still in the stars. Rain masses and mudslides massively damaged large parts of the facility in July. Boulders and rubble from the nearby green stone hit the ice rink badly. Bavarian luge athletes and politicians are dismayed by the dramatic events.
The chairman of the bobsleigh and sledge association (BSD), Thomas Schwab, estimates the amount of damage in the double-digit million range. He cannot yet name a specific amount. The main supply line and the valve stations attached to it are particularly affected. In addition, according to Schwab, there are “undermining foundations that cannot be assessed”. District Administrator Bernhard Kern (CSU) says that the power supply and two rail segments would have to be completely renewed. In addition, four fifths of the railway shell would have to be renovated.
According to the BSD chairman, the main reason for the serious damage is a bridge over the Klingerbach near the bobsleigh run. It had become clogged during the storm. “The debris has accumulated up to the top,” says Schwab. That is why the Klingerbach has made its way to the right through the bobsleigh run. The condition of the railway was initially of secondary importance for Schwab and the other responsible parties. Priority was given to helping injured residents whose homes and private property were in danger. Masses of mud and debris would have laid halfway around the adjacent houses. “We didn’t care whether the track should be cleared a week earlier or later,” says Schwab. But what will happen in the future with the “mother of all bobsleigh runs” and is it even worth rebuilding? And more importantly, can something like this happen again?
Georg Hackl has won numerous titles on the track.
(Photo: Frank Leonhardt / dpa)
Peter Ramsauer (CSU), ex-Federal Minister of Transport and local direct candidate for the Bundestag, calls for rapid reconstruction. The artificial ice rink is of considerable importance for the Berchtesgadener Land, especially with regard to tourism and popular sports, says Ramsauer. In addition, it is of central importance for other institutions, such as the cadre forge for top German athletes or the sports promotion of the Bundeswehr. “This consequently results in a significant national sports policy dimension for the entire railway,” he says. The member of the Bundestag inspected the railway shortly after the disaster and, together with party friends, promised supraregional help. “There will be both federal and state aid,” says Ramsauer. However, he does not yet know exactly how the financial support should look like. “How we distribute the repair costs between the federal government and the state remains to be clarified,” says Ramsauer.
The Greens in Berchtesgadener Land, on the other hand, do not yet want to speak out for or against rebuilding the artificial ice rink. “There is no information at the district level about how high the damage is, what should be done or who should finance it,” says their spokesman, Bernhard Zimmer. That is why it is not possible at this point in time to take a concrete position on the subject. “We only know that something is broken and something has to be done. However, it makes no sense to guess in the dark,” says Zimmer. Under no circumstances should the municipalities be left with the costs. According to the Greens spokesman, the accident must be dealt with thoroughly. “That happened at a point where nothing should have happened,” says Zimmer. He is referring to a geological report that classified the slope behind the ice rink as safe. “Therefore it has to be asked whether you can do it again in the same place”. It takes “thoroughness and patience” to make a decision. “Unfortunately, many are very impatient in the election campaign,” says Zimmer.
The Bund Naturschutz (BN) criticized in 2009 that the starting point of the toboggan run was moved further up. “The area is shown in the geological maps as a high-risk area,” says the local BN boss Rita Poser. The conservationist considers it questionable that the reconstruction should now be pushed ahead with a “huge effort”. Therefore, in their opinion, one should carefully examine whether the restoration of the bobsleigh run really makes sense. “Unfortunately, you have to expect something similar to happen over and over again,” says Poser. Especially since there are many other problems. “Politics is now hanging very far out of the window, especially in the person of Ramsauer,” says Poser. “You should now let the experts go first.” It should not be decided politically, but on the basis of geology.
According to him, Ramsauer also wants to rely on the expertise of geologists and engineers. The current status from his point of view: The upper part of the track, the previous men’s start, is to be abandoned in favor of the slope and stream bed construction. “In this way, the railway as such and the residents of the railway can be reliably and reliably protected from further mudslides and the like in the future,” emphasizes Ramsauer.
This is also how BSD chairman Schwab sees it. “The endangered area of the bobsleigh run will disappear completely,” he says. For this purpose, 150 meters of the route are to be completely replaced. There have already been several requests for donations for the restoration of the bobsleigh run. Schwab always refers to injured residents who could benefit much more from this. “The ice rink costs several million – what do 80,000 euros in donations bring?” He asks. For the residents, however, a “substantial sum” has already been received.
A point in time for the reconstruction of the traditional bobsled run has not yet been set. Schwab hopes that this can be started this year. A prolonged closure of the track would be “fatal” from a sporting point of view, says the head of the association. The Greens in the Berchtesgadener Land, on the other hand, remain skeptical: “It is tax money that is being spent there,” says their spokesman, “it has to be done properly.”