Lake Toplitz
| Lake Toplitz | |
|---|---|
| Location | Salzkammergut |
| Coordinates | 47°38′30″N 13°55′40″E / 47.64167°N 13.92778°E |
| Primary outflows | Toplitz |
| Basin countries | Austria |
| Max. length | 2 km |
| Max. width | 400 m |
| Max. depth | 103 m |
| Surface elevation | 718 m |
Lake Toplitz (German: Toplitzsee) is a lake situated in a dense mountain forest high up in the Austrian Alps, 98 km (60 miles) from Salzburg in western Austria. It is surrounded by cliffs and forests in the Salzkammergut lake district, within the Totes Gebirge (dead mountains). The Toplitzsee water contains no oxygen after a depth of 20m. Fish can survive only in the top 18m, as the water below 20m is salty, although bacteria and worms have been found below 20m that can live without oxygen.
During 1943-44, the shore of Lake Toplitz served as a Nazi naval testing station. Using copper diaphragms, scientists experimented with different explosives, detonating up to 4,000 kg charges at various depths. They also fired torpedoes from a launching pad in the lake into the Tote Mountains, producing vast holes in the canyon walls. Millions of counterfeit pound sterling notes (100+ million) were dumped in the lake after Operation Bernhard, which was never fully put into action. It is believed that the lake holds other plunder appropriated by Germany in World War II, which dropped vast quantities of gold and other priceless plunder in the lake at the end of the war, including the lost panels from Russia’s Amber Room, as well as documents detailing the whereabouts of other Third Reich caches.
The area is accessible only on foot by a mile-long path, as the K-Mautner-Weg is a private road that serves the Fisherman's Hut restaurant at the western end.