Lake Toplitz

Lake Toplitz (German: Toplitzsee) is a lake situated in a dense mountain forest high up in the Austrian Alps, 98 km (61 mi) 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 below a depth of 20 m. Fish can survive only in the top 18 m, as the water below 20 m is salty, although bacteria and worms that can live without oxygen have been found below 20 m.

Lake Toplitz
Toplitzsee
Lake Toplitz
Toplitzsee
LocationSalzkammergut
Coordinates47°38′30″N 13°55′40″E
Primary outflowsToplitz (Austria)(de)
Basin countriesAustria
Max. length073 km (45 mi)
Max. width1,104 m (3,622 ft)
Max. depth103.022 m (338.00 ft)
Surface elevation718 m (2,356 ft)

In 1943 and 1944, 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, making vast holes in the canyon walls. Over £100 million of counterfeit pound sterling notes were dumped in the lake after Operation Bernhard, which was never fully put into action. There is speculation that there might be other valuables to be recovered from the bottom of the Toplitzsee. There is a layer of sunken logs floating half way to the bottom of the lake, making diving beyond it hazardous or impossible. Gerhard Zauner, one of the divers on the 1959 expedition, reports that he saw a sunken aircraft below this layer.[1]

The area is only accessible on foot, via a private mile-long track that serves the Fischerhütte (Fisherman's Hut) restaurant at the western end.[2]

Toplitzsee in fiction

Lake Toplitz is mentioned in the scene in the James Bond movie Goldfinger where Bond receives the gold bar used to tempt Auric Goldfinger; the bar is said to have been part of a Nazi hoard that was recovered from the lake.

In the 1981 TV series Private Schulz, Lake Toplitz serves as a location where 50 million forged British pounds are being dumped by the Nazis; the scene in question, however, was filmed at a reservoir in South Wales.

The novel The Salzburg Connection by Helen MacInnes involves Nazi secret files found in a lake in similar circumstances to Lake Toplitz (Finstersee). Lake Toplitz is mentioned throughout the book also. Finstersee is the scene of action and is also shown on slides in the movie, The Salzburg Connection, based on the book.

The novel Not Alone by Craig A. Falconer stated that Nazis hid a flying saucer in the lake along with other artifacts.

The novel "Amber - A Dane and Bones Origins Story," Lake Toplitz is visited by the main characters as part of their search for the Amber Room.

References
  1. Zauner, Gerhard (2003). Verschollene Schätze im Salzkammergut: Die Suche nach dem Nazi-Gold. Graz: Stocker. ISBN 3-7020-0985-X.
  2. OpenStreetMap map of lake Toplitz, showing footpath to western end


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