In Sundern (Sauerland), the dirt is tougher than you. There’s no need to be upset about it — the dirt here is actually tougher than many things, including basic bombs.
Targeted by the Allied forces during WWII, many structures in the area were damaged, but not key structures in Sundern. Having failed in their first attempt, the Allies came back with a second kind of bomb, but it was still no use.
Locals got reminded of this when they decided to drain the town’s Sorpe lake to do repairs on the dam many years later. The lake is a very popular area for fishing and boating in the summer and some ice skating in the winter. Usually people flock to the area, especially in the spring when the over spill from the melting snows make waterfalls over the dam that are particularly fun to watch and photograph.
The summer they drained the lake, crowds of Sundern locals and tourists flocked to the lake to watch the action. Then they all had to run for it, because there were unexploded bombs still embedded in the dam!
A special pyrotechnic crew had to be called in to destroy the bombs, which had 2.5 tons of unexploded munitions just biding their time. People were really surprised the bombs were there, though, as all the other dams in the area bombed in the war were destroyed. However, unlike other stone arch dams, the Sundern dam is reinforced with the local dirt… so it was fine.
You can see pictures of all the action at the city museum. Sundern has many castle houses and half timber houses for viewing, as the city was a trading center. The Homert nature park that is all around the area was a popular retreat for counts and royals, so the “country houses” are all mini-mansions with turrets and towers. Many are still in use, but with all the hiking trails around tourists are encouraged to come up and photograph the houses.
Baron von Wrede also has regular summer evenings in for classical music at his castle, Herdringen, so check to see if it’s on while you are in town as the place is gorgeous!
