Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

MOUNTAIN

New film chronicles Norwegian effort to give Finland a mountain

Although the Norwegian government has resisted public pressure to offer a mountain summit to neighbouring Finland as part of its independence centenary celebrations, the idea is far from dead.

Published: 20 January 2017 14:13 CET
New film chronicles Norwegian effort to give Finland a mountain
A screenshot from 'Battle for Birthday Mountain'. Photo: MEL Films
A newly-released short film chronicles the efforts of Bjørn Geirr Harsson, a retired Norwegian geophysicist, to convince Norway to alter its national borders in order to move the 1,361-metre (4,465-foot) high Mount Halti to Finland. 
 
The film, ‘Battle for Birthday Mountain’, can be seen here. Story continues below. 
 
The film’s director, David Freid, told The Local that her Los Angeles-based crew found the idea of Norway gifting a mountain peak to Finland fascinating. 
 
“On the surface, this is a cute film about a very unique kind of gift between nations. But at its heart is something real and relevant,” Freid said. “While we witness the rising tumult along international borders — from Ukraine and Russia, to the South China Sea, to Trump's proposed border wall with Mexico — the idea behind 'Birthday Mountain' is a rare international gesture worth admiring.”
 
As the film shows, the Norwegian government has ruled out the idea of transferring Mount Halti to Finland, with PM Erna Solberg saying that “border adjustments between countries raises complex legal issues.”
   
In this case the problems were insurmountable. The lofty gift-giving idea ran up against Article 1 of the Norwegian constitution which stipulates that the kingdom of Norway is “indivisible and inalienable”. 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

MOUNTAIN

Hochvogel: A famed mountain straddling Germany and Austria faces a rocky collapse

It is one of the most famous mountains in the Allgäu Alps - and it could soon be history. According to experts, the summit of the Hochvogel will soon collapse, and up to 260,000 cubic metres of rock could fall into the valley.

Published: 21 November 2018 16:10 CET
Hochvogel: A famed mountain straddling Germany and Austria faces a rocky collapse
The summit of Hochvogel. Photo: DPA

Yet the possible scenario is hardly shaking up the locals: According to the authorities, there is no particular threat to the population near the mountain.

For years now, a huge crevasse at the summit on the border between Bavaria and Tyrol has been growing in size, and the first rock falls have already occurred. Researchers use sensors to monitor the movement of the massif in order to be able to predict large rockfall.

SEE ALSO: Weekend Wanderlust: Reaching new heights in the Allgäu

The only building near the Hochvogel summit is the Prinz-Luitpold-Haus, an almost 140-year-old refuge of the German Alpine Club. But it is so far away that hardly anything can happen to it, says Andreas Kaenders of the Oberallgäu District Office.

There is no built-up area on the Austrian side, says Thomas Figl from the Tyrolean Landesgeologie association. “If there is the big rockfall, there will be a cloud of dust in the Hinterhornbach community depending on the wind, but the area is definitely not threatened,” he says.

The village is more than two kilometres as the crow flies from the mountain.

The rock movements at the Hochvogel are monitored by researchers. According to them, the crack at the summit is currently a good 40 metres long, 8 metres deep and 3 metres wide.

In the Zugspitze area as well as in two other regions in Austria and Italy, threatened mountain regions are also being monitored by drone flights and measurement technology.

It is unclear whether the Hochvogel summit will actually come to an end with a great deal of noise. “There have been smaller and larger events for years,” says state geologist Figl.

It is difficult to assess whether the rockfalls will continue piece by piece or whether the “big bang” will suddenly occur.

 
SHOW COMMENTS