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Snow bounty boosts Germany’s most northern ski slope

Germany’s most northerly ski lift is seeing an unprecedented rush of business amid unusually wintry conditions this season, operators said on Thursday.

Published: 7 January 2010 15:35 CET

Snow bounty boosts Germany's most northern ski slope

Photo: DPA

The Bungsberg, a lonely 168-metre bump on the Baltic Sea coast landscape in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, rarely gets to fire up its short tow-rope lift. But this winter has been different.

“We’re expecting a visitor stampede this weekend,” operator Horst Schnoor, who operates the tiny ski area with neighbour Hans Heinrich Schröder, said of the hill near the 1,300-resident town of Schönwalde.

The lift, for which skiers and snowboarders can buy a day pass for around €10, has already been running for two weeks, a lengthy amount of time compared to a single day that came last season after a three-year dry spell.

With some 25 centimetres of snow and more expected this weekend, the Bungsberg has been teeming with sledders and skiers, particularly last weekend when the lift was at full capacity, Schnoor said.

The community of Schönwalde bought the lift for 20,000 marks from a Bavarian company in 1970.

Click here for The Local’s weather forecast.

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More rain forecast as storms hit western Germany

Major storms hit western Germany on Thursday, causing travel disruption and flooding.

In parts of Baden-Württemberg, streets were flooded and rivers swelled. Bisingen, southwest of Tübingen, was particularly hard hit, with cellars and streets plunged under water.

Police said there was also traffic disruption. In Baden-Württemberg’s state capital Stuttgart, severe storms and lightning caused issues and some roads were closed.

A lightning strike in the Sigmaringen area resulted in a broken signal box on the railway line. According to Deutsche Bahn, no train journeys were possible in the region in the early evening with several delays and cancellations.

Other states were also affected.

There were around 300 relief operations in the Ahrweiler district in Rhineland-Palatinate, which was hit by the 2021 deadly flood disaster.

Police said no-on was injured, although basements and streets were flooded. The water levels of the Ahr were being closely monitored.

Emergency services in Bisingen on Thursday.

Emergency services in Bisingen on Thursday. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Silas Stein

In Trier, too, streets were flooded after heavy rain and there were hailstorms. The Koblenz police headquarters reported fallen trees. Significant property damage due to full cellars and flooded streets was also reported in some areas.

Heavy showers also fell in Hesse, accompanied by thunder storms. In Frankfurt, according to the fire department, the heavy rain caused water to enter the Bethanien Hospital and even reach the intensive care unit of the clinic.

“We were able to contain the damage relatively quickly and prevent it from spreading,” said fire department spokesman Thorben Schemmel, adding that no patients were affected.

In Rhineland-Palatinate, the Eifel region was particularly affected, with reports of flooded streets after heavy rain and hailstorms.

North Rhine-Westphalia also saw storms late in the afternoon on Thursday.

The German Weather Service (DWD) said it expected some heavy rain and hail in parts of the country on Friday – particularly in the west – and at the weekend but warnings of severe weather have been lifted.

The DWD said there could still be one or two strong thunderstorms in the northeast on Friday. However, it will be a significantly quieter day compared to Thursday. Temperatures of up to 25C can be expected.

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