There are many underground structures located in the Owl Mountains, previously Nazi Germany, now territory of Poland. In 1943-45, they were parts of the massive Nazi project code name “Riese” (the Giant). The purpose of Riese remains a mystery. The suggested explanations include a future weapons factory and military headquarters.
In 1944, Książ Castle became part of the Project Riese. Based on the extensive works in the castle, historians speculate that it was probably the future Nazi military headquarters. A new staircase and elevator shaft were built to improve escape routes. Two levels of underground tunnels were excavated to provide protection from air raids.
The entire workforce of the project was the slave labor of POWs and concentration camp prisoners. In the mountain slopes, they drilled holes and used explosives. Workers removed the all the rocks by hand, by loading them on carts. Working 14-16 hours a day, prisoners created tunnels and large underground halls. Network of new roads and narrow-gauge railway connected individual structures. A new electrical, water and telephone infrastructures supported the whole project. It is estimated that not all of the underground tunnels built for Riese were discovered yet.
To keep the project Riese secret, the rocks obtained from digging the tunnels were almost immediately loaded onto train cars and transported deep into the Reich. It is estimated that at least 13,000 prisoners worked for the project. Hungarian Jews were the most numerous. Mortality was very high. Prisoners suffered from exhaustion, diseases, and harsh treatment of SS guards. More than 5,000 of them lost their lives in the Owl Mountains.
The mysterious place of Mölke-Ludwigsdorf was not related to the Riese project. Today it is Molke Museum. It was here that secret experiments were probably carried out to change the course of World War II.
